A Christmas Carol or the Miser?s Warning

Two months after Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol" eight adaptations had appeared on London stages including the young playwright Charles Zachart Barnett's version which was much darker and grimmer than the others. While the other versions quickly faded, Barnett's adaptation remained in print throughout the 19th Century and even as late as the 1930s, the play was still being produced in schools and by theatres. Barnett entered the world of London theatesr early as a child actor, along with his brother John, who later achieved success as a composer. As an adult, Barnett gave up acting to concentrate on his career as a playwright. In a very short time, his plays were being produced by the leading theatres of his day. He wrote comedies, dramas, librettos to operas, and an adaptation of Dickens' "Oliver Twist." Four years after his "Christmas Carol" was produced, Barnett's promising playwriting career was cut short when he passed away at the age of 36.