Description
A CHRISTMAS CAROL, PRESENTED AND INSCRIBED BY DICKENS
DICKENS, Charles. A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being A Ghost Story of Christmas. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1855. 12mo, original gilt-stamped red cloth, all edges gilt. Housed in custom cloth chemise and morocco pull-off case.
Early edition of Dickens’ Christmas classic, an inscribed presentation copy, boldly signed and dated by Dickens on the half title: “Charles Dickens, August Twenty Fourth 1857.”
In January 1857 Dickens staged an amateur production of his friend Wilkie Collins’ play, The Frozen Deep, at his home Tavistock House, with friends and family playing the various parts. Dickens played the lead role of Richard Wardour, an Arctic explorer, who helplessly loves a woman but in the end sacrifices himself to save the life of a rival. When his friend Douglas Jerrold died in June that year, Dickens decided to perform the play Manchester as a part of a series of fund-raising events for Jerrold’s family. Because the hall was so massive, Dickens set out to find professional actresses capable of projecting their voices as to be heard in such a vast auditorium. He hired an established actress, Frances Ternan, and her two actress daughters, Maria and Ellen, for the production, and rehearsed on August 18th and 19th. The play was wildly successful its first two scheduled nights, August 21st and 22nd, so much so that Dickens extended it for a third night—August 24th.
Dickens later wrote of Maria’s performance, speaking of himself in the third person as his character Waldour, “but when she had to kneel over Wardour dying and be taken leave of the tears streamed out of her eyes into his mouth, down his beard, all over his rags—down his arms as he held her by the hair. At the same time she sobbed as if she were breaking her heart, and was quite convulsed with grief. It was of no use for the compassionate Waldour to whisper, ‘My dear child, it will be over in two minutes—there is nothing the matter—don’t be so distressed!’ She could only sob out, ‘Oh, it’s so sad, it’s so sad!’ and set Mr. Lemon [a founding editor of Punch, often present at Dickens’ performances] (the softest hearted of men) crying too. By the time the curtain fell, we were all crying together…I told her on the last night that I was sure she had one of the most genuine and feeling hearts in the world, and I don’t think I ever saw anything more prettily simple and unaffected.”
Although it is of Maria Ternan that Dickens writes, it is Ellen “Nelly” Ternan who truly caught his attention, and within weeks she and her family would become closely involved with Dickens. It was the beginning of a twelve-year intimate relationship with Nelly that would end only with the death of the author at the age of 58. Dickens biographer Peter Ackroyd noted “the effect of meeting Ellen marks the biggest watershed in Dickens’ life. He was one man before and another man after.” August 24, 1857—the date of his final performance with Ellen, as well as the date he inscribed this copy of A Christmas Carol—was of great personal significance to him. Dickens wrote to Wilkie Collins months later: “The domestic unhappiness remains so strong upon me that I can’t write, and (waking) can’t rest, one minute. I have never known a moment’s peace or content, since the last night of The Frozen Deep. I do suppose there was never a man so seized and rended by one spirit.” Dickens’ relationship with Ellen Ternan was so highly secretive (as he was still married, though separated, from his wife) that it was on account of it that he destroyed much of his correspondence in his later years. It was in both Dickens’ and Ellen’s interests that the relationship stay private, to protect both of their reputations. “Thirteenth Edition” noted on title page. First published in 1843 by Chapman and Hall. See Smith II:4. Gimbel A79. Eckel, 110-15. Bookplate removed from inside the front board at an earlier date.
Interior clean, some light wear and toning to cloth, gilt bright. Very good condition.
