A Christmas Carol 2 ~ Review

A Christmas Carol 2
The Return of Scrooge
Original Long-lost Manuscript by Charles Dickens
Revised by Robert J. Elisberg

Imagine that Charles Dickens had written a follow-up to his ever popular A Christmas Carol?  Well, imagine no longer - Robert J. Elisberg claims to have found just such a manuscript lost for years to the publishing world, but no longer.

A Christmas Carol 2 is the seasonal visitation of 3 spirits not to Ebenezer Scrooge but rather to his former clerk Bob Cratchit who took over the business upon Scrooge's death 5 years previous.  But Cratchit's generosity has just about run its course as he is about to find out with his unique Christmas visitors - the first of whom is Scrooge himself.

Scrooge has come to inform Bob that he is to expect 3 ghostly spirits who will show him the error of his generous ways.  In 5 years following Scrooge's death Bob has managed to bring the counting house to the very verge of bankruptcy and worse he has no idea that he is so close to going over.

Various characters from other works by Dickens take part throughout the book including Oliver Twist, Martin Chuzzlewit, Florence Dombey, Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit, and others.  So fans of any of Dickens's work should find it interesting to see how these characters all come together to bring this imaginative work to life.  Unlike Scrooge, Cratchit isn't visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, or Yet-To-Come but some of the various characters some of whom are decidedly put out having to be "working" on Christmas.

But through it all Bob Cratchit learns the value of the dollar (or in this case a bank note) and the importance of good business practices.  He also learns that charity is important but there are ways to extend the value of that charity.

If you want a short light-hearted fun story be sure to check-out Charles Dickens's long lost A Christmas Carol 2 (which the publisher doesn't guarantee as being written by Dickens).

I was provided a copy of this book in conjunction with this Pump-Up Your Book blog tour in exchange for my honest review.

Book Synopsis:

A Christmas Carol 2: The Return of Scrooge is a continuation of the beloved Christmas tale, that quickly goes flying off in its own comic direction. It begins five years after dear old Ebenezer Scrooge has passed away and left his thriving firm to his former clerk, Bob Cratchit. However, Bob’s overly-generous benevolence with lending and charity-giving has driven the company into the ground, on the verge of bankruptcy. And so the ghost of Scrooge returns one Christmas Eve to teach Cratchit the true meaning of money. Making the swirling journey through Christmases past, present, and yet-to-be all the more of a chaotic ride for Cratchit are the dozens of characters from other Dickens novels woven throughout the story, together for the first time. God bless them, most everyone.

Author Bio:

Robert J. Elisberg has been a commentator and contributor to such publications as the Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, C/NET and E! Online, and he served on the editorial board for the Writers Guild of America. He has contributed political writing to the anthology, Clued in on Politics, 3rd edition (CQ Press).

Among his other writing, Elisberg wrote the comic novella, A Christmas Carol 2: The Return of Scrooge, which reached #2 on Amazon’s Hot List for Humor/Parody. His most recent novel is the swashbuckling adventure, The Wild Roses. He co-wrote a book on world travel. Currently, he writes a tech column for the Writers Guild of America, west. He also co-wrote the song, “Just One of the Girls” for the Showtime movie Wharf Rat, and wrote the book for the stage musical Rapunzel!.

Born in Chicago, he attended Northwestern University and received his MFA from UCLA, where he was twice awarded the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. Not long afterwards, Elisberg sold his screenplay, Harry Warren of the Mounties. He was on staff of the international animated series, Flute Master, and co-wrote three of the Skateboy films based on it. He also co-wrote the independent film, Yard Sale. Most recently, he wrote an adventure screenplay for Callahan Filmworks.