Celebrated author Neil Gaiman reads A Christmas Carol at the New York Public Library. Enjoy!
On December 15th, 2013, Neil Gaiman did a reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the New York Public Library. Hosted by author Molly Oldfield, author of The Secret Museum, the event featured Neil Gaiman coming on stage actually dressed as Charles Dickens before launching into his reading. The intro by Molly Oldfield is thoroughly amusing, including her description of how Mr. Dickens would prepare for his own pubic readings (which included rum, champagne, and other festive adult beverages).
To add an additional layer of authenticity (as if the costume wasn't enough), Gaiman read from a "prompt copy" from the New York Public Library's collection, with corrections in Dickens' own handwriting, that was edited and designed specifically for such public readings. It's a terrific and fun listen, and a fine way to spend Christmas Eve once you've had a few beverages and everyone else has gone to bed.
It would be humbug if we didn't tip our stovepipe hats to the folks at Brain Pickings for pointing us at this audio in the first place. You can download the audio of Gaiman's reading (as well as the rest of the New York Public Library's readings series) right here.