Enjoyable historical fiction that’s perfect for a dickens fan! The story and reading experience were a pleasure.

This is one of those books that you like even more a few days after you finish it. I found myself feeling emotionally invested in Dickens, and I had very strong feelings at the beginning of the book towards his family, so I was very relieved to see the back of them, so that he could get to the business of writing this book. I think we were supposed to feel like he was a bit of a Scrooge at the beginning, but instead, I was really mad at his wife especially, for acting like they have endless money and it doesn't matter what she spends, and she also strongly implies that it's not Christmas for their children without shopping for toys, which irks me, if this book he needs to write to escape financial ruin has to be about Christmas. Clearly, his family has missed the boat on that more than he has, in my opinion. The author did extensive research, and it shows. I loved the characters, and a nice happy ending. I will be gifting this one for sure.

This book was honestly kind of boring. It didn't hold my attention at all and I couldn't finish. Absolutely love the cover though.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva is an enchanting and engrossing tale whose premise held the prospect of greatness. I love Dickens and I really love A Christmas Carol and I really, really wanted to love Mr. Dickens and His Carol....

For Charles Dickens, Christmas has been a grand time. His novels have won him acclaimed and notoriety. But his latest, Martin Chuzzlewit is struggling to attain the popularity of his previous work and Dickens finds himself in the unenviable position of having his debts called in. If that happens he will find himself ruined. His publishers come up with a solution. A ridiculous and impossible solution. Come up with a new story within a month, a Christmas tale for the holiday or they will call in his debts and ruin him.

Dickens has no choice but to accept. With his own father borrowing money against his name and his family, with a newborn, spending to make this a glorious Christmas season; Dickens knows he must somehow write this Christmas story. Only, Charles Dickens is feeling anything but the Christmas spirit. He is feeling used and unappreciated by the very souls he provides for. His partners in business, the very publishers who have gotten rich off of his prior tales are now looking to fleece him when his latest tale is not turning into the profit the others have.

"...Well,' said Forster, 'it is...interesting.'
'Yes. It is, isn't it?'
'But when does the Christmas bit start?'
'Soon, I'm sure.'
'It's just...a tad grim for what's meant to be...a cheerful time of year,'
'What do you mean?'
'Well, your Scrooge is a dreadful man.'
'Not so dreadful.'
'And this getup of yours, why, your Ebenezer fellow looks exactly as you do now.'
'I inspired myself!;
'To write a recluse? Who hates his neighbors, bemoans his friends, and despises his relatives?'
'They're hateful people. They hound him for money. The poor man is tormented by his tribe of dependents, who all want a bit of a piece of him and cannot make a single step in the world without his aid..."

Dickens, angry and abandoned, leaves his home and goes back to the small room where his stories first began. There he finds inspiration in the life of a young woman and her son, an actress who reminds him of the joy of his creations. Of the process of telling the story and of the promise of Christmas itself. But can Dickens find the magic once again and in time to keep the debtors from ruining him.

"...What harm can come of a ghost?' she'd asked, here, in this very room. But it wasn't a question at all. It was the answer..."

I wanted to like this story. I really, really did. I wanted to stand on rooftops and sing its praises. I really, really did. I wanted to revel in the creation of Fred and Bob Crachet and Scrooge and the rest. I really, really did. But instead, I got to listen to the fretting and bemoaning of an acclaimed author whose one bad book spells his doom.

There are twists here. Clever turns that might have made the story more enjoyable if Dickens had not overshadowed them. And he did. This book does the exact opposite of what A Christmas Carol does. It is not about the spirit of Christmas as much as it seems to be about a successful book providing the funds to pay for a wonderful Christmas.

A wonderful premise that the book just does not measure up to.

This is definitely an interesting take on Charles Dickens and what he may have actually been facing at the time - even though this is fiction.

Mr. Dickens And His Carol by Samantha Silva is just the ticket when you’ve finished listening to Tim Curry narrate A Christmas Carol, have already watched The Muppet Christmas Carol 10 times in December and just need something different. This book does not retell A Christmas Carol. Instead, it imagines the writing of the famous book and just what lead to it. It takes on Charles Dickens and really brings the author back to life.

Samantha Silva’s Mr. Dickens And His Carol opens up with Charles Dickens and his wife about to give birth. Dickens’ publishers show up with bad news. His latest installment series isn’t selling too well. They are about to call in his debts. That is, unless he will agree to write a Christmas story within thirty days. Inspiration does not immediately strike. In fact, Dickens is kind of at a loss. Some drama ends up going down and his wife and kids head to Scotland because he’s not really holding up his bargain. It is at this point that he does find inspiration in a young woman named Eleanor Lovejoy and her son, Timothy.

Honestly, this book is a pretty decent Christmas/winter book. It has that classic sort of feel to it. Plus, I am going to put out there that I was totally shocked by the twist. I would bet that if you are a more observant person you will see it coming. The writing flows really well. If anything, Silva does a great job hooking you and then keeping you there. This happens via transported — Mr. Dickens And His Carol does setting very well. The writing has this feeling of time and place to it. I loved it.

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO BUDDY THE ELF, HOW MUCH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT DOES THIS BOOK HAVE?
Well, if we are thinking Victorian Buddy The Elf, this book is HERE FOR IT. Like, Dickens’ family is all about Christmas. They get gifts and love the toy store. There is a big party they put on every year. Plus there’s a lesson to be learned in the book. And with the story being centered around one of the biggest Christmas traditions (A Christmas Carol in all its iterations), this book is BURSTING AT THE SEAMS WITH SPIRIT, even if it takes Dickens awhile to find his.

I waited until the holiday season to read this, and it turned out to be a great book to read by the fire. It's well written, and the story is captivating. I truely enjoyed it!

This book was ingeniously written by Samantha Silva. Its is moving, entertaining, humorous and well written. It is the historical biographical fiction based on Charles Dicken's remarkable life during the time when he wrote the story Christmas Carol. This book transports you to Victorian London during the mid 1840's. The characters come alive in this story as they do in Charles Dicken's own novels. The streets of London come alive and invite you in to walk along Mr.. Dicken's on his road to discovery in himself and in the Christmas Spirit.

If you are a Dicken's fan as I am, you will adore this charming novel by Samantha Silva.

I honestly could tell by the writing of the first 2 chapters that it wouldn't be a good fit for our box and had to put it down. I may read it again in the future!

"Mr. Dickens and His Carol" popped up several times on my Instagram account, recommended by several other readers as being a perfect Christmas read. I have been inundated with "A Christmas Carol" this holiday as my daughter became obsessed with "Mickey's Christmas Carol" which we read (I have the Little Golden Book from my childhood) over and over.

Samantha Silva's book was cute. Very charming, as most reviews say.

The novel is the story of how "A Christmas Carol" came to be. It's 1843 and Charles Dickens learns that his latest book isn't the hit of his past successes. It's Christmas, a time when the Dickens family tends to go all out with parties and lavish presents for their ever growing brood (his wife has a 6th child in the early pages).

Stressed by looming financial difficulties, Dickens is asked (or perhaps ordered is the better word) by his publishers to write a Christmas story. With only weeks to go, he has no idea where to begin.

Irritable with everything to do with the season, he drives his wife and children off to her family home in Scotland and takes refuge in the pub/inn where he lived as a young writer.

He finds himself coming into contact with faces from his past, everyone from his shady father to an old lover. He takes to the streets of London, exploring his old haunts, searching desperately for inspiration as Christmas creeps ever closer.

It is on the streets late one night that he meets a young woman who he becomes quite taken with. Their encounters drive him towards what will eventually become the plot of "A Christmas Carol".

As the story wears on, bit and pieces of "A Christmas Carol" wind their way into the story as we literally see Dickens piece together his famous tale in his head. He saves names into his "mental museum" that he likes. He tries to avoid fans by dressing in the costume of a cranky old man, a real Scrooge, which is a name he uses at the inn where he stays.

Silva does a great job of capturing the feel of London during Dickens' era. While he irritated me at times as he struggled to pull himself out of holiday stress and crankiness, it was heartwarming to see how he was able to recapture the Christmas spirit by writing "A Christmas Carol."

All in all, a sweet book that was the perfect read for the holidays.

This was such a sweet and charming story, and it gives me another level of appreciation for A Christmas Carol and Christmas in general. Even though this is an imagined story of how Charles Dickens developed his most famous work with plenty of creative license, it was easy to be swept into the delightful English winter landscape of the 1840s.

I thoroughly enjoyed each character and and felt a jolt of excitement whenever I recognized a character or scene in the original Christmas Carol. This was a lovely debut novel and though it is a few days after Christmas, I may just pick up Dickens' version in the near future.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
Flatiron Press, 2017
Fiction (Historical); 288 pgs
Source: E-Copy of book provided by publisher for an honest review.

Samantha Silva’s Mr. Dickens and His Carol was a good way to kick off the holiday season. Silva’s writing took me back in time and right into the life of author Charles Dickens. His latest book is not doing so well and his publisher is threatening to dock his pay, bill collectors and family wanting financial help are knocking at this door, and his wife has just given birth to another child. To make things worse, he is being asked to write a Christmas story in a short amount of time. Charles is feeling a lot of things at the moment, but the Christmas spirit is not one of them. Especially with his wife Catherine’s holiday preparations costing him more and more money with each new decision she makes and his children with their wide eyes and innocence hoping for their father’s usual holiday generosity.

Charles is indeed a generous man and does not like to say no to his wife or children. As a result, he knows he has little choice but to write the Christmas story, despite his initial refusal to do so. His temper is short, his family has deserted him as a result, time is running out, and writer’s block has set in. Taking to the streets of London, Charles walks into the night, hoping for inspiration. He finds it in the form of a mysterious woman in a purple cloak. Could she be his muse?

With a bit of humor, the occasional name dropping, and a lot of atmosphere, Samantha Silva’s fictional account of how A Christmas Carol came into being was both compelling and inspiring. A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite Christmas stories, both in written and movie form. It’s a story that most people know and is very much a part of Western culture today. It’s message is timeless as is its impact. And while Silva’s tale in Mr. Dickens and His Carol follows a similar theme, it doesn’t quite live up to the original. But then, what book could, really?

Still, I enjoyed getting to know Charles Dickens as a character and most especially Eleanor Lovejoy and Timothy. I wouldn’t have minded more time spent with them. I will admit that Charles’s obsession with Eleanor did give me pause, given he is a married man, his wife having just given birth to their child. And while I could see why Charles might be into Eleanor, I couldn’t quite see the attraction the other way around. Still, there is something about Eleanor—her mystery, her past, or perhaps her Timothy—that drew me to her just as Charles was drawn to her. And, of course, Timothy. In a story like this a Timothy is essential.

I loved the historical tidbits Silva included about the real Charles Dickens’ life as well as the appearance of his “rival” authors of the time, William Thackeray and Wilkie Collins, for example. It was also interesting to get a close up of the plagiarism and pirating that took place during the time. Oh, and the fan and critic reactions! People were just as bold with their opinions then as now—only then they did not have the internet and so most of it came in person on the street.

The ending is what really made this story for me, bringing it around in a way that made me appreciate the book even more than I might have otherwise. One thing is for sure. I hope to re-read A Christmas Carol soon.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol is an imaginative and fictional retelling of how A Christmas Carol came to be. Victorian London came to life as a curmudgeonly Dickens stumbled his way through financial difficulties and family strife. I liked how the author brought Tiny Tim into focus with one of her fictional characters. To say too much more would spoil the surprise of the story!

Storytelling at its best. Every winter holiday should begin with this book. The writing is excellent. The choice of facts on Dickens woven within the overall story as tempting as a plum pudding. By the time I finished, I felt as if I had known Charles Dickens, his family, and his distraught worries on writing and success as an author as well as any of his friends. This is not a children’s book. Although it could be enjoyed by 12+. It is a comic, insightful look at the creation of the most famous Christmas story written.

“

First sentence: On that unseasonably warm November day at One Devonshire Terrace, Christmas was not in his head at all. His cravat was loose, top button of his waistcoat undone, study windows flung open as far as they’d go. Chestnut curls bobbed over his dark slate eyes that brightened to each word he wrote: this one, no, that one, scribble and scratch, a raised brow, a tucked chin, a guffaw. Every expression was at the ready, every limb engaged in the urgent deed. Nothing else existed. Not hunger or thirst, not the thrumming of the household above and below—a wife about to give birth, five children already, four servants, two Newfoundlands, a Pomeranian, and the Master’s Cat, now pawing at his quill. Not time, neither past nor future, just the clear-eyed now, and words spilling out of him faster than he could think them.

Premise/plot: Mr. Dickens and His Carol is a fictionalized account of how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. It contains several true facts: the necessity of writing/publishing a Christmas book in such a short period of time; the name of Charles Dickens and his family members; quotes from A Christmas Carol. But it is largely fictional.

It is just a few weeks before Christmas. His wife has just given birth. His publisher has come to him with a demand: write a Christmas book...or else. His last book--his current book, Martin Chuzzlewit--isn't doing well...at all. His publishers NEED a successful book. There is no other way.

Dickens finds himself in need of a MUSE.

My thoughts: This was an extremely entertaining and mostly satisfying read. It is divorced from truth, perhaps. But I found it almost impossible to put down. The chapters just beg to be read right then and there. It helps that they are short chapters too. The writing was delicious. I'll do my best to show you what I mean:

“To whom shall I make it?” “Marley, sir. Jacob. A man who’s never missed a word you’ve written.” “My favorite sort of reader.” Dickens signed with a flourish. He sensed his children watching, felt Mamie squeeze his arm. He handed the album back with a satisfied smile. “Jacob Marley, I am ever in your service.” The gentleman flipped to the page to review his newest get. “Dickens? I thought you was Thackeray!” He tore it out, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the street, stomping away.
The children watched their father’s autograph be further insulted by the wheel of an omnibus clip-clopping past. Dickens narrowed his eyes. “Well. How sad Mr. Marley will be when I introduce him in my new number, only to kill him off in the next.” “He should be dead to begin with,” said young Charley. “Dead as a doornail,” said Katey. “So he shall. So he shall.” The matter settled, Dickens turned for home. His children trooped behind in cautious silence.

Really enjoyed this! It is the perfect companion to reading A Christmas Carol. It was beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable. The fictionalized conception of the Christmas classic was really heart warming, It was very atmospheric and it felt like I was transported to Victorian London and was walking the city streets with Dickens as he worked out his classic. I loved all the nods to his other work and his similarities with Scrooge. The twist at the end made me do a double take, but ultimately left me with a happy feeling that everything would be well. Definitely recommend to read around Christmas time!

This story is a fictionalized account of Charles Dickens and his state of mind while writing A Christmas Carol. For such a short book, it did drag a few times, but overall, I enjoyed it. It's a nice book to read during the holiday season!

"What magic there was all around him. Words were inadequate, but all he had. He didn’t know where they came from or why, but it was how we told one another what the world was and might be. Who we were, and might become. It was the only magic he had. Everything else was faith."

Samantha Silva’s holiday tale Mr. Dickens and His Carol told the story of how Charles Dickens wrote his famous Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. Although much of this was fictionalized, the basis of the story was true: Dickens was commissioned to write his book “out of financial necessity” as his most recent publication of Martin Chuzzlewit was a flop as well as the incessant hounding by his relatives for money.

I’ve never read too much of Dickens’ work, except for the first two-thirds of Great Expectations in high school and again in college (neither time did I officially finish, to my own chagrin…). But even without reading A Christmas Carol, with its numerous adaptations, I know the story well. And with the recently released movie, The Man Who Invented Christmas, I was looking for something to similarly get me into the spirit of the season.

Although the analytical side of my brain would have liked more concrete facts about this time of the author’s life, I really did enjoy the story. The writing was lush and almost felt authentically Victorian. The interspersion of literary gems for the well-read Dickens fan, and even those who have only ever read two-thirds of one of his books, were admirable. Watching Dickens as he journeyed through London, finding inspiration for A Christmas Carol as he went, was fun.

If you’re looking for a historical account of how Charles Dickens wrote his famous Christmas story, then you’re out of luck, as most of the events in this book were only loosely based on fact. However, if you’re looking for a fun book to get you in the holiday spirit while simultaneously filling your craving for Dickens and Victorian London, this book just might be for you.

3.5 stars overall, rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

Samantha Silva’s Mr. Dickens and His Carol is a charming, heartwarming tale that follows Charles Dickens at a difficult time in his life. Dickens has been a hugely successful writer for years, with each book selling better than the last. That is, until Martin Chuzzlewit, whose sales have unexpectedly flopped. Three weeks before Christmas, Dickens’ publishers pay him a visit to tell him the bad news about his book sales and to issue him an ultimatum: write a heartwarming, best-selling Christmas book in the next three weeks or else face financial ruin.

Needless to say, this does not put Dickens into the Christmas spirit, especially when on top of his bad news, he also has to contend with his family who is expecting the same lavish Christmas that they are used to. Additionally, one of Dickens’ cousins is lurking about because he wants money for an investment, and Dickens’ deadbeat father is also milling around town racking up debts and expecting Charles to take care of them.

Dickens begins to feel backed into a corner and starts to lash out at those around him, eventually driving his wife and children away from their home. At first, Dickens flat out refuses to write a novel on demand because it’s not his style, but ultimately realizes he has no choice and sits down to write. There’s just one problem – he has no inspiration whatsoever and a huge case of writer’s block. Growing increasingly frustrated, Dickens begins to wander aimlessly around the city of London and eventually finds himself on an Ebenezer Scrooge-like journey that ultimately becomes the inspiration for what ends up being his most beloved novel, A Christmas Carol.

LIKES

There were so many things I loved about this book, but I think the Dickensian atmosphere was what I loved the most. I truly felt like I had been transported back to Victorian London while I was reading. Silva does a marvelous job of capturing all of the sights, sounds, and smells (both the good and the bad!) of the time period and the overall effect was just magical! It was instantly clear that Silva had done her homework, both with respect to Dickens himself and to the time period.

I also loved the way Silva brought Charles Dickens to life for her readers. She portrays him as likable and charming, and yet so flawed and human at the same time. His family means everything to him and he’s worried that he may not be able to take care of them because of his lagging book sales. I really sympathized with what he was going through –everyone wanting something from him because of his success, his wife telling him that he has changed and that she and the children are leaving until he gets himself sorted out, and then having to write a Christmas story on demand in order to keep from falling into financial ruin. It’s a lot for anyone to have to deal with and Dickens also feels the tremendous pressure of up-and-coming writers such as Thackeray and begins to doubt that he can compete with them. Dickens’ frustrations were palpable and so very understandable, as were his feelings of self-doubt. The writer’s block that follows is something that all of us who write can relate to, and I thought it was brilliant that Silva uses all of these pressures she has piled onto Dickens’ shoulders to take him on a Scrooge-like journey of his own, which is what ultimately inspires his writing of A Christmas Carol.

I’m a huge fan of both Dickens and A Christmas Carol, so every time I was reading and happened across a shout out to either A Christmas Carol or one of Dickens’ other works, it made me smile. I thought it was especially fun when he came across names he thought would make good character names and jotted them down, or on other occasions when he met someone he didn’t like and vowed to use them in his book to exact his revenge on them on paper. I also chuckled to myself that Dickens would grumble “Humbug, bah!” when he was in a particularly foul humor and then ended up incorporating the now famous words into his tale, since he obviously modeled Ebenezer Scrooge after himself. In this sense, I would think the book would be a lot of fun for Dickens fans.

DISLIKES/ISSUES

Overall, this was such an enjoyable read for me, but I will mention that there were a few spots that were heavy in description, which slowed the pacing a bit. Thankfully though, the lulls were brief and the action picked back up pretty quickly.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Mr. Dickens and His Carol is a charming, heartwarming tale that is perfect for fans of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, or even just Christmas itself. I personally think it would make a lovely Christmas gift for the Dickens fan in your life.

RATING: 4.5 STARS

So, where did Charles Dickens get his ideas for A Christmas Carol? This beautifully written book addresses this question adeptly.
Charles Dickens is at his wit's end. His book Martin Chuzzlewit is a failure, his publishers are breathing down his neck asking for a Christmas book, his family is getting on his nerves, people are stealing his work and speaking badly of him, and everyone is asking him for money. In frustration, he goes to stay at a hotel in order to work in peace and quiet after his family goes to Scotland for Christmas. While he is there, he finds inspiration in the most unexpected places and finds his Christmas spirit along the way.
I thought this book was very well done. The writing is so beautiful, and it instantly transported me to Dickens' London. Even though this is a work of fiction and some of the events in the story didn't actually happen, I could easily draw parallels between Dickens' life and the story. The unexpected twist at the end gave me goosebumps. I enjoyed this book very much and would definitely recommend it.
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.