The Sacred Carol exposes Charles Dickens' theft and reworking of A Christmas Carol, while introducing readers to the real American authors-Mathew and Abby Whittier. A meticulous study of Dickens' own handwritten draft has enabled researcher Stephen Sakellarios to decipher the words Dickens scratched out and replaced, revealing, in many cases, the Whittiers' original text beneath.
Whatever is magical, heartwarming, and spiritually powerful in A Christmas Carol originated with Mathew and Abby. Whatever is fantastical, cartoonish, or coarse came from Dickens. The graceful, luminous prose was theirs; the bombastic and illogical "patches" were his. This is not merely a theory. Proof emerges time and again from beneath Dickens' redacted phrases. And thanks to Sakellarios' extensive archiving of Mathew and Abby Whittier's published works, he is able to draw stylistic comparisons, as well. Together, both methods create an overwhelming case for the story's original authorship.
Additionally, The Sacred Carol contains, in its Appendix, a complete, scrupulously deciphered transcription of Dickens' handwritten manuscript. Thus, through Sakellarios' scholarship, readers will encounter for the first time the sheer quality of the Whittiers' writing. Most importantly, A Christmas Carol will come alive as the sacred spiritualist redemption story it was always meant to be.