First published in 1846, Charles Dickens's novella "The Battle of Life:
A Love Story" is the fourth of his five "Christmas Books", published
between "The Cricket on the Hearth" and "The Haunted Man". The only of
the five to not contain any supernatural or overt religious reference,
it focuses on Grace and Marion, two sisters who are driven apart only to
be reunited once more. Dickens's Christmas novels perfectly enraptured
the spirit of the Victorian Christmas revival and even inspired a number
of traditional aspects of the holiday, including seasonal food and
drink, family gatherings, dancing, and more. Charles John Huffam Dickens
(1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic famous for having
created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters. His
works became unprecedentedly popular during his life, and today he is
commonly regarded as the greatest Victorian-era novelist thanks to his
humour, satire, and astute observations concerning society and
character. This classic work is being republished now in a new edition
complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.