{"product_id":"the-christmas-story-from-david-harum-gb-25927","title":"The Christmas Story from David Harum","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Christmas Story from David Harum\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eave done the thing his own\r\nway,\" said Aunt Polly to the\r\nWidow Cullom. \"Kind o'\r\nfetched it round fer a merry Chris'mus,\r\ndidn't he?\"\nThis is the story which is reprinted here\r\nfrom Mr. Westcott's famous book. It was\r\nDavid Harum's nature to do things in his own\r\nway, and the quaintness of his methods in\r\nraising the Widow Cullom from the depths of\r\ndespair to the heights of happiness frame a\r\nstory which is read between laughter and\r\ntears, and always with a quickening of affection\r\nfor the great-hearted benefactor. David\r\nHarum's absolute originality, his unexpectedness,\r\nthe dryness of his humor, the shrewdness\r\nof his insight, and the kindliness and\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\ngenerosity beneath the surface, have made\r\nhim a permanent figure in literature. Moreover,\r\nthe individual quality of David Harum\r\nis so distinctively American that he has been\r\nrecognized as the typical American, typical of\r\nan older generation, perhaps, in mere externals,\r\nbut nevertheless an embodiment of characteristics\r\nessentially national. While only Mr.\r\nWestcott's complete book can fully illustrate\r\nthe personality of David Harum, yet it is\r\nequally true that no other episode in the book\r\npresents the tenderness and quaintness, and\r\nthe full quality of David Harum's character,\r\nwith the richness and pathos of the story\r\nwhich tells how he paid the \"int'rist\" upon\r\nthe \"cap'tal\" invested by Billy P. Fortunately\r\nthis story lends itself readily to separate\r\npublication, and it forms an American\r\n\"Christmas Carol\" which stands by itself, an\r\nAmerican counterpart of the familiar tale of\r\nDickens, and imbued with a simplicity,\r\nhumor, and unstudied pathos peculiarly its\r\nown.\nThe difference between the written and\r\nthe acted tale is illustrated in the use made\r\nof the Christmas story in the play. In the\r\nbook David tells John Lenox the story of the\r\nWidow Cullom and her dealings with 'Zeke\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSwinney, and reveals the truth to her in his\r\noffice, and the dinner which follows at his\r\nhouse is prolonged by his inimitable tales. In\r\nthe play action takes the place of description.\r\nIn the first act we see 'Zeke Swinney obtaining\r\nblood-money from the widow, and the\r\nlatter makes the acquaintance of Mary Blake,\r\nnewly entered upon her career of independence\r\nas Cordelia Prendergast. In the second\r\nact we see the widow giving the second\r\nmortgage to David, and thereby strengthening\r\nMary Blake's suspicions, and in the third\r\nact David pictures his dreary youth and Billy\r\nP.'s act of kindness, and brings the widow to\r\nher own, the climax coming with the toast\r\nwhich opens the dinner and closes the play.\r\nIt was a delicate and difficult task for even so\r\ndistinguished an actor as Mr. Crane to undertake\r\na part already hedged about by conflicting\r\ntheories; but his insight and his devotion\r\nto the character have succeeded in actually\r\nplacing before us the David Harum created by\r\nMr. Westcott.\n\u003cb\u003e ......Buy Now (To Read More)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eProduct details\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEbook Number\u003c\/b\u003e: 25927 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor\u003c\/b\u003e: Westcott, Edward Noyes \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelease Date\u003c\/b\u003e: Jun 29, 2008 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat\u003c\/b\u003e: eBook \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage\u003c\/b\u003e: English \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Westcott, Edward Noyes,1847-1898 \/ eBook \/ English","offer_id":43218754732189,"sku":"gb-25927-ebook","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/products\/25927.jpg?v=1671504059","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-christmas-story-from-david-harum-gb-25927","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}