The Cricket on the Hearth, by Charles Dickens

Y’all ready for Dickens Tuesday? I’ll wait if you’re not ready. 

Good? Okay! Let’s do this!!!! [air horn]

DICKENS TUESDAY!!!! [cymbal crash]

For this week’s entry, I’m looking at a short story that is wintery and weird. While A Chrsitmas Carol is his most well-known work, A Cricket on the Hearth is another Christmas story by Dickens…though it’s not really related to Christmas except that it occurs in winter and has an upbeat ending. 

Until I read this (just today!) I always assumed it was about a cricket who doesn’t work as hard as an ant and fails to prepare for winter. Turns out, that story is called The Ant and the Grasshopper and was not written by Charles Dickens. I saw a cartoon of The Ant and the Grasshopper when I was a kid and so just assumed a story about a bug dealing with winter was also The Cricket on the Hearth. Nope. Same order of insects (orthoptera), same season, different story. This is the original Antz vs. A Bug’s Life.

Despite the title, the cricket isn’t the main star of the show. This is about British humans. It’s a simple look at domestic life and misunderstandings. It’s a short, sweet story and there is a touch of winter magic, but those looking for iconic Dickensian scary ghost stories may be disappointed. 

But for those of us who appreciate a multi-page description of a kettle boiling, this has exactly what you’re looking for. 

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