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T. B. Marshall is a retired school teacher that has a long history with the 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. He played the main character in a school play, and participated in a number of productions of the book in various roles over the years. Most recently he played a couple of minor roles in Scrooge: The Musical.
The reason behind this paraquel novella is because through all of those productions, he began to wonder why would Jacob Marley want to help his former partner. After all, if Jacob was also an uncaring soul that did not celebrate Christmas himself, why would he agree to help change the demeanor of Ebenezer Scrooge. This is that interpretation of his role in transforming Scrooge to the Father Christmas figure he would become.
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.
