'Tis the season at SteynOnline: Don't miss our Steynamite specials, but, if you're beginning to fret over last posting dates, there's always a Mark Steyn Club Christmas gift membership, which can be digitally delivered as late as the small hours of Christmas morn. And, if you really want to treat your beloved this holiday, there's a stateroom waiting on the Mark Steyn Caribbean Cruise, on which we shall do a live Tale for Our Time.
~Welcome to Part Three of A Christmas Carol, a seasonal entry in our series of audio adventures, Tales for Our Time.
This Charles Dickens classic was introduced to the world the week before Christmas 1843, and has never been out of print. In tonight's episode Ebenezer Scrooge comes face to spectral face with the first of the three ghosts:
"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?" asked Scrooge.
"I am!"
The voice was soft and gentle. Singularly low, as if instead of being so close beside him, it were at a distance.
"Who, and what are you?" Scrooge demanded.
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"Long Past?" inquired Scrooge: observant of its dwarfish stature.
"No. Your past."
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read Part Three of our adventure simply by clicking here and logging-in.
Parts One and Two can be found here - and if you've only joined in recent days and missed our earlier serials (Conan Doyle's The Tragedy of the Korosko, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, H G Wells' The Time Machine, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda, Mark Steyn's The Prisoner of Windsor, and dozens more), you can find them all here. A Founding Member from our very first day, Jean-Paul Jean writes:
Your introduction is the better part of the program when the listener is already familiar with the story. The history of its creation is marvelous to learn.
Thank you, Jean-Paul. I enjoy doing those introductions. If you're a Club member who's yet to settle down with this latest audio serialisation, you can find my Christmas Carol intro, along with the first episode, here.
If you're looking ahead to Yuletide and thinking your nearest and dearest might enjoy Tales for Our Time, we have a special Steyn Club Gift Membership. We have fun in The Mark Steyn Club, and in return the Club produces all our content - whether in print, audio or video - and keeps it out there in the world for everyone. Aside from Tales for Our Time, membership confers a few other benefits:
~Exclusive Steyn Store member pricing on over 40 books and other items;
~The opportunity to take part in our Clubland Q&A sessions, such as this coming Wednesday's;
~Transcript and audio versions of The Mark Steyn Show and our other video content;
~Our series of video poetry;
~Advance booking for my live appearances around the world, including the annual Mark Steyn Cruise;
~Customised email alerts for new content in your areas of interest;
~and the opportunity to support our print, audio and video ventures as they wing their way around the globe.
To become a member of The Mark Steyn Club, please click here - and, for a friend or family member, don't forget that Gift Membership. And please join me tomorrow at 6pm North American Eastern Time for Part Four of A Christmas Carol.
