The acclaimed author of Finn âdigs down to the bones of a classic and creates must-read modern literatureâ (Charles Frazier, New York Times bestselling author) with this âclever riffâ (The Washington Post) on Dickensâs classic A Christmas Carol that explores of the relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.
âMarley was dead, to begin with,â Charles Dickens tells us at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. But in Jon Clinchâs âmasterlyâ (The New York Times Book Review) novel, Jacob Marley, business partner to Ebenezer Scrooge, is very much alive: a rapacious and cunning boy who grows up to be a forger, a scoundrel, and the man who will be both the making and the undoing of Scrooge.
They meet as youths in the gloomy confines of Professor Drabbâs Academy for Boys, where Marley begins their twisted friendship by initiating the innocent Scrooge into the art of extortion. Years later, in the dank heart of London, their shared ambition manifests itself in a fledgling shipping empire. Between Marleyâs genius for deception and Scroogeâs brilliance with numbers, they amass a considerable fortune of dubious legality, all rooted in a pitiless commitment to the soon-to-be-outlawed slave trade.
As Marley toys with the affections of Scroogeâs sister, Fan, Scrooge falls under the spell of Fanâs best friend, Belle Fairchild. Now, for the first time, Scrooge and Marley find themselves at odds. With their business interests inextricably bound together and instincts for secrecy and greed bred in their very bones, the two men engage in a shadowy war of deception, forged documents, theft, and cold-blooded murder. Marley and Scrooge are destined to clash in an unforgettable reckoning that will echo into the future and set the stage for Marleyâs ghostly return.
âRead through to the last page of this brilliant book, and I promise you that you will have a permanently changed view, not just of Dickensâs world, but of the world we live in todayâ (Elizabeth Letts, New York Times bestselling author).