The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale Audiobook

The heartwarming story that became the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, now available on CD for the first time!

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 a charming audio 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.

Download and start listening now!

“Thisholiday morsel is the original story that inspired the film It’s aWonderful Life. If you’ve seen the beloved Christmastime staple, thestory might feel a bit slight and underdeveloped in comparison, but it’s stilla pleasure to hear, thanks to Edward Herrmann’s warm narration. Herrmann nevergoes so far as to imitate, but his voice nonetheless has the occasional hint ofJimmy Stewart in it as he recounts the tale of George Bailey, a man so fed upwith his life that he wishes he’d never been born—and then gets what he askedfor. Listeners, on the other hand, might just find themselves yearning for thecozy small-town life that Herrmann’s voice conjures up.”

— AudioFile