Summary
Summary of A Christmas Carol
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A ghost story about human responsibility
Ebenezer Scrooge is an old London moneylender who hates Christmas and loves his wealth. On Christmas Eve, visitors from beyond the grave arrive with a chance to change the way he sees his life. His private habits become the starting point for a larger question: what do people owe one another?
Charles Dickens brings together a lonely man, the poverty of English cities and the possibilities of Christmas. The ghosts matter not simply because they frighten, but because they make Scrooge look beyond himself.
Key idea 2
Scrooge keeps warmth and kindness outside
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Key idea 3
Marley carries the weight of neglect
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Key idea 4
The past reveals choices behind coldness
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Key idea 5
Other people's Christmas exposes his blindness
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Key idea 6
Wealth matters through what it gives
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Key idea 7
Warmth and humor carry the warning
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Key idea 8
Change begins with seeing other people
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love ghost stories with real feeling, humor and a social conscience, and anyone who knows Scrooge only from films.
What this book is
A Christmas Carol is a short novel by Charles Dickens, first published in London in December 1843. Dickens wrote it quickly, in a year when he was worried about money and angry about the poverty he saw in English cities. He called it a ghost story of Christmas, and it is told in five chapters that he named staves, like the verses of a song.
The book follows Ebenezer Scrooge, an old London moneylender who hates Christmas and loves only his wealth. On Christmas Eve, four visitors from beyond the grave arrive to change his night and, perhaps, his life. You get a sharp portrait of a lonely man, a vivid picture of Victorian London, and a story about what we owe to the people around us. Let us begin with Scrooge himself, and the cold office where he spends his days.
In this summary
- 1Scrooge counts coins and scorns ChristmasFree
- 2A dead partner arrives with a warning
- 3The Ghost of Christmas Past shows him himself
- 4The Ghost of Christmas Present opens his eyes
- 5What the story says about money and kindness
- 6How Dickens tells the tale
Key point 1 of 6
Scrooge counts coins and scorns Christmas
The story opens with a blunt fact. Jacob Marley, Scrooge's business partner, has been dead for seven years. Scrooge still runs the firm of Scrooge and Marley from a gloomy counting house in London, and he has never bothered to change the sign. Dickens describes him as a tight, grasping, clutching old sinner, cold enough to chill his own office in the middle of winter.
It is Christmas Eve, and Scrooge keeps a tiny fire for his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who copies letters at a low desk. Scrooge keeps the coal box in his own room, and he threatens to dismiss Bob if he comes in to add more coal. Bob wraps his white scarf around his neck and tries to warm himself at the candle, with little success.
Then Scrooge's nephew Fred bursts in, red-cheeked and cheerful, to wish him a merry Christmas and invite him to dinner. Scrooge answers with his best-known sneer, Bah, humbug. He tells Fred that Christmas is a time for finding yourself a year older and not an hour richer. Fred refuses to be offended, and he leaves with kind words even for the clerk.
Next come two gentlemen collecting money to feed and warm the poor at the season of the year when want is keenly felt. Scrooge asks whether the prisons and workhouses still exist, and says that if the poor would rather die, they had better do it and reduce the surplus population. Reluctantly, he gives Bob the day off, and grumbles home to his dark rooms. Dickens has shown us a man who has built a wall around himself, and the rest of the book is about what happens when that wall is tested.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
Why does Marley wear a heavy chain?
Right. “Marley explains that the chain is one he forged in life, link by link, through his own choices.”Not quite. “Marley explains that the chain is one he forged in life, link by link, through his own choices.”
What does the journey into Scrooge's past reveal?
Right. “He turned that way, one decision at a time.”Not quite. “He turned that way, one decision at a time.”
What does the story suggest wealth is for?
Right. “The central idea of the book is that wealth is a trust and not a prize to be hoarded.”Not quite. “The central idea of the book is that wealth is a trust and not a prize to be hoarded.”
Who’s who
- Ebenezer Scrooge
- A cold London moneylender, Scrooge employs Bob Cratchit and rejects his nephew Fred's invitations to celebrate Christmas.
- Jacob Marley
- Scrooge's dead business partner returns as a chained ghost to warn him about the burden of greed.
- Bob Cratchit
- Scrooge's poorly paid clerk is a gentle father who maintains good humor despite his family's poverty.
- Tiny Tim
- Bob Cratchit's youngest child is a cheerful, frail boy whose warmth brings joy to his family.
- Fred
- Scrooge's good-natured nephew repeatedly invites his solitary uncle to share Christmas dinner despite his refusals.
- Ghost of Christmas Past
- A glowing spirit guides Scrooge through memories of his earlier life and the relationships that shaped him.
- Ghost of Christmas Present
- A cheerful giant in green robes shows Scrooge how the people around him celebrate Christmas.
- Fezziwig
- Scrooge's former master is a warm-hearted merchant who celebrates Christmas with his apprentices and other workers.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 30,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about A Christmas Carol
What is A Christmas Carol about?
It tells of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly London businessman who hates Christmas. On Christmas Eve, his dead partner and three spirits visit him to show him his past, his present and a possible future.
Who are the three ghosts in A Christmas Carol?
They are the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Jacob Marley's ghost comes first, to warn Scrooge that the three spirits will follow.
When was A Christmas Carol written and is it a true story?
Dickens published it in December 1843. It is fiction, but it draws on real Victorian London, including child poverty, workhouses and the hard lives of clerks, which Dickens wanted his readers to notice.
Is A Christmas Carol hard to read?
No. It is short and divided into five staves. The story is clear, funny and fast, and easy to follow even by ear.
What is the main message of A Christmas Carol?
The book argues that wealth should serve people, that kindness and generosity bring real happiness, and that a person can change at any age. It also asks readers to care for the poor.
