Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook50 minutes
The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale
Written by Philip Van Doren Stern
Narrated by Edward Herrmann
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
A beautiful gift edition of the heartwarming story that became the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.
For almost seventy years, people the world over have fallen in love with Frank Capra’s classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. But few of those fans know that Capra’s film was based on a short story by author Philip Van Doren Stern, which came to Stern in a dream one night.
Unable at first to find a publisher for his evocative tale about a man named George Pratt who ponders suicide until he receives an opportunity to see what the world would be like without him, Stern ultimately published the story in a small pamphlet and sent it out as his 1943 Christmas card. One of those 200 cards found its way into the hands of Frank Capra, who shared it with Jimmy Stewart, and the film that resulted became the holiday tradition we cherish today.
Now fans of It’s a Wonderful Life, or anyone who loves the spirit of Christmas, can own the story that started it all in an elegant, illustrated edition that’s perfect for holiday giving. It includes an Afterword by Stern’s daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, that tells the story of how her father’s Christmas card became the movie beloved by generations of people around the world.
For almost seventy years, people the world over have fallen in love with Frank Capra’s classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. But few of those fans know that Capra’s film was based on a short story by author Philip Van Doren Stern, which came to Stern in a dream one night.
Unable at first to find a publisher for his evocative tale about a man named George Pratt who ponders suicide until he receives an opportunity to see what the world would be like without him, Stern ultimately published the story in a small pamphlet and sent it out as his 1943 Christmas card. One of those 200 cards found its way into the hands of Frank Capra, who shared it with Jimmy Stewart, and the film that resulted became the holiday tradition we cherish today.
Now fans of It’s a Wonderful Life, or anyone who loves the spirit of Christmas, can own the story that started it all in an elegant, illustrated edition that’s perfect for holiday giving. It includes an Afterword by Stern’s daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, that tells the story of how her father’s Christmas card became the movie beloved by generations of people around the world.
Author
Philip Van Doren Stern
Philip Van Doren Stern (1900–1984) was an American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story, “The Greatest Gift,” became the basis of the classic Christmas film, It’s a Wonderful Life.
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Reviews for The Greatest Gift
Rating: 4.571428571428571 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
28 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's a wonderful story, read beautifully ba Edward Hermann. A classic gem.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5George Pratt is contemplating suicide, when a stranger appears and starts to talk him out of it. When George lets slip that he wishes he'd never been born, getting his wish may just change his perspective on how great a gift life is.This is a short story that won't take you long to read, but if you slow yourself down may make you think about some of the ways in which your live has touched others', making the world a different place than it would be without you. Knowing that it inspired "It's a Wonderful Life" made me have rather different expectations for the story - I expected it to be longer and more fleshed out. But this is truly a short story, a compacted scene from the movie that is powerful in its own way for being more focused.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A most beautiful Christmas novel. I watched the film as a young girl and didn't know it was based on this story. I'm so glad I found it and read it on 25th December!