Enjoy a Christmas classic read by one of CBC Radio’s favourites, Alan Maitland. Also known as Fireside Al, he was best loved for his reading of enchanting stories during the holiday season. Coincidentally, this was the first story Charles Dickens ever read aloud for an audience, and it was the last story he ever performed. The story of Scrooge and his spectacular transformation took over the author’s life and he completed his 1843 manuscript in less than six weeks — just in time for Christmas.Alan Maitland was best known as co-host of As It Happens for nearly 20 years. He died in 1999 at the age of 78, after a long illness. With his unmistakable warmth and polish, Maitland was one of the great voices of Canadian radio.