Notes In The Margin

The following very interesting remark came across the Dickens mailing list this morning. I reproduce it in full, since I can't state it more clearly than Patrick did:

Friends of the Dickens Forum: We never cease marveling at the perennial, widespread popularity of Dickens, and--the point here--the variety and uncritical means people find to connect themselves, even profit by, the popularity. We were taken aback this morning by an item passed on to us by Harry Moskovitz, an assiduous Dickensian. Here is the notice: ---- The Man Who Invented Christmas, Being The True Story of How Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. Author Les Standiford will speak about his new book, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Being The True Story of How Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits. Publishers Weekly notes, "Standiford (The Last Train to Paradise) covers an impressive amount of ground, from the theological underpinnings of Christmas to Dickens's rocky relations with America, evolving copyright laws and an explanation of how A Christmas Carol became responsible for the slaughter of more turkeys than geese in the months of November and December." Host: _Henry Flagler Museum_ (http://www.flaglermuseum.com/) ------ Standiford, we learn elsewhere, is best known as a mystery writer, now alert to what the public will read about Dickens. In this instance he has pounced upon the often stated journalistic claim that Dickens invented Christmas. That David Parker published an excellent study of the claim in 2005, refuting it thoroughly, must be the inconvenient fact that Standiford would ignore. Parker's fine book is _Christmas and Charles Dickens_, published by AMS press and reviewed, with a measured quality of scholarly competence, in the _Dickens Quarterly_ of September, 2006 . The review may be read on the web by asking Google to find "David Parker and Dickens." Your editor, Patrick McCarthy Emeritus, UC Santa Barbara

Unfortunately, as later noted on the list, Parker's book "Christmas and Charles Dickens" is hard to come by, and tends to cost around $150. But if you're looking for Christmas gift ideas for me ...