Charles Dickens: The man who invented Christmas

Charles Dickens was probably the most successful author of his time. Perhaps the most famous story Dickens ever wrote: "A Christmas Carol". It tells the story of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his nocturnal encounters with ghosts, has often been made into a film and is read or performed in theaters all over the world at Christmas time. Many people in Freiburg will remember the always sold-out Dickens evenings by British actor Brian Barnes (who also appeared several times at the Waldhof) at the Wallgraben Theater. This reading seminar deals with some of the Christmas stories that Charles Dickens published with great regularity every year before Christmas. Selected passages will be read in German translation and in excerpts and their impact on English society in the Victorian era will be illustrated. In between, short presentations will shed light on the life and work of the author.

Course leader: Dr. Schäfer, Karl. The speaker has been a lecturer and English specialist for many years.