Les Standiford is the author of ten critically acclaimed novels as well as several works of nonfiction including Last Train to Paradise, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Meet You in Hell, and Washington Burning. He has received the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is founding director of the creative writing program at Florida International University in Miami and was appointed holder of the Peter Meinke Chair in Creative Writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. He lives in Pinecrest, Florida, with his wife and three children.

"In this small but remarkable book, Les Standiford offers readers a gift for all seasons. Carefully researched and written in a stately, lucid prose, this book will be cherished by those who love Dickens, enjoy Christmas, or ponder the endless mysteries of human behavior."
--Roland Merullo, author of American Savior

"A wonderfully absorbing and revealing account, full of things I did not realize about A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, and the world of publishing. Once I started reading this book, truly, I could not put it down."
--Dan Wakefield, author of New York in the Fifties

"The Man Who Invented Christmas is destined to be a classic about a classic. As Tiny Tim might say, 'God Bless Everyone, ' in this case Standiford, for creating such a delightful and engaging gem--part history, part literary analysis, and all heart, just like the book that inspired it."
--Madeleine Blais, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of Uphill Walkers

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)

Pub date: 2011-10-25

Length: 256 pages