Charles Dickens and the New World
I have a set of books by Charles Dickens, including the celebrated, 'Christmas Stories,' which includes the famous 'Christmas Carol' as the first short-story in the volume.
The set was bound and sold while Mr. Dickens was still alive, about three years before his death in 1870. It's almost a certainty that he benefited from the sales at the end of his days, so it's a bit more pleasurable to read through the novella this time of year.
I was carefully flipping through the book today, for some reason, one of the countless times I've looked inside for some remnant from the past... and I found one!
I found a tiny clipping from some old newspaper remarking on Charles Dickens and his potential impact in the United States, in the 'New World'.
It reads:
We should like to have reminded readers of much that for thirty years past has moved the world to laughter or to tears, But, besides that this is beyond our scope, we think that it is as a moral and social reformer that Charles Dickens will meet with the highest honors in the New World. He will find that the great blot upon our escutcheon has been wiped out as an expense of blood and treasure which shows how terribly in earnest the Anglo-Saxon race is when they think they are battling for the right. As one of that race, the fearless denouncer of so many prevalent wrongs, as Mr Dickens has been, will always receive a cordial welcome from an American audience.
Neat!
