The Christmas Stories

This collection touches on many aspects of British family, school, and social life. Not as powerful as Dickens's better known works, the stories and sketches are still fascinating portraits of his time. Robert Whitfield's narration allows listeners to recognize how much Dickens wrote for the ear. Whitfield reads these stories like he is telling them beside a winter fire. His voice rises and falls with Dickens's rhythms, and it's easy to imagine Dickens acting out the eccentric and vivid characters that fill every story. The only weakness in this recording is that the collection's variety makes it hard for Whitfield to establish a unified tone; therefore, it's sometimes hard to follow. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine