Picture London in the cold weeks before Christmas, 1843. A young writer of thirty one sits at his desk and dreams up a lonely old man, a door knocker that turns into a face, and a long night full of ghosts.
The little book he published that December became A Christmas Carol. Its ghosts rattle chains and point at gravestones, and yet the whole story ends with a man jumping out of bed on a bright morning, laughing like a child.
Tonight the streets fill with tiny ghosts and witches knocking on doors. So this Halloween Saturday, let me share my favorite ghost story of all. The one where the spirits come to set a heart free.
This is part of Timeless Authors, our daily series on the writers who change ordinary days. Last time we celebrated every hour as a miracle with Walt Whitman. Today Charles Dickens shows us how a heart can change in a single night.
Charles Dickens (1812 to 1870)
English novelist of kindness and second chances, the creator of Scrooge, Tiny Tim and David Copperfield.
The Teaching of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens taught that a heart can change in one night and that kindness is the real business of every life. His stories invite us to carry the lessons of our past, the gifts of our present and the hope of our future all at once. Warmth, memory and generosity were the heartbeat of his work.
I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 4 (1843)
Scrooge speaks these words at the darkest moment of the story, and they turn everything. He chooses to keep all three Spirits with him. You can make the same choice this morning, with your memories, your gifts and your hopes walking beside you.
In Their Own Words, Favorite and Lesser Known Quotes
These lines come from the first editions of A Christmas Carol (1843), The Haunted Man (1848) and David Copperfield (1850), all free to read on Wikisource.
A Change of Heart Can Arrive Overnight
The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 5 (1843)
I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 5 (1843)
One night was enough for Scrooge. Every sunrise offers you the same fresh start, light as a feather and ready for joy.
Kindness Is Your Real Business
Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 1 (1843)
Marley says this as a ghost, wishing he had seen it sooner. You get to live it today. Your work matters, and the people you meet along the way matter most of all.
Become a Good Friend to Your Whole World
He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 5 (1843)
Look at all that goodness in one sentence. Dickens shows us the real reward of a changed heart. A friend, a neighbor and a person the whole city is glad to know.
Be the Hero of Your Own Life
Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, Chapter 1 (1850)
This is the very first line of the novel Dickens drew from his own early years. Your pages are still being written, and today you hold the pen.
Keep Your Memory Green
Lord! keep my memory green!
Charles Dickens, The Haunted Man, Chapter 1 (1848)
Come in! and know me better, man!
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 3 (1843)
The first line is an old prayer written beneath a portrait in The Haunted Man. The second is the jolly Ghost of Christmas Present welcoming Scrooge in. Keep your memories close and fresh, and keep opening the door to the people who want to know you better.
Who Was Charles Dickens?
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, England. When he was a boy, his father was sent to prison for debt, and young Charles was taken from school and put to work in a factory. Those hard months stayed with him for life, and they filled his books with compassion for children and for the poor.
He began as a reporter and found sudden fame with The Pickwick Papers. Over the following decades came Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.
A Christmas Carol was the first of his Christmas books, short stories that helped him write with greater focus. David Copperfield, the most personal of his novels, drew on his own early years.
Dickens died on June 9, 1870, at Gad’s Hill, near Chatham in Kent, at the age of 58. You can read more in the Britannica biography of Charles Dickens.
What a Change of Heart Really Means
We often picture change as a long, slow climb. Dickens offers a sweeter picture. Change can begin the moment you see your life clearly and choose love. Scrooge kept his name, his house and his past, and still woke up a new man.
So instead of asking, why am I still the same person I was yesterday, try asking, what one kind thing would the new me do this morning?
If you love fresh starts, you might enjoy every age is the right age to begin and our list of 50 things to brighten up your day.
Why This Teaching Fits Today
It is Halloween Saturday, the one day a year when ghosts feel friendly. Dickens gives that spooky fun a gentle purpose. Every ghost in A Christmas Carol arrives to help.
Saturday also gives you room to breathe. Use this slow morning to visit your past with kindness, enjoy your present and dream about your future, the way Scrooge did in his one long night.
Your Morning Practice, the Three Spirits Practice
- Visit your past. Spend one minute with a kind memory from your past and let it warm you.
- Greet your present. Look around the room and name three gifts sitting right here today.
- Picture your future. Imagine the person you hope to be a year from now and feel their gladness.
- Choose one kindness. Pick one person who could use a lift today and decide how you will brighten their day.
- Say it out loud. Read the line I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future, and carry it into your morning.
Make it automatic with an if then plan. If I pour my first cup of coffee on Saturday, then I will spend five minutes with my three Spirits.
Essential Reading
- A Christmas Carol (1843), the ghost story of a changed heart, free on Wikisource.
- David Copperfield (1850), the novel closest to his own life, free on Wikisource.
- The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (1848), a Christmas ghost story about the gift of memory.
- Charles Dickens on Project Gutenberg, nearly every book he wrote, free to read and download.
Quick Answers About Charles Dickens
Who was Charles Dickens?
Charles Dickens (1812 to 1870) was an English novelist born in Portsmouth. He wrote A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, and he remains one of the most loved storytellers in the English language.
What is A Christmas Carol about?
A Christmas Carol (1843) follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a cold and lonely man who is visited by the ghost of his partner Marley and three Spirits in a single night. He wakes on Christmas morning with a changed heart and becomes a generous friend to everyone around him.
What does Lord, keep my memory green mean?
It is a prayer from The Haunted Man (1848), a Dickens ghost story. To keep a memory green is to keep it alive and fresh, and the story celebrates how our memories, the tender ones and the hard ones, help us stay gentle and kind.
Why read Dickens on Halloween?
Dickens loved a good ghost story, and his most famous ghosts arrive to help. A Christmas Carol is a tale of spirits that ends in joy, which makes it a perfect companion for a spooky Saturday.
Where can I read Charles Dickens for free?
His works are in the public domain. You can read A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield and The Haunted Man on Wikisource, and nearly all of his books are free on Project Gutenberg.
A Brighter Morning After the Long Night
Picture Scrooge again, throwing open his window on a bright cold morning and calling down to a boy in the street. The ghosts are gone and the whole day belongs to him. This morning belongs to you in the very same way.
I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Stave 4 (1843)
Which kind memory from your past will you carry into today?
Start early. Start kindly. Start today.
Complement this with Walt Whitman on Wonder and the Open Road, Emerson on Self Reliance and Every Age Is the Right Age to Begin.
Want a calm, intentional start every day? Hold Until Sunrise is our little app for mornings that matter.
For a little goodness in your inbox every Sunday, join us here.
With love, Paolo
Sources
- A Christmas Carol (1843), Wikisource
- A Christmas Carol, Stave 1
- A Christmas Carol, Stave 3
- A Christmas Carol, Stave 4
- A Christmas Carol, Stave 5
- David Copperfield (1850), Chapter 1, Wikisource
- The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (1848), Chapter 1, Wikisource
- Charles Dickens, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Charles Dickens, Project Gutenberg
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Carry this into tomorrow morning
The practice in this post lives in an app we built, Hold Until Sunrise. Your alarm becomes a moment of stillness. You hold your phone, rest with one affirmation, and let the sunrise welcome you into the day. Begin tomorrow gently and on your own terms. Find it on the App Store here.