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Outline...
Ebeneezer Scrooge was the mean spirited miser in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. This short story sets out to examine why the young Ebeneezer came to despise Christmas.
My Review...(spoiler alert)
The author has given us a little pre Christmas taster with this mini investigation into the origins of Scrooge. It's an appetite whetter for the many Dickens fans. This is a solid tale, competently told which is both the strength and weakness of this short story (14 pages.)
A short story often gives a view from a different perspective or a twist in the tale and I feel this story does to a certain degree but it could have gone a little further. The revelation that Ebeneezer hates Christmas because he had a traumatic Christmas in his younger days, I think would not be a surprise to most people.
Perhaps if the story was in the first person perspective from his mother, father or sister's viewpoint or if we drilled down into the 5 whys of his fathers alcoholic bullying it may have been elevated even more.
A Christmas past is the first in an annual serial. Look out for part two at Christmas 2021
The author has a very good knowledge of the characters of A Christmas Carol alongside an excellent command of language. His chosen setting of Scrooge's youth is one that is ripe for investigation. Clearly he has all the tools to build a interesting tale. I just feel he could have gone deeper or come at it from a differing standpoint.
About the author...
John Trotter is a lifelong Newcastle United FC fan from Hexham and regular contributor to https://twitter.com/game_ne1 . He is currently based in Lancaster.
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