A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens with illustrations by John Leech, paperback, illustrated, unabridged edition, republishing of the original classic 1843 "A Christmas Carol" Christmas ghost story. "A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim.About the Author: Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.