Sean Spicer thinks A Christmas Carol is an actual collection of carols - and Twitter is lapping it up

Former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer should use the holiday period to brush up on his knowledge of classic English literature, if a recent Instagram post is anything to go by.

The political aide posted an image of Charles Dickens's novel, A Christmas Carol, which was taken during a recent visit to the White House.

His caption seemed to suggest he was not totally clear on its contents. It read simply: 'FDR's book of Christmas Carols.'

Anyone who has read Dickens's classic will know the short novella is short on songs, despite the apparently misleading title. The tale follows Ebeneezer Scrooge as he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas present, past and future who convince him to become a kinder, warmer man.

Social media users were quick to point out his error:

The post got others speculating on what he might think about other non-literal book titles.

Some said that the current Republic administration would do well to give A Christmas Carol another reading.

Spicer finally became aware of his mistake and changed the caption, but only long after the horse had bolted.

Chris Broadwell said on Instagram: "For everyone wondering, 3 days is the amount of time it took for him to edit the caption."

"Did you not read this when you were little? Try the cliff notes. It's a prophecy of the world that will be because of the man that fired you", another replied.

"And Republicans say there is a war on Christmas. They don't even know anything about it #Mouthbreather #READIT#YoudLearnSomething."