Book
Description
Charles Dickens's other Christmas
classic, with a new introduction by Dickens's
great-great-grandson, Gerald Charles Dickens.
Charles Dickens wrote The Life of Our Lord during
the years 1846-1849, just about the time he was completing David
Copperfield. In this charming, simple retelling of the
life of Jesus Christ, adapted from the Gospel of St. Luke,
Dickens hoped to teach his young children about religion and
faith. Since he wrote it exclusively for his children,
Dickens refused to allow publication.
For eighty-five years the manuscript was guarded as a
precious family secret, and it was handed down from one
relative to the next. When Dickens died in 1870, it was left
to his sister-in-law, Georgina Hogarth. From there it fell to
Dickens's son, Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, with the
admonition that it should not be published while any child of
Dickens lived.
Just before the 1933 holidays, Sir Henry, then the only
living child of Dickens, died, leaving his father's
manuscript to his wife and children. He also bequeathed to
them the right to make the decision to publish The Life of
Our Lord. By majority vote, Sir Henry's widow and
children decided to publish the book in London. In 1934,
Simon & Schuster published the first American edition,
which became one of the year's biggest bestsellers.
