A review by booksrockcal
Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Charles Dickens is one of my favorite authors. I’m not sure how i missed this book when it came out but the good folks at Warwick’s recommended it as a Christmas book this year and I nabbed it from the LAPL through Libby. The book reimagines Dickens’ writing process as he sets out to create A Christmas Carol. Dickens is suffering from major writer’s block just as his family and friends’ and acquaintances need for and demand for funding increases seemingly beyond his ability to cover the costs they incur. This predicament puts Dickens in a Scrooge-like mood of his own. His wife and their children  leave for Scotland and as Dickens despairs he walks around London, returning to locations important in his earlier life and listening to his fellow Londoners from the theatre, the court system, the street, boarding houses and other places including one person who appears mysteriously just when he needs encouragement the most- they serve as his muses and help him get A Christmas Carol across the finish line. The book we know and love today becomes an immediate best seller and all the looming financial perils are resolved.  The story dragged a bit in the middle but ended strong. This was a perfect Christmas read and the occasion the return to read A Christmas Carol.