Mary’s Song: A Sequel to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Billed as a sequel to Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, this novel begins immediately after that story ends, and collides with the real world of Victorian London. Convincing everyone that he’s a changed man, Ebenezer Scrooge becomes a valued member of Bob Cratchit’s family, is reunited with his lost love, Belle, and arranges for Tiny Tim to be treated by a specialist. In an unexpected twist, it appears that during Tim’s surgery, he received a visit from the ghost of Mary, the dead sister-in-law of Dickens, whose message is that Christmas is in danger of extinction. When the local minister of their church embarks on a campaign to legally outlaw Christmas as a pagan celebration, it spells trouble for the Crachits and their friends, especially after the life-changing Christmas they only recently experienced. Scrooge, the Cratchits, and Dickens find themselves in a race against time to publish A Christmas Carol in the hopes that the holiday and its true meaning will be saved. With appealing familiar characters (and some new ones), smooth writing, and engaging storylines, this serves well as light, inspirational entertainment.
