The Chimes

A short, haunting Christmas fable from the author of A Christmas Carol, The Chimes takes place on New Year's Eve and in the hours that follow. Toby Veck, a ticket porter known as Trotty, is a poor man who loves the church bells near his stand. On this night the bells seem to speak to him, and their voices lead him into a world of visions that show him the future of his daughter Meg, a poor labourer named Will Fern, and his own hidden fears. Charles Dickens wrote The Chimes in 1844 as a follow-up to A Christmas Carol, but it is angrier and more sombre than its famous predecessor. Here the supernatural is used not only to warm the heart but to expose the cruelty of a society that blames the poor for their poverty, and to ask who has the right to judge another person's life. Readers who enjoy Dickens's Christmas writing, his social criticism, and his gift for atmosphere will find much to admire in this shorter work. This edition contains the complete text of The Chimes, a new introduction, a character guide, a summary of the story, a list of themes, a glossary of old and unusual words, and discussion questions for book clubs and students.