The Battle of Life
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Life: A Love Story is a novella by Charles Dickens
, first published in 1846. It is the fourth of his five "Christmas
Books", coming after The Cricket on the Hearth
and followed by The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain.
The setting is an English village that stands on the site of a historic battle. Some characters refer to the battle as a metaphor for the struggles of life, hence the title.
"Battle" is noteworthy in that it is the only one of the five Christmas Books that has no supernatural or explicitly religious elements. (One scene takes place at Christmastime, but it is not the final scene.) The story bears some resemblance to The Cricket on the Hearth in two aspects: It has a non-urban setting and it is resolved with a romantic twist. It is even less of a social novel than is "Cricket." As is typical with Dickens, the ending is a happy one.
It is one of Dickens' lesser-known works and has never attained any high level of popularity, a trait it shares among the Christmas Books with The Haunted Man.
An adaptation of The Battle of Life by Albert Richard Smith
was produced with success at the Surrey Theatre
in 1846.
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, first published in 1846. It is the fourth of his five "Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
Books", coming after The Cricket on the Hearth
The Cricket on the Hearth
The Cricket on the Hearth. A Fairy Tale of Home is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 with illustrations by Daniel Maclise, John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield and Edwin Henry Landseer. Dickens began writing the book around...
and followed by The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain.
The setting is an English village that stands on the site of a historic battle. Some characters refer to the battle as a metaphor for the struggles of life, hence the title.
"Battle" is noteworthy in that it is the only one of the five Christmas Books that has no supernatural or explicitly religious elements. (One scene takes place at Christmastime, but it is not the final scene.) The story bears some resemblance to The Cricket on the Hearth in two aspects: It has a non-urban setting and it is resolved with a romantic twist. It is even less of a social novel than is "Cricket." As is typical with Dickens, the ending is a happy one.
It is one of Dickens' lesser-known works and has never attained any high level of popularity, a trait it shares among the Christmas Books with The Haunted Man.
An adaptation of The Battle of Life by Albert Richard Smith
Albert Richard Smith
Albert Richard Smith , was an English author, entertainer, and mountaineer.-Biography:Smith was born at Chertsey, Surrey. The son of a surgeon, he studied medicine in London and in Paris, and his first literary effort was an account of his life there, which appeared in the Mirror. He gradually...
was produced with success at the Surrey Theatre
Surrey Theatre
The Surrey Theatre began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided contemporary London entertainment of both horsemanship and drama...
in 1846.
External links
- The Battle of Life at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
. - The Battle of Life - Searchable HTML version.
- The Battle of Life - Easy to read HTML version.