On this day 180 years ago Charles Dickens gave his first public reading of A Christmas Carol. Just two days after Christmas, around 2,000 people gave the author their rapt attention, not to mention frequent applause.
Published on 19 December 1843, it had already sold 5,000 copies by Christmas Eve. It has never been out of print since and is credited with reviving the Christian holiday of Christmas in the Anglo world.
An anecdote from a Dickens biography tells the story of a London barrow-girl who was overheard exclaiming on 9 June 1870 after hearing of the death of the author: “Dickens dead?! Then will Father Christmas die too?”
