The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells

First published in 1844, The Chimes is the second of Charles Dickens’s five Christmas books, written in the wake of A Christmas Carol and shaped by the same mix of sentimentality, moral urgency, and supernatural framing. Though less widely remembered than its predecessor, The Chimes delivers a similarly sharp social critique.

The edition featured in the Nettle Hale Rand Collection reflects the Victorian tradition of holiday gift books, often produced with heightened attention to physical beauty. Fine bindings, embossed covers, gilt edges, and ornate illustrations were used to elevate ephemeral stories into collectible artifacts. This aesthetic intention aligns with Dickens’s broader project which is to make working-class suffering visible and emotionally immediate, while also presenting the physical book as a vehicle for lasting moral reflection.

As with many works in this collection, The Chimes blurs the line between object and message. The craftsmanship of its presentation reinforces the weight of its themes—timeliness, transformation, and the passage of moral judgment across generations.