by L G Rollins
~I gave Scrooge’s niece the name Helena because it means “light” or “joyful.” Also, in Dickens’s story, Fred’s wife “played properly upon the harp; and played amongst other tunes a simple little air.” For this reason, I have Helena playing the harp in this story. Another character trait I took from Dickens’s Fred and gave to Helena is Fred’s insistence that there is good in his Uncle. Fred never stops believing that Scrooge can still be happy and generous again one day.
~Fred is the name of Scrooge’s nephew in Dickens’s story. I wanted to keep the name, so that’s how Lord Chapman got his first name.
~Topper comes directly from Dickens’s story. We don’t know much about him other than his name and that he is quite in love with the sister of Fred’s wife. In this book, I kept both Topper and the sister; I only made her Lord Chapman’s sister, instead of Helena’s. Moreover, Topper gifting the sister a necklace and a ring also comes straight from the book. I feel it’s unclear in Dickens’s book if the ring is meant as an engagement ring or not, but it is clear that Topper is completely taken with the sister and doesn’t care to be a bachelor any longer.
~Once more, there are Mr. Marley and Mr. Scrooge in this story. However, since there is still a book to come, I will hold off, yet again, from saying more here.
Scenes:
~Much of Scrooge’s time with the Ghost of Christmas Present is spent at his nephew’s Christmas party. It’s there, among friends, music, and laughter, that Scrooge begins to remember the joy of life. This inspired me to place The Joy of Christmas Present at a house party.
~More still, it’s the many times that music is mentioned in Dickens’s book that caused me to bring it up many times in this one. Speaking of Scrooge’s nephew, Dickens writes:
“For they were a musical family, and knew what they were about, when they sung a Glee or Catch . . . especially Topper, who could growl away in the bass like a good one . . .”
As an aside, a Catch is similar to a round, where one person starts and then others join in later.
~When Helena visits her Uncle Scrooge on Christmas Eve night, I built the scene based on a couple of different lines in Dickens’s story (both taken from during the time of the second spirit). The first is “. . .there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour;” and the second, “[Scrooge] begged like a boy to be allowed to stay until the guests departed . . . ‘Here is a new game’ said Scrooge. ‘One half hour, Spirit, only one!’” Dickens even mentions them playing Yes and No, which is why I have Helena, Mary, and Jim play it with Scrooge.
~One of the main themes I wanted to pull from Scrooge’s time with the Ghost of Christmas Present is captured well in a conversation Scrooge has with the Spirit near the end:
“‘Are spirits’ live so short?’ asked Scrooge.
“‘My life upon this globe, is very brief,' replied the Ghost. ‘It ends tonight.’”
I believe one of the best things we can learn from this second spirit is that we all live on this earth but briefly, and so we must make the most of it. It is an inescapable part of life that situations in which we might do good come and go—and once they’re gone those opportunities are no longer available. The death of Helena’s father and the change in her situation helped her to realize how fleeting life can be. When we see someone in need, it is best to act quickly.
~As Scrooge is traveling with the Ghost of Christmas Present, they come across a miner, a lighthouse keeper, and a captain at sea. Though in Dickens’s story the three men are not together, I chose to make them friends and have them meet with Lord Chapman in a local pub. In Dickens’s story, these three men serve to help Scrooge see that, no matter one’s situation, there is joy to be had. I tried to echo that idea in having my miner, lighthouse keeper, and captain remind Lord Chapman that, though he has messed up, not all hope is lost.
~Probably the easiest scene to identify as being inspired by Dickens’s story is where Helena hides Mary and Jim beneath the greatcoat she is wearing. These two children, cold and dressed in rags, serve to remind us that there are people struggling all around, and, at Christmas especially, we need to reach out and help.
~When Scrooge snuffs out the light of the Ghost of Christmas Past, he finds himself back in his bedchamber. He has a moment to himself, a moment of contemplation before the second Spirit appears. He is not afforded such a reprieve before the third. On the heels of the second Spirit’s chastisement and immediate disappearance, Scrooge “looked about him . . . and lifting up his eyes, beheld a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, toward him.” Similarly, in this story, I have Helena, Mary, Jim, and Lord Chapman see the third and final visitor coming to see Scrooge on Christmas Eve, a man dressed all in black whose face is hidden from view.
Phrases:
There are so many wonderful lines in Charles Dickens’s story, I could not help but include several in my own. Some I used verbatim, others I changed slightly to more smoothly fit into the scene. It is my hope that in doing so, readers can better see how this story follows the spirit of the original.
~”’What right have you to be merry? What reasons have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.’
“‘Come, then,’ returned the nephew gaily. ‘What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.’”
“Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, ‘Bah!’ again; and followed it up with ‘Humbug.’”
Echo: When her Uncle Scrooge brings up, yet again, how poor Helena must be with no father to provide for her, she pushes back saying if she has no reason to be merry, he must have every reason available.
~”Keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.” Scrooge; to his nephew, Fred, on Christmas Eve before any of his ghostly visitors appear.
Echo: The first time Helena meets with her Uncle Scrooge, she points out that he doesn’t keep Christmas at all.
~”Because I fell in love.” Fred; in response to Uncle Scrooge’s question of why Fred got married.
Echo: Scrooge poses the same question to Lord Chapman and he responds with the simple straightforward answer, “Because I fell in love.”
~“There is. My own.” The Ghost of Christmas Present; when Scrooge asks him, “Is there a peculiar flavour in what you sprinkle from your torch?”
Echo: Lord Chapman encourages Helena to help others in her own way, and not worry about how someone else may have done it.
~”Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.” Bob Cratchit; speaking with his wife.
Echo: I have my Bob Cratchit tell Mary and Jim of Tim’s unusual musings.
~“One half hour, Spirit, only one!” Scrooge; when the Ghost of Christmas Present tells him it’s time to leave.
Echo: When Helena tells Mary and Jim it’s time to go, Scrooge objects.
~”Spirit, are they yours?” Scrooge; to the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Echo: Helena brings two children in to Scrooge’s office, beneath a greatcoat, and he asks the same.
~”This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both . . . but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom . . .” The Ghost of Christmas Present; to Scrooge when talking of the children beneath his robe.
Echo: When Helena speaks with Mary after meeting Jim for the first time, Mary acknowledges that while both her and her brother’s plights are bad, his is worse than her own, for he lacks more in education.
~”Are there no prisons? . . . Are there no workhouses?” The Ghost of Christmas Present; to Scrooge by way of chastisement.
Echo: While these two options were where most orphaned children ended up, Mary admits she is desperate to avoid both.
Discussion Questions
Most of the individuals the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge are not wealthy. They are miners, lighthouse keepers, sailors, and even the Cratchit family. Yet, they all have a very merry Christmas. In a world that keeps trying to persuade us that Christmas joy is found in material comforts, what have you found helps you stay focused on the non-material aspects of Christmas?
The Ghost of Christmas Present has two children hidden beneath his robe. What symbolism do you see in him having the children within his robe, instead of, say, him simply pointing out two children on the street? What might Dickens have been trying to say?
Continuing with the two children, the Ghost of Christmas Present labels them Ignorance and Want. Moreover, he says the worse situation is Ignorance. Of all the struggles someone might face, why do you think Dickens may have chosen Ignorance and Want to draw Scrooge’s attention to? Why does Dickens say that Ignorance is worse than Want?
Though the visit of the second Spirit is mostly one of joyful celebration, it becomes clear near the end of his visit that the Ghost of Christmas Present is not naive nor unaware of the suffering of many. Why, then, does he spend so much time showing Scrooge happiness and cheerful celebrations? One might argue that it would have been better for Scrooge to have a healthy dose of “reality;” to spend more time thinking of the dark, harsh lives so many face. So why might Dickens have written about a Spirit who spent much of his brief time on the earth convincing a miserly old man that there is still happiness to be found?
When life gets hard for you, how do you focus on the positive? How do you find joy again and reasons to stay cheerful?
He’s been waiting months for her to finally notice him.
Except suddenly, he’s not the only one vying for her hand.
Download the short story for free at:
www.LGRollins.com
Also by L. G. Rollins
Lockhart Regency Romance
Courting Miss Penelope—available at LGRollins.com
Wager for a Lady’s Hand
Lily for my Enemy
A Heart in the Balance
A Farewell Kiss
A Well-Kept Promise
A Dickens of a Christmas
The Hope of Christmas Past
The Joy of Christmas Present
The Peace of Christmas Yet to Come
Acknowledgments
No book is ever written without much encouragement and support from any number of people. I am forever thankful to my husband and children, as their patience and love is the reason I get to do this.
Special thanks go to my writing groups, for their advice and help. Also to Jenny Proctor and Emily Poole; without your suggestions and edits this book would not have been half so good.
Lastly, thanks to my Father in Heaven, for giving me a beautiful life and the opportunity to create.
About the Author
L. G. Rollins has always loved a heart-melting happily ever after. It didn’t matter if the story took place in Regency England, in outer space, beneath the Earth’s crust, or in a cobbler’s shop, if there was a sweet romance, she would read it.
Life has given her many of her own adventures. Currently she lives in the Rocky Mountains with her best-friend, who is also her husband, and their four beautiful children. She still loves to read books and more books; her favorite types of music are classical, Broadway, and country; she’d rather be hiking the mountains than twiddling her thumbs on the beach; and she’s been known to debate with her oldest son over whether Infinity is better categorized as a number or an idea.
You can learn more about her and her books, as well as pick up a couple free stories, at:
www.LGRollins.com
