Neil Gaiman dresses as Charles Dickens to read 'A Christmas Carol'
At the New York Public Library, Gaiman read an edition of 'A Christmas Carol' that Dickens himself had edited for live readings.
At the New York Public Library, Gaiman read an edition of 'A Christmas Carol' that Dickens himself had edited for live readings.
Charles Dickens鈥� classic story 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� is being performed just about everywhere this time of year. So what was so special about the recent reading of the Christmas classic at the New York Public Library?
The story was being read by bestselling author Neil Gaiman decked out in Victorian garb, complete with Dickensian beard.
Gaiman read the story at the NYPL on Dec. 15 and performed the version that Dickens himself had arranged for reading live. 鈥淗e even managed to make the crowd at the New York Public Library fall silent for over an hour ... which, considering how many children were in the audience, was a miracle on par with Scrooge鈥檚 change of heart,鈥� New York Observer writer Drew Grant wrote.
Gaiman spoke with the Observer about how the story is so ingrained in pop culture now that those hearing Dickens鈥� tale for the first time may be surprised how familiar it is to them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like people who read Tolkien now and complain that he uses all the cliches from fantasy novels,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith Dickens and 'A Christmas Carol,' everybody鈥檚 now encountered that story a hundred different ways, maybe 鈥楽crooged,鈥� maybe 鈥楢 Muppet Christmas Carol,鈥� that by the time you get to Dickens, you鈥檙e like 鈥極h my God, that鈥檚 the clich茅.鈥欌��
Check out Gaiman dressed as the famous author on the industry newsletter Shelf Awareness.