Positively amazing story! Loved it! Gripping writing style.

Delightful story about ringing in the New Year with hope, compassion, and love instead of judgement, self-righteousness, and hate. Told in typical Dickens fashion with plenty of colorful and interesting characters, lots of sarcasm and snarky commentary on the human condition, and a touching picture of poverty and sacrifice.
The creepy goblin bells were a nice touch, but I felt so sorry for poor Trotty forced to watch as the people he loves sink lower in the world.
Great story, but not my fave.

This is my favorite of Dicken's Christmas stories so far! Not nearly as long-winded as he is apt to be, hilariously funny and witty, and very dramatic and surprising!
I loved seeing Dot and John so happy together. Tilly made me laugh my head off; she's so clumsy and ridiculous. The dear blind Bertha with her misconceptions of the world and her poor father are a sad and sweet couple of characters. I loved their story-line! And I liked how it is all tied together by the Cricket's magic of hearth and home.
Just a delightful little story!

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I did not like the last line where Dicken's basically says it was all a dream or something. Why ruin a great story like that?
Also I didn't like that Tackleton has a sudden change of heart at the end. That is totally unbelievable in his character. Far more likely that he really WOULD poison the cake, or at least make everyone miserable as much as he could. He was just jilted at the altar! You think he's in a generous, forgiving mood?!? Stupid ending.

This book was okay. It had some good funny bits about King Pellinore and the Questing Beast. The plot didn't seem to have a clear objective though, and the ending wasn't really an ending at all. The charm of novelty from the first book, Sword in the Stone, is gone and the storyline and characters in this book don't really hold up anymore.

I enjoyed this story so much! There are so many little tidbits of wit in Dickens' writing that are left out of any movie adaptation. I liked how each chapter is named a "stave", like a stanza in music, since it is a "carol".
I was weirded out by the descriptions of each ghost, especially the Ghost of Christmas Past. The ghost keeps changing form to have only one arm, then five arms, then 20 legs, then no legs. This is weirdness that I can't handle, but I am impressed with Dickens' bold imagination.
The story has me in the Christmas spirit!

Gerald is a young man who secures an appointment as secretary to the rich and flirtatious ambassador, Lord Illingworth. His mother objects to the moral character of his new employer, but can give no concrete reason without revealing her dark past. Gerald is determined to accept the post, because he is in love with a young American lady and needs the money to get married. Throughout the play, various rich and titled characters gossip about London high society, and flirt with each other, and say a lot of shameless nonsense.

One of the main reasons why I love Oscar Wilde's hilarious plays is the silly dialogue. The characters say such idiotic things, and it always makes me laugh. Almost the entire first act is fluff and character introductions, but it is such entertaining fluff that I didn't mind. Of course, the social commentary is an undercurrent that lies under every scene, exposing the rich elite as vapid, immoral, and selfish.

I really enjoyed the plot in this one, and the conflict that Gerald and his mother experience keeps the story moving forward. The last act gets more serious, and the drama is quite passionate.

I was intrigued by the main characters, and appreciated the gradual unveiling of their personalities. I was imagining their dialogue in my head as I read it, wondering how they would say the lines, and what their expression and body language would be. They are extremely vivid and lively even on paper!

This is one of my favorite of the Scarlet Pimpernel series!