With illustrations by Edward Landseer Daniel Maclise Clarkson Stanfield Frank Stone Richard Doyle John Leech & John Tenniel & with a new Introduction by Cedric Watts Research Professor of English University of Sussex In these five long stories written specifically for Christmas Dickens combines his concern for social ills with the myths & memories of childhood & traditional seasonal lore A Christmas Carol the first of the selection has become a touchstone of English festive fiction & an enduring favourite internationally Repeatedly adapted parodied staged & filmed this richly influential tale is powerfully vivid & moving The other stories The Chimes The Cricket on the Hearth The Battle of Life & The Haunted Man blend whimsy sentiment comedy satire the didactic & the fantastic developing resourcefully the theme of individual & social regeneration