The Christmas Stories

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Simon Vance

No writer is more identified with the modern idea of Christmas than Charles Dickens. In some ways, Dickens helped define the holiday that we now celebrate by immortalizing it as a time of warmth and sharing, with an emphasis on family and friends.

Dickens wrote all the stories presented here during the 1850s as contributions to the special Christmas issues of Household Words, the weekly magazine he founded and edited. Included are fictional sketches verging on the autobiographical, recollections of childhood, reflections on past holidays and old friends, as well as tales of misunderstandings and lost opportunities. They reaffirm the virtue of nurturing our traditions, and offer a master storyteller's vision of the real meaning of Christmas.

The stories on this audiobook are:

• A Christmas Tree
• What Christmas Is as We Grow Older
• The Poor Relation's Story
• The Child's Story
• Nobody's Story
• The Seven Poor Travellers
• The Holly Tree

(P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Robert Whitfield superbly performs this exciting spy novel....Whitfield's subtle shadings of tone, cadence, and inflection artistically reveal the rich subtleties that Gerald Seymour has woven into this fine book." (AudioFile)

Christmas, sort of

The stories were interesting and had all of the fine qualities of Charles Dickens' works, but I suppose I was expecting something a little more heartwarming. I realize the problem is not the stories by my expectations, but if you're expecting "Christmasy" stories, you should look up some of the tales online first to see if they are what you're after.

It's worth adding to the collection

The first story is hard to follow so it may need a second listen. The Poor Relation's Story is an interesting take on being thankful. overall this is a decent little collection.