Few stories evoke the holiday spirit so readily as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. First published in December of 1843, the book reportedly sold out all 6,000 copies on its first day (Dickens, Wannamaker, p. 5).
In the years since its publication, the story inspired countless movies, TV shows, plays, musicals, written adaptations, and more. With such broad appeal, it’s no wonder that the Furman Libraries have multiple copies of this famous tale. These editions contain beautiful and powerful illustrations of the tale, some of which appear above.
A search of Furman’s Digital Collections reveals some interesting connections with the famous story. For example, in the early 1900s, “A Christmas Carol” was required reading for students at Furman’s Fitting School (Furman University, “Fitting School” p. 5). The Fitting School was a 3-year course of study for young male students from 1900-1916. Most public schools at the time ended at either 8th or 9th grade, so in many ways, it was a precursor to modern high schools (Bainbridge).
Professor A.W. Honeycutt, Headmaster and Instructor in English of the Furman Fitting School during the early 1900s, listed the Dickens classic as required for his introductory English class. The Furman Catalogue of 1903 noted “A taste for good literature is best formed in early life.” The catalogue goes on to note “It is a well-known fact that the mind of the ordinary child, when told to write a composition, is about as blank as his paper. This blankness disappears, however, if he is asked to reproduce a story that has been read to him, or to complete one after hearing the first part. He writes with pleasure, at the same time developing memory, imagination, power to express himself, and the rare power of listening well.” (Furman University “Fitting School”, p. 5.)
Another Dickens/Furman connection involved Professor of English, Dr. Rudy Bates (1964-1991). Dr. Bates was a Dickens enthusiast and on several occasions hosted a dramatic reading of “A Christmas Carol” along with fellow English faculty including Dr. Stanley Crowe, and Dr. Nick Radel. According to an article in the Furman student newspaper, Dr. Bates said: “Reading A Christmas Carol is a Christmas tradition. Dickens himself read it to audiences”. Dr. Radel added: “Even though all of the readers will do justice to Dickens’s great prose. Dr. Bates is perfection in his part as Scrooge” (Furman University “Rudy Bates”, p. 1).
Dr. Bates also hosted a Furman Book Club in the 1960s-1990s. According to an article in the “Furman Magazine”, the Book Club would often spend their December meetings celebrating Dickens’ contributions to Christmas (Batson, p. 38). “According to Psychology Professor John Batson: “At one gathering we toasted each other with ‘Smoking Bishop,’ a warm drink that the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge merrily shared with Bob Cratchit at the end of A Christmas Carol. And we always end with a quote from Tiny Tim: “God bless us, every one.”
References
Bainbridge, Judy. “Greenville History: Before Furman University, there was Furman Fitting School.” The Greenville News, August 21, 2020. https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/opinion/2020/08/29/learn-furmans-high-school-education-started-1851/3407215001/
Batson, John. “A Professor’s Ongoing Legacy: 40 Years of Good Reading.” Furman Magazine, Summer 2008. p. 38. https://cdm16821.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16821coll5/id/4050/rec/6
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol, illustrated by Fritz Kredel. The Peter Pauper Press, p. 23.
Furman University. “Furman Fitting School.” Annual Catalogue of Furman University for the year 1903-1904. pp. 4-5. https://cdm16821.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16821coll6/id/6712/rec/1
Furman University. “Rudy Bates is Scrooge.” The Paladin, November 25, 1986. p. 1. https://cdm16821.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16821coll21/id/24736/rec/30
Furman University. “Christmas Carol.” The Paladin, December 1, 1989. p. 12. https://cdm16821.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16821coll21/id/29338/rec/26
This is such a fun fact about Furman, and I enjoyed hearing aout some professors I still know taking part in the dramatic readings. Thanks for the researh into this!