HOW DICKENS HELPED SAVE CHRISTMAS

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." -Ebenezer Scrooge

Illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger, source

Following intense scrutiny by Oliver Cromwell and his largely Puritan Parliament, Christmas celebrations in Great Britain were in decline. At the same time, the Industrial Revolution allowed British workers little time for the holy days. 

But Christmas celebrations began to make a comeback in the mid 1800's, in great part due to Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and... Charles Dickens! 

Happy Birthday to A Christmas Carol, published 169 years ago today, on December 19, 1843! I love this beautiful edition, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger.

According to Laura Grande, who writes in History Magazine: Christmas still was not observed by the majority of the population, as workhouses and mill owners refused to recognize it as a holiday, forcing their employees to work their usual shifts, which often ran longer than 10 hours a day. With the majority of England at work, it’s no small wonder that Christmas still went largely unrecognized.

Dickens began writing "A Christmas Carol" in October of 1843 and the novella was completed within six weeks.

By Christmas Eve, all 6,000 copies had sold out and it continued to sell out with each new edition well into the following year.

The observance of Christmas had experienced a mid-Victorian revival, with a heavy emphasis on family-oriented festivities. 

Dickens was hailed as a hero and he did public readings of "A Christmas Carol" every holiday season from 1853-70. In total, Dickens had read his book aloud to massive crowds 127 times.
{source: Laura Grande, from December 2010/January 2011 issue of History Magazine. I found the article in its entirety, here.}

Another nice edition of Dicken's A Christmas Carol is this one, illustrated by P.J. Lynch.  You can see many of his illustrations for the book here, on his website.

Read more about the life of Charles Dickens, HERE, in my past post commemorating his 200th Birthday this year.

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

I have always loved this short story, by O. Henry, about a young newlywed couple who are so poor that they can't afford to buy each other Christmas presents.  The wife, Della, cuts off her treasured hair to buy her husband, Jim, a watch fob; but he sells his heirloom watch to buy her beautiful combs for her hair. Below are the delicate illustrations Lisbeth Zwerger lends to the tale... 

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.  It reached below her knee and made almost a garment for her.

"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it." Down rippled the brown cascade.

...here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the Magi.

"The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication." - O. Henry, from THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

Unabridged, with illustrations by Lisbeth Zwerger.


Unabridged, with illustrations by P.J. Lynch (see below).

From Library Journal:  "The sepia-toned watercolors have an authentic period look; the details present in the New York City street scenes and the couple's rather shabby apartment add a strong feeling of time and place to the story. Very different in style from Lisbeth Zwerger's lovely and delicate version." (P.J. Lynch also illustrated The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.)

BEAUTIFUL WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY LISBETH ZWERGER, NOT TO BE MISSED!

Illustration from Alice in Wonderland

Quite often I find myself as drawn to good illustrators as I am to good authors.  But in most cases, it's because the illustrator has done such a good job bringing the author's work to life.  Such is the case with Lisbeth Zwerger.  Her gorgeous artwork is so delicate and ethereal, that it really lends itself perfectly to fairytales.  And that is what she mostly illustrates.  Lisbeth was born in Vienna, Austria and has been illustrating children's books for 24 years.  She received the Hans Christian Andersen medal - the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for children’s literature - in 1990, at the age of thirty-six.

One of my favorite stories that Zwerger has illustrated is THE SELFISH GIANT, by Oscar Wilde.  I am lucky enough to have a copy, but unfortunately it is presently out of print and quite expensive.  No other version of Wilde's tale does the story justice, in my opinon, so it's worth it to search at the library for this particular one.

More books illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger that are available at your local library:More books illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger that are available at your local library:

THE WIZARD OF OZ, by Frank L. Baum

AESOP'S FABLES

A CHRISTMAS CAROL, by Charles Dickens

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN FAIRY TALES

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, by O. Henry

HOW THE CAMEL GOT HIS HUMP, by Kipling

TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM