The Lakewood book club, The Book Trotters, met Monday evening, Dec. 3, for dinner and discussion in the Vickery Place home of Pamela Thomas.

This month’s selection was The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had left to publish A Christmas Carol himself. The book immediately caused a sensation and breathed new life into his career and into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor.

The selection, chosen by Thomas, was appropriate not only because of the Christmas season but because this is the bicentenary of Dickens' birth.

To elaborate the theme, the ladies enjoyed a traditional English meal including a cheese tray of Stilton and English Cheddars, baked ham, Cornish pasties, truffles, cake and mince meat pie.

Next month’s read is an Agatha Christie holiday mystery. January hostess, Mary Kay Henley, passed out beautifully wrapped (albeit blood stained) Christmas packages containing the book for each member.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Book Trotters.