OUR Charles Dickens he was not only one of the greatest writers of the 19th century, but also an actor and director who introduced A Christmas Carol in prose all over Britain solo.

But what inspired Dickens to create it? Ebenezer Scroogeabout the “mean, sinful, speculative” person described in the story?

According to a BBC report, while walking through Edinburgh’s Canongate Cemetery in June 1841, Dickens saw a tombstone bearing the name of Ebenezer Lennox Scrooge. Regarding his status, the tomb says that he was a “food seller”, referring to his real profession as a merchant.

For some reason, Dickens misread: instead of “a man eating” – “a mean man.” He then wrote in his notebook: “To be remembered in eternity just for being a bad person seemed like the greatest proof of a wasted life.”

He couldn’t be more wrong about the real Scrooge. Research by economist Peter Clark has shown that Scrooge was a corn merchant and vintner whose family supplied Captain Cook’s ship Endeavor.

Scrooge imported wine and exported whiskey in return, gaining a reputation and gaining royal attention and patronage. He was a cheerful man and at the same time a bastard, and he also had an illegitimate child.

Another source of inspiration for Scrooge is John Elwes (1714–1789), a Berkshire MP who was born into an aristocratic family.

Dickens learned about Elwes from a biography written by Edward Topham called The Life of the Late John Elvis (1970), which became a bestseller, went through 12 editions and established himself as a curmudgeon. In fact, he was a man who inherited an estate from his uncle, the value of which exceeds $ 18 million (today’s money).

However, unusually for a miser, Elwes was kind and generous, often lending money to those in need.

Dickens is known for his “unfortunate” characters. And we see this in the character of Gabriel Grubb in The Pickwick Papers (1837).

According to the BBC