Dickens’ Cricket on the Hearth was his third published Christmas book, after A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, and it outsold them both.
John the Carrier and his wife Dot are a couple with a new baby. Included in their home is a cricket on the hearth, who might turn out to be more than just a cricket. They are a happy couple until a misunderstanding arises, but of course, all is well in the end. Other characters include a toymaker and his blind daughter; the toymaker’s boss, Tackleton, who is a Scrooge-like character; and a young girl May (who is supposed to marry Tackleton) and her mother.
The book was quite humorous at times and heartwarming. Although I appreciated this novella at the end, I had a hard time getting into this book at first. In fact, whenever I tried reading it, I would fall asleep. That might have something more to do with me than the story, though. Ordinarily I love classics. The book I read the story in also includes A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, so hopefully I’ll get to read those two titles next year.
1845, 85 pp.
Rating: 4
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