Christmas Carol

Author says: what if an Orwellian British Socialist State had subverted the true meaning of Dicken's Christmas Carol by portraying Scrooge as an unrepentant ogre? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). ? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

Preamble

"Spirit," said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before, "tell me if Tiny Tim will live".
"I see a vacant seat in the corner," replied the Ghost, "and a crutch without an owner. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die."
"No, no," said Scrooge. "Oh, no, kind Spirit. Say he will be spared" ~ Charles Dickens (1843)

Please click the

icon to follow us on Facebook.at the Keir Hardie Motor Company in Dagenham, Essex workers and their families were entaintained by a modern adaption of "A Christmas Carol" updated from the original version written by the author and social reform advocate Charles Dickens.
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to watch the 1970 Movie Scene

Set in the early Victorian era, the genius of Dickens was his penmanship of such a stark portrayal of the British Class War; the harsh face of industrial capitalism was personified by the brutal money-changer, Ebeneezer Scrooge and the down-trodden British working class by his maltreated clerk, Bob Cratchit.

Bah, Humbug!As the play develops from this transparent metaphor of abusive industrial relations, the true evil of the capitalists' inhumanity begins to emerge in Scrooge's callous indifference to Cratchit's ailing invalid son, Tiny Tim. Unwilling to grasp that his fortune could pay for the healthcare that could save his life, the play ends on a sad note with the Cratchit's mournfully eating Christmas dinner without Tiny Tim whose abandoned crutch stands at the fireplace.

Author says to view guest historian's comments on this post please visit the Today in Alternate History web site.

Author says: what if Charles Dickens was an over-zealous welfare reform advocate who sugar-coated the weaknesses of the working class? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). ? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

on this day at the City of London Police Station the thieving accountant Bob Cratchit was charged with embezzling funds from his employers, Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.

But Fifteen BobIn the local business community, Cratchit was generally considered to be a near-impoverished clerk who received a pittance from the miserly business partners for copying letters by hand in an underheated "dismal little cell" or "a sort of tank" which was his miserable place of work. Perceived as a member of the "little people" he clothed himself in a tattered white comforter since he could not afford a coat.

Feeling pity that his employee's weekly salary of "but fifteen bob" was insufficient to feed his family a proper Christmas dinner, Mr Scrooge visited the clerk's home to deliver a prize turkey - however he was shocked to discover the Cratchit Family already enjoying a sumptous banquet. Puzzled, he investigated further, only to discover that "Tiny Tim" was in fact an adopted child falsely claiming invalidity welfare benefit to supplement the money being taken by his father from his munificient employers. Bah, humbug!

This experience motivated Mr Scrooge to campaign as a Member of Parliament for the City of London Constituency, the position from which he would be chosen to represent the Crown during the American Civil War.

Author says to view guest historian's comments on this post please visit the Today in Alternate History web site.

Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting fictional blog.