story. Although there is genuine magic in it, the im-
pact comes from MacLeod’s skill in creating believ-
able people reacting plausibly under great stress. He
also does a superb job of describing a situation in
which belief in superstition is almost inevitable and
showing us the inevitable emotional toll.
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens(1843)
This short novel is one of a handful of classics
whose story line is so familiar that almost everyone
knows it in detail, and people actually reading it
for the first time may feel as though they are revis-
iting an old favorite. It is certainly the most famous
Christmas story outside the Bible, has been filmed
more than a dozen times since its first appearance
in 1935, and is one of the most commonly pro-
duced stage plays year after year. It is also a ghost
story, although properly speaking only Jacob Mar-
ley is a true ghost. The others are manifestations of
abstractions rather than the souls of the dead.
Ebenezer Scrooge is an irascible, uncharitable,
stingy old man who early in his life gave up the op-
portunity to secure a loving wife and family, good
friends, and a clear soul in favor of accumulating
wealth, which has now become such an obsession
that he will not even treat himself to the luxuries
he could easily afford. Scrooge’s single employee is
Bob Cratchit, a poor, honest, self-effacing man
with many children who he can barely feed, one of
whom is Tiny Tim, a disabled child doomed to die
without outside assistance. Dickens presents a se-
ries of brief incidents that establish Scrooge’s char-
acter quite effectively and demonstrate the quieter
happiness of the Cratchits as a counterpoint.
Dickens contradicts himself about the time
span in which the supernatural events occur, but
Scrooge is, in fact, visited by a succession of ap-
paritions. Jacob Marley, his ex-partner, appears as a
warning, worn down by heavy chains of his own
fashioning. The Ghost of Christmas past points out
what he has forfeited in his life, the Ghost of
Christmas Present shows him what he is currently
denying himself, and the Ghost of Christmas Fu-
ture warns him of his eventual death, friendless,
alone, and unmourned. Scrooge emerges from this
series of revelations with his character miracu-
lously changed and sets about mending his ways.
The transition is somewhat too abrupt to be psy-
chologically convincing, but it works extraordinar-
ily well dramatically. A Christmas Carol is an
enduring classic whose deceptively simple message
speaks to all of us.The Chronicles of NarniaC. S. Lewis
(1950–1956)
The British author C. S. LEWISis best known for
his seven-volume fantasy series for young readers
that is set in the land of Narnia, a magical world
visited in each case by children from our reality.
The only character to appear in all of the volumes
is Aslan, a mystical lion who is meant to be a par-
allel to Jesus. The series began with THE LION, THE
WITCH & THE WARDROBE, and continued with
PRINCE CASPIAN, THE VOYAGE OF THE “DAWN
TREADER”, THE SILVER CHAIR, THE HORSE AND HIS
BOY, THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW,and THE LAST BAT-
TLE.The internal chronology of the stories does
not agree with the order of publication, but they
should be read in the order of publication.The Circus of Dr. LaoCharles G. Finney
(1935)
Charles G. Finney was not a prolific writer, and he
is best remembered only for this, his first novel, al-
though The Old China Hands(1961) is a memo-
rable treatment of his early military service in
mainland China. The town of Abalone, Arizona, is
startled by the arrival of a mysterious circus and
initially disappointed by its opening parade, which
consists of three wagons drawn by a unicorn, a
sphinx, and a golden ass. There is considerable dis-
agreement among the spectators about the nature
of the animals, particularly the occupant of one
cage, which might be a bear or a man. The reader
will recognize almost immediately that Dr. Lao, the
oriental leader of the circus, has gathered together
selected creatures from myth and legend and magi-
cally transplanted them to rural America.
The exhibits include a genuine medusa, a roc’s
egg, a mermaid, and Appolonius of Tyana, a magi-
cian who brings the dead back to life and creates liv-
ing things out of moist earth. Dr. Lao gives brief and
often fascinating lectures on each of his attractions,The Circus of Dr. Lao 57