The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home. by Dickens, Charles - 1846

London: Bradbury & Evans, 1846 Illustrated by John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield, Daniel Maclise, and Edwin Landseer. First edition, first printing, second state of the ad leaf. Publisher's red cloth, decorated and lettered in gilt and blind, all edges gilt, pale yellow coated endpapers. Very good, with some wear and fraying to the spine ends and corners, corners lightly bumped, a few small spots and minor soiling to cloth; internally, very clean, former owner bookplate to front pastedown and a clipping of "Worth While?" affixed to verso of front endpaper. Overall, a very fresh and sturdy copy, free of any repairs or restoration. Smith II, 6. The Cricket on the Hearth is the third volume in Dickens third Christmas Books series. Centered around the Victorian home, this novella tells the story of deliveryman John Peerybingle and his young wife Dot, who have a mystical cricket on their hearth that chirps when the couple's home life is harmonious and is silent when there is strife. Like the "staves" of A Christmas Carol (1843) and the "quarters" of The Chimes (1844), The Cricket on the Hearth is divided into "chirps" instead of chapters. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good.