Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol—A Ghost Story of Christmas in Five Staves, when he was 31. The first edition was published on December 19, 1843, and had sold out just four days later! By the end of 1844, it was running to 13 editions. Now with numerous adaptations for film, television, radio, stage—and indeed in audio—it has, for many, become an essential part of Christmas.

Raconteurs Audio has created this collection to include Dickens' two Christmas novellas, The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth, as well as some of his lesser-known short stories with a Christmas theme.

A Christmas Carol

Stave 1—Marley's Ghost, read by Liam Gerrard

Stave 2—The First of Three Spirits, read by Tim Bruce

Stave 3—The Second of Three Spirits, read by James Gillies

Stave 4—The Last of the Spirits, read by Greg Wagland

Stave 5—The End of It, read by Malk Williams

Music

Stave 1—"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"—English Traditional

Stave 2—"The Three Kings"—Peter Cornelius 1856

Stave 3—"Gabriel's Message"—Basque Noel

Stave 4—"A Coventry Carol"—Original of 1591

Stave 5—"This Is the Truth"—English traditional

Finale—"In Dulci Jubilo"—Old German

Festive Tales

"The Haunted House" (1859) read by Greg Wagland

"A Christmas Tree" (1850) read by Nigel Patterson

"The Chimes" (1844) read by James Gillies

"The Christmas Goblins" (1836) read by Liam Gerrard

"The Cricket on the Hearth" (1845) read by Helen Lloyd

"Nobody's Story" (1852) read by Malk Williams

"A Child's Dream of a Star" (1871) read by Tim Bruce

"What Christmas Is as We Grow Older" (1851) read by James Gillies

Epilogue

The Epilogue, by Helen Roberts, includes a Public Domain Article by Catherine Water, originally published in 'The Conversation' in June 2020.

These stories, originally published between 1843 and 1871, are in the public domain. The traditional Christmas music is also within the public domain—with original arrangements by Kelvin Towse created for this audiobook production.