3 h 37 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A kettle sings, a cricket answers, and doubt threatens the peace of a cheerful home.
In Charles Dickens's The Cricket on the Hearth, John Peerybingle wants a peaceful life with his lively young wife, Dot, and their baby. Their kitchen glows with warmth and small comforts. But the sour toymaker Mr Tackleton sees how easily he can plant suspicion in John's mind, putting love and trust at risk.
Nearby, poor Caleb Plummer works for Tackleton and hides life's hardships from his blind daughter, Bertha, with comforting stories. Dot's friend May Fielding faces marriage to Tackleton, though her wishes seem to matter little. Around these lives, Dickens weaves comedy, anxious moments, and fireside magic into a fairy tale about what makes a house a home.
What you’ll discover
- A kitchen full of life Hear the kettle and cricket turn an ordinary fireside into the heart of a fairy tale.
- Love under strain Follow John and Dot as suspicion threatens the cheerful life they share.
- A father's comforting stories Meet Caleb and Bertha, whose tender bond raises questions about kindness and truth.
- Comedy beside the hearth Enjoy Tilly Slowboy's clumsy devotion as she cares for the Peerybingle baby.
- The small things that matter Discover a vision of home built from everyday acts of love, not grand gestures.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy Dickens at his most tender, Christmas stories, and fireside fairy tales of love and trust. A warm choice for anyone seeking a quick introduction to his humour and feeling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A kettle sings and a cricket answers
- Tackleton the toymaker hates joy
- Caleb Plummer tells a loving lie
- Doubt creeps into a happy house
- What a home is really made of
- How Dickens tells a fireside fairy tale
Who’s who
- John PeerybingleA large, kind, slow-spoken carrier who loves his young wife and baby, and who wants only a peaceful home.
- Dot PeerybingleJohn's small, lively wife, who keeps the house cheerful and has kind dealings with everyone around her.
- Tilly SlowboyThe clumsy but devoted nursemaid who looks after the Peerybingle baby and brings much of the comedy.
- Caleb PlummerA poor, anxious toymaker who tells his blind daughter comforting stories to hide how hard their life is.
- Bertha PlummerCaleb's blind daughter, warm and loving, who lives happily in the pictures her father paints for her.
- Mr TackletonA sour toymaker and employer who despises happiness and is about to marry a much younger woman.
- May FieldingDot's young friend, engaged to Tackleton, whose own wishes seem to count for little in the match.
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- Audiobook
- 3 h 37 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Le Grillon du foyer
by Charles Dickens · 1845
A cricket chirps beside John and Dot's hearth as doubt enters their loving home and puts their trust to the test.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Cricket on the Hearth is a short Christmas story by Charles Dickens, first published in December 1845. It was the third of his Christmas books, written after A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, and it sold in great numbers in time for the holiday.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A kettle sings and a cricket answers
The story opens in a small, cheerful kitchen. A kettle is boiling on the fire, and it begins to sing. A cricket living by the hearth begins to chirp in reply, and soon the two are in a friendly contest of sound. Dickens writes this scene with great play and humour, and it tells us at once that this house is a happy one.
The house belongs to John Peerybingle, a carrier. He drives a cart along the roads, carrying parcels and messages from place to place. He is a big, slow, kind man, much older than his wife. His wife is Mary, whom everyone calls Dot because she is so small and neat. They have a new baby, and a young nursemaid named Tilly Slowboy helps in the house. Tilly is clumsy and well meaning, and she keeps knocking the baby against doors and furniture.
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What is The Cricket on the Hearth about?
It is about a carrier named John Peerybingle, his young wife Dot, and the people whose lives touch theirs. It looks at love, trust, honesty and the warmth that makes a house a home.
When was The Cricket on the Hearth written?
Dickens wrote it in 1845 and published it that December as his third Christmas book. It is fiction, but it draws on the ordinary English home life and Christmas customs of his own time.
What does the cricket symbolise in the story?
The cricket stands for the spirit of a happy home, a small, steady voice of peace and goodwill. Its chirp marks each chapter and reminds the characters what they have at stake.
The author
Charles Dickens
1812–1870 · English novelist
Charles Dickens was an English novelist born in Portsmouth in 1812. He lived in London and later at Gad’s Hill Place in Kent, where he died in 1870. His books include The Pickwick Papers (1836–1837), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1849–1850), and Great Expectations (1860–1861).
More by Charles Dickens
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