In October 1843, Charles Dickens was, at 31, unhappy with his wife, distant from his children, and haunted by his dead sister-in-law and the memory of his bleak childhood. He was on the brink of estrangement with his father, and he was obsessed by a necessity to work and generate more income. When he was commissioned to write a pamphlet on workhouse conditions, he instead dreamt A Christmas Carol, and, for the first time in his astounding literary career, he wrote not in installments but the entire book in a very short period of time. Dickens' family and friends documented that he dreamt entire chapters, acted out his stories, and was possessed by his characters while writing them. He would stand in front of the mirror for hours, contorting his face, becoming his myriad of characters. He would jump between the reality of his family and the reality of his story. Within the framework of Dickens composing his beautiful novella, the redemptive tale of A Christmas Carol is told, and the audience's imagination makes the ghosts come to life.