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The Chimes A Goblin Story of Some Bells That Rang an Old Year out and a New Year In

"The Chimes" by Charles Dickens is a novella published in 1844, the second in his series of Christmas books. Toby Veck, an elderly messenger, loses faith in the poor after reading grim newspaper reports. On New Year's Eve, he climbs to a church bell tower where goblin spirits show him disturbing visions of his daughter's future and the hardships facing working-class people. Through these phantoms, Toby must learn whether the poor are inherently wicked or victims of circumstance.

Level C1 pagesEnglish

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Categories: British Literature Novels

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Suggested age: 12+ (AI estimate)

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Level C1

Language difficulty is an AI estimate based on sampled text.

Reader and content guidance is an AI estimate based on the title, author, source summary, contents and selected excerpts. Unseen portions have not been assessed.

Recommended age: 12+ (AI estimate)
Themes of poverty, hardship, moral despair and supernatural visions, plus complex narration, suit independent enjoyment from about 12; younger readers may manage it only with supported reading and explanation. Based on named-book metadata and selected excerpts; unseen text was not assessed. This is guidance, not an official age rating; individual reading ability varies.

Source: Project Gutenberg · Public domain in the USA.

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