Written and published in 1843, the year after Charles Dickens traveled through the United States, A Christmas Carol has proved to be one of his most popular and well read works. Although he wrote it originally with the hope of paying outstanding bills, the book (self-printed with an expensive binding) did not bring in as much money as he had hoped, and he was forced to move his family to Genoa. There, in the hot Italian summer, Dickens penned his second Christmas story, The Chimes . Today, few readers need introduction to the anti-hero Ebenezer Scrooge, his dastardly treatment of his employee and family, and his "ba-humbug" attitude towards Christmas-all changed by a nightmarish sleep of visions past, present, and future. This new edition, printed with the original John Leech illustrations, again reveals why this classic is so appealing.