The Battle of Life by Charles Dickens

The Battle of Life: A Love Story (better known as The Battle of Life) is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1846. It is the fourth of his five "Christmas Books", coming after The Cricket on the Hearth and followed by The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain.
It is noteworthy in that it is the only one out of the five books that does not have any use of supernatural elements. It bears the greatest resemblance to The Cricket on the Hearth in two aspects: that it is not a social novel and that it is resolved with a romantic twist. As is typical with Dickens, the ending is a happy one.
It is one of Dickenss lesser known Christmas books and has never attained any high level of popularity, a trait it shares with The Haunted Man.
An adaptation of The Battle of Life by Albert Richard Smith was produced with success at the Surrey Theatre in 1846.