The Cricket on the Hearth

A kettle and a cricket compete for attention beside the Peerybingles' fire, giving this domestic tale its playful opening. Charles Dickens turns the sounds of a room into voices with tempers of their own, while Mrs. Peerybingle struggles with cold water and an obstinate kettle. Subtitled "A Fairy Tale of Home," the story belongs to Dickens's Christmas books and places household affection at the centre of its concerns.

John Peerybingle, a carrier, and his wife Dot share the scene with Caleb, his daughter, the awkward Tilly Slowboy and the displeased Tackleton. At a gathering among dolls and toys, Dot welcomes her old schoolfriend May, whose approaching marriage prompts memories of the husbands they once imagined. Their laughter unsettles Tackleton, May's intended husband. Readers interested in Dickens's comic portraits will find a close view of familiar company, small domestic rituals and the tensions that can gather around a cheerful table.