THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH - An illustrated children's story by Charles Dickens E-Book

Charles Dickens.

• Herausgeber: Abela Publishing
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

John Peerybingle, a carrier, lives with his young wife Dot, their baby boy and their nanny Tilly Slowboy. A cricket chirps on the hearth and acts as a guardian angel to the family. One day a mysterious elderly stranger comes to visit and takes up lodging at Peerybingle's house for a few days.The life of the Peerybingles intersects with that of Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker employed by the miser Mr. Tackleton. Caleb has a blind daughter Bertha, and a son Edward, who travelled to South America and is thought to be dead.The miser Tackleton is now on the eve of marrying Edward's sweetheart, May, but she does not love Tackleton. Tackleton tells John Peerybingle that his wife Dot has cheated on him, and shows him a clandestine scene in which Dot embraces the mysterious lodger; the latter, who is in disguise, is actually a much younger man than he seems. John is cut to the heart over this as he loves his wife dearly, but decides after some deliberations to relieve his wife of their marriage contract.In the end, the mysterious lodger is revealed to be none other than Edward who has returned home in disguise. Dot shows that she has indeed been faithful to John. Edward marries May hours before she is scheduled to marry Tackleton. However, Tackleton's heart is melted by the festive cheer (in a manner reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge), and he surrenders May to her true love.Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Dickens's literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers and he went on to be regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Leseprobe

THECRICKET ON THE HEARTH

A FAIRY TALE OF HOME

BY

CHARLES DICKENS

Illustrated by

Susan Beatrice Pearse

ELEVENTH EDITION.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR,

———

By

Bradbury and Evans, London,MDCCCXLVI

Resurrected By

Abela Publishing, London

MMXVII

The cricket on the hearth

Typographical arrangement of this edition

© Abela Publishing 2017

This book may not be reproduced in its current format in any manner in any media, or transmitted by any means whatsoever, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, or mechanical ( including photocopy, file or video recording, internet web sites, blogs, wikis, or any other information storage and retrieval system) except as permitted by law without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Abela Publishing,

London

United Kingdom

2017

Printed Edition

ISBN-13: 978-8-826481-83-8

email:

[email protected]

website:

http://www.AbelaPublishing.com/

Acknowledgements

Abela Publishing

acknowledges the work that

Charles Dickens

and

Susan Beatrice Pearce

did in writing and illustrating this volume

in a time well before electronic media was in use.

10% of the profit from the sale of this book

will be donated to charities.

Dedication

TO

LORD JEFFREY

THIS LITTLE STORY IS INSCRIBED,

WITH

THE AFFECTION AND ATTACHMENT OF HIS FRIEND,

THE AUTHOR.December, 1845.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece Thompson.

D. Maclise

R.A

G. Dalziel.

D. Maclise

R.A

Chirp the First

G. Dalziel

R. Doyle

The Carrier's Cart

T. Williams

R. A.

John's Arrival

E. Dalziel

J. Leech

John and Dot

Swain

J. Leech

Chirp the Second

E. Dalziel

R. Doyle

Caleb at Work

G. Dalziel

J. Leech

BoxerT. Williams.

E. Landseer

R.A.

Father..I want my eyes

G. A. Williams

-

Tilly Slowboy

Groves

J. Leech

Mrs. Fielding's Lecture

E. Dalziel

J. Leech

Chirp the Third

T. Williams

R. Doyle

John's Reverie

Groves

J. Leech

The Dance

Swain

J. Leech

Mrs. Peerybingle may leave it on record to the end of time that she couldn't say which of them began it; but I say the Kettle did. I ought to know, I hope? The Kettle began it, full five minutes by the little waxy-faced Dutch clock in the corner before the Cricket uttered a chirp.

As if the clock hadn't finished striking, and the convulsive little Haymaker at the top of it, jerking away right and left with a scythe in front of a Moorish Palace, hadn't mowed down half an acre of imaginary grass before the Cricket joined in at all!