1912 Pears Christmas Books "The Chimes" by Charles Dickens Antique Book

1912 Pears Christmas Books "The Chimes" by Charles Dickens Antique Book The Pears Edition Of Charles Dickens' Christmas Books The Chimes - With 30 Illustrations by Charles Green By Charles Dickens Published by A&F Pears Ltd: London 1912 "This 1852 Chapman and Hall London edition of Christmas Books brings together Charles Dickens's complete cycle of Christmas stories in a single, handsome Victorian volume, including A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. Issued during Dickens's lifetime, this collection reflects the author at the height of his popular and moral influence, blending social criticism with sentiment, humour, and deeply human observation. The presence of the original frontispiece further anchors the book in its mid-19th-century publishing context and enhances its visual and bibliographic appeal. At the heart of the volume is A Christmas Carol, Dickens's enduring meditation on redemption, generosity, and moral awakening, here complemented by the darker and more complex allegories of the later Christmas tales. Together, these works explore themes of poverty, conscience, memory, and social responsibility, often through supernatural or symbolic frameworks that were uniquely Dickensian. The cumulative effect is richer and more layered than the individual stories alone, offering insight into Victorian attitudes toward charity, family, and the ethical obligations of wealth and power. As a collected edition from 1852, this book occupies an important place between the original first issues of the Christmas books and later mass-market reprints, making it especially attractive to collectors seeking an early unified presentation of Dickens's seasonal writings. With its period binding, original frontispiece, and landmark publisher, it represents both a literary and historical artefact, appealing particularly to Dickens collectors, students of Victorian literature, and admirers of classic Christmas storytelling." Light wear and fading to covers and spine as shown. No inscriptions. Binding is excellent with firm, secure covers and no loose pages. A few light pencil marks present (erasable). A nice copy of a Dickens' Christmas Book in good to very good condition overall. Please study photos for further information as they form part of the description. Size 21cm x 16cm x 1.25cm - 147 Pages