Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
The Margaret R. Grundy Museum is proud to announce our Annual Victorian Holiday House. This year’s inspiration is “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. “A Christmas Carol” was written in 1842 and published in 1843, but has become a timeless story with its popularity continuing to this day.
While the story itself is set during the Christmas season, Dickens’ inspiration to write the book came from a far more serious and less joyous topic, child labor. According to the Charles Dickens Museum in London, Dickens was originally a journalist covering parliament. In 1842, the English Parliament published a report on the conditions of children working in local mines. Horrified by the report, Dickens was inclined to write a public response to help raise awareness, but decided that if he truly wanted people’s attention, he would need to capture it via something more palatable and memorable.
Thus, “A Christmas Carol” was born. In 6 short weeks, Dickens wrote a story that shed light on the greed of the elite class, the struggles of the working class, and the suffering of poor children as embodied by the character of Tiny Tim. The story was designed to call upon people to self-reflect, be mindful of the people around them, and change their ways to improve the lives of the less fortunate.
Although the beloved “A Christmas Carol” story has a dark origin, it stands as a beacon of hope that people can change and better the lives of those around them through charity and acts of kindness. It is this philanthropic mentality that was embodied through the Grundy Family’s life work to give back to their community and care for their workers in ways that were unprecedented during the Victorian Era. Please join us in celebrating the holiday season in Victorian fashion while also honoring the historical legacy of philanthropy that both Charles Dickens and the Grundy Family began. Happy Holidays!
