Charles Dickens wrote a great story, a story that resonated with his readers over a century ago and has continued to do so over the years. The story's power to touch people's hearts is undeniable and this version is offered for two reasons. First, the original version is, for today's readers, difficult to read and understand. Its verbiage and style were entirely appropriate for the day, but now are cumbersome at best. This version is written to be more reader-friendly while holding to the soul and integrity of the original. Our story also has been abridged to some degree to make the story line a bit simpler. Second, we take the liberty of reading between the lines of what Dickens wrote and making, we believe, the logical assumption that Scrooge's final transformation is a true spiritual rebirth. Many who have studied his life and work are convinced of his own Christianity as his work not only includes a beautifully written story about Jesus, but his other writings always told a story of redemption. Read it to your children and your grandchildren during this Christmas time and then put it on the shelf to be taken down and re-read Christmas after Christmas. This story doesn't get old. It is, indeed, a perennial favorite.

ジョン・アーサー・ウォーレによる本作は、ディケンズの不朽の名作を現代の言葉で再構築し、物語の「魂」を鮮明に描き出しています。装飾的な文体を取り払うことで、スクルージの冷徹な心が氷解していく過程を、読者の心に直接響くエモーショナルな体験へと昇華させている点が最大の見どころです。 特筆すべきは、主人公の変貌を単なる心変わりではなく、深遠な「霊的な新生」として捉え直した点にあります。原典の行間に潜む救済のメッセージを大胆に読み解き、絶望の淵にいた一人の人間が光を見出す普遍的な福音として提示しています。世代を超えて魂を浄化し続ける、真の再生の物語がここに結実しています。