Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Sounds,30 Nov 2023,27 mins,

How the Dickens Stole Christmas

The Allusionist
Contains some strong language.

Available for 314 days

Charles Dickens wrote about the plight of the impoverished and destitute people in Britain. So how come his name is a synonym for rosy-cheeked, full-stomached, fattened-goose, hearty merry "God bless us every one" Christmas? Avery Trufelman and Katie Mingle of 99% Invisible report from the streets of Victorian London at the annual Dickens Christmas Fair in Daly City, California, while historian Greg Jenner explains the origins of the festive traditions for which Dickens gets the credit, without even wanting the credit - in fact, his motivation for writing A Christmas Carol was far from a cash-in on Christmas. Find out more about this episode and read the transcript at https://www.theallusionist.org/dickens-christmas

Programme Website
More episodes