Waldrop, Howard. "Household Words; or, The Powers-That-Be"
What if: The Industrial Revolution followed a different path, with electric power widely available by the 1840s.
Summary: Charles Dickens gives a public reading of The Christmas Garland, featuring Eben Mizer, Giant Tim, et al.
Published: In Amazing Stories Winter 1994; Christmas Magic (ed. David G. Hartwell), Tor 1994 (0812534476); Going Home Again, Eidolon 1997 (0958686408), St. Martin's 1998 (0312185898BUY); More Amazing Stories (ed. Kim Mohan), Tor 1998 (0312864736BUY); and Things Will Never be the Same: A Howard Waldrop Reader: Selected Science Fiction, 1980-2005, Old Earth 2007 (1882968360BUY, 1882968352BUY).