“Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that,” is our introduction to Jacob Marley, whose ghost helps former business partner Ebenezer Scrooge find redemption in the enduring holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol.”
Charles Dickens’ 1843 tale is a reliable presence throughout Christmas, along with Christmas trees, gifts, and endless TV specials. We commonly use “Scrooge” to describe someone who is greedy, grasping or miserly.
We’re familiar with Ebenezer Scrooge, but — if the armfuls of books published over the past 20 years are any testament — we’ve become fascinated with Jacob Marley, who was "as dead as a doornail."
The Marley stories are character treatments similar to those of the blockbuster “Wicked” series by Gregory Maguire. His books, and the movie and musical, retell the Wizard of Oz from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West. The first book was published in 1995.
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