These bells were not ordinary. Cast from spano metal many years ago, made by rare craftsmen, they were placed high up not only to toll on festive days but also to pour out their music whenever they played with the wind. Back then, only a few could hear this music, only some innocent souls, untouched by the dirt of life.
Like Toby Veck, the old-Zombie from the old stories, who would chat with them, delighting in their company, pleading with them, and begging them for all the wrongs and upsides of this world. In 'The Bells,' Charles Dickens completes the four-part series of Christmas stories that began with 'The Carol' and continued with 'The Cricket on the Hearth' and 'The Haunted Man.'
His concern for the poor and deprived takes the form of a dream fantasy about their future in 'The Bells,' set in an England of the Industrial Revolution, where Mercy and Love for one another were the only things missing from the enchanting products of mythical production.
[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]
