Take this quiz about a beloved seasonal tale.

Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol was a groundbreaking work in many ways. Can you answer these questions about it?

Multiple choice.

1. What did historian Thomas Carlyle do after reading A Christmas Carol?
   
   • Give all his money to charity.
   • Write a sharply-worded letter to the Times.
   • Go out and buy a turkey.
   • Write his own Christmas tale.
2. Dickens based A Christmas Carol on another story he had written. Which one?
   
   • 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'
   • 'The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton'
   • 'Nicholas Nickleby'
   • 'How Mr. Winkle, When He Stepped out of the Frying-Pan, Walked Gently and Comfortably into the Fire'
3. Where did Dickens work out his plots?
   
   • In busy train stations, it helped him think.
   • Quietly, in his study.
   • On very long walks – 15-20 miles.
   • While dozing in church.
4. Dickens sued Parley's Illustrated Library for pirating (plagiarising) A Christmas Carol. How did Parley's react?
   
   • They paid up promptly.
   • They claimed their story was better.
   • They offered Dickens a 10-book deal.
   • They did a Donald Trump and declared bankruptcy.
5. A Christmas Carol became a New York City musical right away. (No word on whether the songs included the lyric about 'razzleberry dressing'.) On the opening night, why couldn't the audience hear the bass drum when Marley's ghost came out of the trapdoor?
   
   • There was too much applause.
   • The audience was fighting.
   • The theatre caught fire at the same time.
   • There were fireworks outside.
6. Dickens gave readings of A Christmas Carol to packed houses, but some people disapproved. Why?
   
   • They thought he wasn't very good at it.
   • They thought it was undignified for an author to give public performances for money.
   • They thought A Christmas Carol was unchristian.
   • They objected to the working class hearing 'literature'.
7. Dickens had a performance regimen to keep his voice up – after all, the readings took three hours. What did he always drink during the interval?
   
   • A cup of Darjeeling.
   • A glass of sherry.
   • Two shots of whiskey.
   • A cup of beef tea.
8. Dickens always read in front of large screens. Why?
   
   • To distract the audience from his odd looks.
   • To add colour to the performance.
   • To project the sound in the days before microphones.
   • To provide better lighting to read by.
9. Audiences really enjoyed Dickens's performances. What had he invented?
   
   • The sing-a-long: the audience sang all the songs.
   • The one-man show: Dickens played all the parts.
   • The quick-change: Dickens wore a lot of costumes.
   • The call-and-response: the audience talked back a lot.
10. What was remarkable about Dickens's performance of 15 March 1870?
    
    • It was his last performance: he died three months later.
    • It was his birthday: the audience gave him flowers.
    • It was attended by Queen Victoria.
    • It was attended by the Ninth Doctor.

Those probably didn't stump you, but you can check your knowledge of this memorable story by clicking the picture for answers.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

19.12.16 Front Page

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