In 1843, a struggling writer named Charles Dickens was under pressure to produce a new book in time for Christmas just six weeks away. He had success four years earlier with “Oliver Twist” but his subsequent efforts had not been well received. He decides to write and self-publish a new book, “A Christmas Carol.” Drawing on observations from the streets of London - watching a wealthy man’s funeral that no one attended - and being visited during the writing by his own eccentric father, plus drawing on remembrances of his own childhood of poverty, factory work, and debtor’s prison, in six harried weeks Dickens writes the story that has come to define the spirit of Christmas. The film is based on the 2008 book of the same name about Charles Dickens by Les Standiford. Regarding the film’s historical accuracy, actor Dan Stevens (Charles Dickens) said, “Frankly, whether it’s historically accurate I’m not that concerned about. I was interested in that moment of the creative process, watching a great man struggle – to me, that's dramatically and comedically interesting.”