Publisher's Synopsis
The story starts in a charity hospice in Rochester-a place that Dickens
himself was familiar with from his own childhood. According to the will
of the founder, Richard Watts, at Christmas the hospice must provide
lodgings and entertainment for one night as well as some money to six
poor people, an amount that is substantial enough to allow the travelers
to buy a hearty meal. On Christmas Eve there are six people in the inn
and the novel is composed of the six stories of the travelers who find
shelter in the hospice, plus the narrator himself. The stories told by
the travelers and the meal shared to create a kind of harmony and a sense of
community between the seven people-they all leave the inn the following day
and life will probably take them to different places, but they will all
cherish the memory of this one serene evening.
