The Cricket on the Hearth

Charles Dickens formalised his Christmas views in a series of little novels, the first of which was the renowned A Christmas Carol. Following that were four more: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. The five are now referred to as the Christmas Books. The title creature serves as a sort of compass for life at John Peerybingle's and his considerably younger wife Dot's house. When things are going well, the cricket on the hearth chirps; when things ...