The Chimes is the 2nd of the five ’Christmas Books’ written by Charles Dickens in the 1840s. The most successful of which was A Christmas Carol and while it’s still well known today, the other four books have slipped out of the public eye. · A Christmas Carol (1843)· The Chimes (1844)· The Cricket on the Hearth (1845), · The Battle of Life (1846)· The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (1848)Keen readers and movie buffs will spot that the script writers of perennial Christmas favourite It’s A Wonderful Life owe more than a passing credit to Charles Dickens and the plot of The Chimes.