Saturday, 11 September 2021

THE BEST CHRISTMAS STORIES – CHRISTMAS NOVELLA # 5 - The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain

 

The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time

 

The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time was written by Charles Dickens.

It’s perhaps more often known as The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain or even just as The Haunted Man.

It was the fifth and final Christmas novella and was first published in 1848.

It is more a story about the spirit of Christmas than about Christmas itself, in the same style as A Christmas Carol, the first in the series of Christmas books.

But instead of Ebeneezer Scrrooge the story centers on a Professor Redlaw and those close to him.

Redlaw, a teacher of chemistry is an embittered man who often broods over wrongs done him and grief from his past life.

He is haunted by a spirit, who takes away all of his grief and sorrows but without them he develops uncontrollable anger and bitterness as he interacts with those from in his sphere.

The moral of the tale is that you have to remember past sorrows and wrongs done to you and forgive those responsible.

The novel concludes with everyone back to normal and Redlaw, like Ebenezer, a changed man.

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