The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cricket on the Hearth, by Charles Dickens

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Title: The Cricket on the Hearth

Author: Charles Dickens

Illustrator: George Alfred Williams

Release Date: March 10, 2007 [EBook #20795]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Transcriber's note: Italic sections are surrounded by underscores (_).]

THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH
By CHARLES DICKENS

ILLUSTRATED BY
GEORGE ALFRED WILLIAMS

New York
THE PLATT & PECK CO.

Copyright, 1905, by THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY

INTRODUCTION

The combined qualities of the realist and the idealist which Dickens
possessed to a remarkable degree, together with his naturally jovial
attitude toward life in general, seem to have given him a remarkably
happy feeling toward Christmas, though the privations and hardships of
his boyhood could have allowed him but little real experience with this
day of days.

Dickens gave his first formal expression to his Christmas thoughts in
his series of small books, the first of which was the famous "Christmas
Carol," the one perfect chrysolite. The success of the book was
immediate. Thackeray wrote of it: "Who can listen to objections
regarding such a book as this? It seems to me a national benefit, and to
every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness."

This volume was put forth in a very attractive manner, with
illustrations by John Leech, who was the first artist to make these
characters live, and his drawings were varied and spirited.

There followed upon this four others: "The Chimes," "The Cricket on the
Hearth," "The Battle of Life," and "The Haunted Man," with illustrations
on their first appearance by Doyle, Maclise, and others. The five are
known to-day as the "Christmas Books." Of them all the "Carol" is the
best known and loved, and "The Cricket on the Hearth," although third in
the series, is perhaps next in point of popularity, and is especially
familiar to Americans through Joseph Jefferson's characterisation of
Caleb