A Christmas Carol BBC TV Tie-In

Book excerpt: QUIET AND DARK, BESIDE HIM STOOD THE PHANTOM, WITH ITS OUTSTRETCHED HAND A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843, is Charles Dickens’s timeless festive tale of transformation and redemption. On Christmas Eve Ebenezer Scrooge, the uncharitable miser, is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, who comes with a warning. Later that evening, Scrooge falls into a deep sleep and is called upon in the night by three more spectres, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. These apparitions bring strange visions and offer Scrooge the chance to absolve for his lifetime of avarice and greed. Accompanying a the three-part special from Steven Knight (Taboo, Peaky Blinders) starring Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Charlotte Riley, Joe Alwyn, Vinette Robinson, Jason Flemyng, Kayvan Novak and Lenny Rush. Written and executive produced by Steven Knight, executive produced by Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, Kate Crowe and Mona Qureshi for the BBC.