A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’s inspiring classic, is a favorite all over the world, especially during the holiday season. On Nov. 28, Asbury English Professor Devin Brown published a new edition of Dickens’s masterpiece that will help readers, especially younger ones, understand and enjoy it even more.
“I have always been a big fan of Dickens,” Professor Brown said, “and especially of what I consider his greatest work, A Christmas Carol.”
This novel is a ghost story, a Christmas story and a redemption story all in one.
“It has a plot everyone can understand, but, as I found, there are many elements that might confuse readers today — words we no longer use, names that have been forgotten over time, and allusions American readers won’t get,” Brown said.
Brown was afraid that young readers might struggle with some of the topics and the vocabulary used, so he wanted to provide readers with the information needed to comprehend better what Dickens was saying.
“My hope was to create a version of the story to help readers better understand and so better enjoy this timeless classic,” Brown said.
A Christmas Carol: Annotated for Teen and Middle-Grade Readers was published by Owl’s Nest Publishers. Owl’s Nest is releasing a series of Owl’s Nest Classics to better connect beloved novels to the younger generations. A Christmas Carol is the second edited novel in this series after Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, annotated by Katie Stewart.
“Owl’s Nest Classics are reprints of public domain books that fit the mission of the publishing house: stories that capture the imagination of teen and middle grade readers,” Owl’s Nest Publishers stated. “These are not rewritten, revised, or abridged works, but classic stories presented in full along with introductions, text notes, and discussion questions that are specially crafted to speak to young readers. We believe that, with a little love and expert guidance, the classics of yesterday will always be accessible to the adolescents of today.”
According to Brown, A Christmas Carol speaks to everyone, young and old, as it is a story about, “our fears, our need to be connected to others, our tendency to get off track, and the never-ending possibility to start over.”
In his story about a rich but miserly man who discovers the true meaning of Christmas, Dickens makes each of our lives a bit richer. Dr. Brown’s editing on this new edition helps readers to more fully appreciate the novel’s timeless message about redemption and second chances.