The Greatest Gift cover art

The Greatest Gift

A Christmas Tale

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The Greatest Gift

By: Philip Van Doren Stern
Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
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About this listen

 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. Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Genre Fiction Holidays Winter Christmas

Featured article: The best Christmas movies based on audiobooks


'Tis the season of mistletoe, mince pies, Christmas wishes, and present-giving... Did you know that many of the most memorable and iconic Christmas movies started life as works of literature? Enjoy our list of festive audiobooks and holiday movie adaptations...

Featured article The best Christmas movies based on audiobooks
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This is a sweet story, familiar to everyone as the basis of the film It's A Wonderful Life. It's a lot shorter than I was expecting, and much more sparse than the film, but interesting to see where the story originated.

Sweet (if very short) story

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The Greatest Gift is A wonderful story for everyone for all time It’s a Wonderful Life

The Greatest Gift

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I knew this was a short story, but I was not expecting half of the audiobook to be commentary about the book and the film (It's a Wonderful Life).

Very short!

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