Visitors to Grassington’s Dickensian Festival will have the opportunity to see an iconic edition of the author’s most loved book, A Christmas Carol.

The rare 1844 specially bound edition will be on public view inside Grassington Folk Museum on the first Saturday of the festival – November 30.

The book was commissioned by Charles Dickens for the widow of his great friend, the Malton-based lawyer Charles Smithson.

There is a long-standing belief that the office of Scrooge was based on Smithson's office on Chancery Lane and that various characters are based on residents of the area at the time.

The book was hidden from public view until last Christmas when broadcaster Selina Scott, Malton businessman Stephen Joll and Clair Challenor-Chadwick, managing director of Harrogate’s specialist fundraising and marketing company, Cause UK, led a campaign to raise $43,750 (£27,000) in just four weeks to secure the book when it came up for auction in New York.

Clair said: “The book is currently housed at York University and this will be the first official outing. “It’s important as many people in Yorkshire get to see it as it’s a remarkable legacy to one of the most seminal books in history. Dickens deserves to be part of Yorkshire’s literary heritage, just as the Brontes or Bram Stoker.”

Angela Jackson, organiser of the Grassington Dickensian Festival, said: “It’s a coup to have this authentic piece of heritage celebrated in Grassington at the biggest Dickens event of its kind, not only in Yorkshire but in the UK. “Cultural tourism is vitally important for the lifeblood of rural economies like Malton and Grassington. It’s exciting, and important, that we build on Dickens’ legacy to attract tourists from all over the world.”

David Shields, area director of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The chance to see a rare edition of A Christmas Carol brings a terrific touch to the biggest Dickens event in the UK. It brings a part of the real Charles Dickens to this hugely popular and authentic festival which is the perfect way to celebrate the start of Christmas.”

The festival itself runs over three Saturdays – November 30, December 7 and 14 – but the book will only be on display on the first day.