Reviews

Reviewed By Rolanda Lyles for Readers’ Favorite

T.B. Marshall’s Marley and the Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge is a spin on the classic story, A Christmas Carol. Marshall tells the story from Jacob Marley’s point of view with a desire to help teach Scrooge the importance of charity and humanity towards others. The story opens by giving more insight into Marley’s family history and the events that caused him to become reclusive and only care about work and making money. Marshall takes us on a journey showing us how Marley’s life and choices affected Scrooge and eventually he made the same choices; sacrificing relationships with family, friends, and love interests in the quest to work and chase money. Once Marley dies, Scrooge essentially embodies everything Marley believed in and lived for. Like Marley, Scrooge is both selfish and cold toward others. He doesn’t have a relationship with his family and despises the Christmas season. In death, Marley is remorseful and regrets how he lived his life. It’s too late for him, but can he help change Ebenezer’s outcome?

T.B. Marshall’s Marley and the Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge is masterfully written and tells of the undiscussed influence and vantage point that Jacob Marley had on Ebenezer Scrooge. While Marshall does give credit to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Marshall’s story does not attempt to rewrite the original story, but provides a backstory, or parallel, to the original. Marshall’s contribution is creative and I enjoyed reading his take on what caused certain events to occur. I loved the ending of the story because in the original A Christmas Carol after Marley dies and later visits Scrooge, there isn’t any mention of him again. T.B. Marshall’s Marley and the Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge is a great spin on a classic story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Go deeper into A Christmas Carol

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2021

Marley: the Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge takes the classic tale of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and goes deeper into Jacob Marley’s influence on Ebenezer Scrooge. I have always loved the story of Scrooge’s character development in A Christmas Carol, and after reading T.B. Marshall’s Marley I have an even richer appreciation for the story and characters.

T.B. Marshall obviously did a thorough job researching the back story on these two men, yet the book is not dry or boring. It is a fascinating read the whole way through. After reading this story you will bring a better understanding to the classic story. Highly recommend!