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Frankly, I was disappointed. I thought it mawkish and obvious, with the plot twists visible a mile away. I listened to the Audible freebie narrated by Jim Dale and I thought he did a wonderful job and wrung every possible bit of interest from the tale. At that, I probably wouldn't have made it through the tedious and twee introduction about the relative merits of the kettle and the cricket had it not been a book club read.
The best bit was using the baby as a battering ram. I also liked the description of Caleb's home/workshop, populated by the dolls, and gallant Caleb was my favorite character.
I was also deceived by its characterization as a Christmas story, being set at the end of January. My fault - I assume it was published as the sentimental type of story people in the mid-19th century enjoyed at Christmas. Overall, though, this was sub-par Dickens and I infer it's prettty typical of other popular and forgotten works of the time. A man's got to make a living, even if his muse has absented itself.
I hope someone who liked it more can persuade me otherwise!
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