A Dickens Christmas

Charles Dickens, long an avid theatre-goer and performer in amateur theatricals, gave his first public reading of A Christmas Carol in 1853. The charismatic author is said to have employed a different voice, a different style, for each of his characters, and he regularly appeared before audiences for the next sixteen years, charming audiences and critics alike. In 1867-68, Dickens brought his reading tour to the United States. This holiday season, the Library is celebrating with a special installation featuring Dickens’s heavily annotated prompt-copies—which he used in his performances—of A Christmas Carol and other holiday books, including The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth, together with original photographs, first editions, and ephemera.

November 15th, 2019 - January 5th, 2020 Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, McGraw Rotunda