Ebenezer Scrooge hates everyone and everything. Especially children. Especially Christmas. He's greedy, wealthy and cold-hearted, which has harrowed his features, giving him a pointy nose and thin, blue lips. On Christmas Eve Scrooge is visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come - but can they make him change his ways? A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens. It was first published on 19 December 1843 and the first edition had sold out by Christmas Eve. The story of the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge has only continued to grow in popularity since then and it is now one of the most widely known stories in the world.