Charles Dickens

A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year in

The Chimes

The story of Trotty Veck, a poor ticket porter, whose outlook is changed from despair to hope by the spirits of the chimes on New Year's Eve. Newly designed and typeset for modern readers by Waking Lion Press.

Vilandra

This is a short one, but I enjoyed it. Not as polished as a Christmas Carol but with those vibes.

Celeste Richardson

(Mini)Review now posted!

I know that Dickens has other Christmas stories besides A Christmas Carol, but I have never read any of his other offerings. That is, until this year. After looking at his other seasonal offerings, I settled on The Chimes, his New Year story. Man, was this sad. And dark. But thankfully it had a happy ending, which made reading it worthwhile.

Would the world be better without you in it? We’ve seen stories broach this topic numerous times, most famously in the quintessential Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Evidently, Dicken’s was one of the first to broach this question. I went into this story completely blind, so I was taken aback by the twist. The story mirrored A Christmas Carol in some ways, showing New Year’s Eves of the future if our main character wasn’t present in them. The scenes were darker, and their spirit guides more disturbing, than those of the story’s Christmas counterpart.

Even though this tale was a dark one, it had so much to say about how we view those less fortunate than ourselves. So often we forget to view people who have fallen on hard times as just that: people. They are no different than us except in the fact that they have to struggle more to obtain less than we’ve been blessed with. And as I stated earlier, there was a happy ending, which I was thankful for; because even in the midst of darkness and pain, there should always be hope. Isn’t that the promise that a new year brings?

For more of my reviews, as well as my own fiction and thoughts on life, check out my blog, Celestial Musings.

Barbara Williford

Tobby “Trotter” is a porter living in the 1840s in England. As a main in the poorer class of an economic hierarchy, he struggles with his self worth after meeting 4 horrid aristocrats who degrade the poor, blame the poor to society’s problems and declare they should be “put down.” As a result of this meeting, Tobby falls in a deep sleep where he believes he is actually dead and visited by spirits that help him see the future without him and what happens to his daughter and friends. When he awakens, he has a new heart for humanity and his future. The second in a Christmas series by Dickens. A must read! The Amazon audible is excellent.

Melody Izard

This has the ghostly feel of A Christmas Carol. There are ghosts and dire predictions that the poor can't possible be happy and they are doomed doomed doomed. But then it turns out to be a dream and lessons are learned and a fatty goose is cooked. 

I think I'm probably wrong about the fatty goose, but the atmosphere sure does have a happy uplift at the end of the book.

The Chimes A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year in