A Christmas Carol: 8 Facts You Might Not Know About Charles Dickens' Story And Its Many Adaptations

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By Philip Sledge/Cinemablend

Charles Dickens’ classic novella, A Christmas Carol, has been adapted time and after, ever since its original publication nearly 180 years ago, with countless film and TV adaptations having been released over the course of the past century. Decorated actors like Albert Finney, George C. Scott, Michael Caine, and even Bill Murray have played some version of Ebenezer Scrooge over the years, introducing the timeless story to audiences all over the world.

As part of CinemaBlend’s partnership with Plex, where you can find several adaptations of A Christmas Carol streaming for free among their Merrython collection of holiday films, we’ve put together a quick list of eight facts about the classic story and the various productions inspired by it. Hopefully, you’re not left saying “Bah Humbug” after reading these stories…

Charles Dickens Based The Tiny Tim Character On His Own Family Members: Ebenezer Scrooge is undoubtedly one of the most iconic literary characters of all time, but another classic figure from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit’s happy yet seriously ill son. The young boy, who serves as the catalyst for Scrooge’s change in the original story, as well as the various adaptations based on the novella, was inspired by several members of Dickens’ family. According to Biography.com, the character was based on the author’s sickly brother, known as Tiny Fred, and a nephew with a disability, Henry Burnett Jr., who he had met on a trip to Manchester.

Despite Selling Out In Its First Week, Dickens Initially Made Little Money On A Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol has become a holiday institution and one of the most well-known titles of all time. And while it was an initial success – the first printing of 6,000 copies sold out in the first week of publication – Charles Dickens didn’t make a whole lot of money off his treasured novella initially. According to the Guardian, due to the binding stamped with gold lettering on the spine and front cover, gilded edges, four hand-colored etchings and four woodcuts, and numerous other requirements issued by the author, the book was extremely expensive to produce. By the time the costs were covered with the initial run, Dickens made a mere £137 (or $172) for his work on the first published edition.

Link: https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/a-christmas-carol-8-facts-you-might-not-know-about-charles-dickens-story-and-its-many-adaptations

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1. My favorite classic version is 1951 with Alastair Sim.

I think it was in rotation the most when I was a kid and it hits all the right notes for me.

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2. Dickens payment is wildly misleading.

It assumes a pound to dollar exchange rate of 1.25/1. During much of the 19th century, including the 1840s, the exchange rate was about 5/1. That makes Dickens payment $685, not $137. Adjusted for inflation, that would be nearly $28,500. Not a fortune, to be sure, but the initial printing was only 6000 copies; an author’s payment of about $4.75 per copy.