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The Greatest Gift: The Original Story That Inspired the Christmas Classic It's a Wonderful Life
Few films have become a part of the fabric of American life as much as Frank Capra's classic It's a Wonderful Life. Every Christmas, Americans reopen their hearts to Jimmy Stewart and his journey through Bedford Falls. Yet few of us know that the movie was based on "The Greatest Gift," a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, privately printed as a Christmas card to the author's friends in 1943. This deluxe edition of "The Greatest Gift" marks the fiftieth anniversary of the release of It's a Wonderful Life. Delighted readers will immediately recognize George Bailey from the movie - together with the guardian angel, the snowy scene on the bridge, and Bedford Falls - and will identify with George's realization that life is a gift and every individual indispensable. Specially commissioned artwork illustrates scenes from "The Greatest Gift," and an afterword by the author's daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, reveals how this enchanting story inspired the beloved movie.
80 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1943
About the author
Philip Van Doren Stern
91 books26 followersPhilip Van Doren Stern (September 10, 1900 - July 31, 1984) was an American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story "The Greatest Gift," published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Philip Van Doren Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania into a family of humble means. His Pennsylvania-born father was a traveling merchant of Bavarian descent, who came to Wyalusing from West Virginia with his New Jersey-born wife. Stern grew up in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers University.
After graduating from Rutgers in 1924, Philip Van Doren Stern worked in advertising before switching to a career as a designer and editor in publishing.
He was a historian and author of some 40 books and editor most known for his books on the Civil War[1] that a New York Times obituary called "authoritative" and "widely respected by scholars". As an editor, he worked at Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, and Alfred A. Knopf. He compiled and annotated short story collections and the writings and letters of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.
During World War II, he was a member of the planning board of the United States Office of War Information. He was the general manager of Editions for the Armed Services, which resized popular books so Americans serving in the military could store them in the pockets of their uniforms. He compiled and edited many collections and anthologies of short stories, pictorial books, annotations, and books on historical subjects.
Stern edited, compiled, and introduced The Viking Portable Poe in 1945, a compact collection of letters, short stories, poems, and essays by Edgar Allan Poe. Stern wrote the biographical introduction to the collection, selected the contents included, and wrote introductory essays on the varying genres. The collection became a standard single-volume anthology of Poe's works for almost fifty years.
Philip Van Doren Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania into a family of humble means. His Pennsylvania-born father was a traveling merchant of Bavarian descent, who came to Wyalusing from West Virginia with his New Jersey-born wife. Stern grew up in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers University.
After graduating from Rutgers in 1924, Philip Van Doren Stern worked in advertising before switching to a career as a designer and editor in publishing.
He was a historian and author of some 40 books and editor most known for his books on the Civil War[1] that a New York Times obituary called "authoritative" and "widely respected by scholars". As an editor, he worked at Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, and Alfred A. Knopf. He compiled and annotated short story collections and the writings and letters of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.
During World War II, he was a member of the planning board of the United States Office of War Information. He was the general manager of Editions for the Armed Services, which resized popular books so Americans serving in the military could store them in the pockets of their uniforms. He compiled and edited many collections and anthologies of short stories, pictorial books, annotations, and books on historical subjects.
Stern edited, compiled, and introduced The Viking Portable Poe in 1945, a compact collection of letters, short stories, poems, and essays by Edgar Allan Poe. Stern wrote the biographical introduction to the collection, selected the contents included, and wrote introductory essays on the varying genres. The collection became a standard single-volume anthology of Poe's works for almost fifty years.
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December 13, 2025
Before there was the Hollywood Classic Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, there was, The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale, a short story written by author Philip Van Doren Stern. Unable to find a willing publisher, he had the story made into pamphlets and sent them out as Christmas cards in 1943.
Fast-forward to March 1944: Stern agrees to sell the movie rights to a well-known Hollywood studio, and, magically, The Greatest Gift and its protagonist, George Pratt, become It's a Wonderful Life and its protagonist, George Bailey.
The Greatest Gift audiobook is narrated by Edward Herrmann, whose voice I have always loved; may he rest in peace.
All formats include an Afterword by Stern’s daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, which offers greater detail on the story's origins, its transition from short story to full-length film, and its lasting impact on her and her family's lives.
The Greatest Gift makes a perfect gift for booklovers on your Christmas list!
4⭐
Fast-forward to March 1944: Stern agrees to sell the movie rights to a well-known Hollywood studio, and, magically, The Greatest Gift and its protagonist, George Pratt, become It's a Wonderful Life and its protagonist, George Bailey.
The Greatest Gift audiobook is narrated by Edward Herrmann, whose voice I have always loved; may he rest in peace.
All formats include an Afterword by Stern’s daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, which offers greater detail on the story's origins, its transition from short story to full-length film, and its lasting impact on her and her family's lives.
The Greatest Gift makes a perfect gift for booklovers on your Christmas list!
4⭐
December 25, 2014
A priceless importance due the film that inspired
NO MAN IS A FAILURE WHO HAS FRIENDS
It’s not rare if you haven’t read this short story or even know about it. But certainly it could be quite rare if you haven’t watched, at least once, the film that inspired.
The Greatest Gift, by Phillip Van Doren Stern, is the inspiration for the masterpiece directed by Frank Capra and performed by James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell and Henry Travers. I am talking about...
...It’s a Wonderful Life...
...the timeless classic which is now a tradition (especially in United States) to be watched on TV on each Christmas’ Eve. And certainly since I was a kid, I watched each time that I was able to do it, and now as adult and since several years ago that I got the DVD and later the Blu-ray, now I do it as my own personal tradition too, on each Christmas’ Eve’s night, I watched the film It’s a Wonderful Life.
And it’s because the love and respect that I have for the film that it wasn’t easy to rate this short story. I really, really, REALLY, wished to be able to give it a full 5-stars rating,...
BUT...
...it was an odd reading experience, very much like when I decided to read The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, since some people whom only watched the mere rating (also a 3-stars rating), may think that I didn’t like the story or even worse that I have no respect for what the book represented...
...And that would be as far from truth as able possible,...
...since I do have a lot of respect to the general message, the literature’s importance and the social impact of the story (in BOTH cases).
However, as I commented in my appreciation about the reading value of The Diary of a Young Girl, where I pointed out that it was a personal diary, written by a teenager, without caring about any coherency, or even having a proper ending (due understandable reasons) but still hardly a good example of a typical book in the genre of a memoir.
In the case, of The Greatest Gift, is a short story that it was originally printed on xmas cards to the friends of the author (since he didn’t get to publish it), so you already have the main character, George Pratt (in the short story the last name was Pratt instead of the film version’s Bailey) in the climax scene and you basically you get a simplified version of the general message but the things are already changed and it’s through the comments of the main character that you have to understand how as before, and why it seems to be changed from the point of view of the main character.
So, I have to admit that since I have watched A LOT of time the classic film, so I am “contaminated” of being used to that form of getting the story, but still I am truly believe that if you want to impact the audience, you first have to get them to know and to like how it’s the “real life” of the characters and then, to make the change, so you can be as impacted as is the main character.
So, taking in account that it’s a short story, showing very little details, never explaining why George Pratt was so desperate to try to do what was going to do, since he tells that he thought that he never do a relevant thing in life, but I do think that must be some kind of detonating event, to force him to do something unspeakable, but no, there isn’t in the written short story, so hardly you can sympathize with the main character (something that it’s quite taking care of, in the film) and finally, telling the changes in reverse order (already living the changed reality, and only commenting how was the “real life”) you can’t really being impacted by it.
However, the general message is there, and one can appreciate the importance of the existence of this book, since without it, we would never had the film It’s a Wonderful Life and that could certainly leave an irreplaceable hole in humanity’s history.
A special compliment to the excellent job of Scott McKowen, who did the illustration on this edition and it was a wonderful artwork.
EACH MAN’S LIFE TOUCHES SO MANY OTHER LIVES
People who have watched the film, they will recognize my chosen titles for the sections of this reviews as quotes from the film, that they are only in the film, the written short story doesn’t have these truly remarkable quotes giving a testimony of the priceless work done on the screenplay adapting the original short story into a full long story presented in the classic movie.
The general message in both versions is simple. If you don’t do your part in life, no one else will do it. Many times, people use to say that anyone is replaceable, BUT one thing is to replace someone and totally another to be the same person. Even is the smallest things, in decisions that you may think aren’t impacting on anyone, they are crucial to have their lives as they use to know them. A single change, and those lives can be totally different.
A detail found on both versions, short story and film, and that you may think that it’s not important or impossible that a person can influence, it’s that George (Pratt or Bailey) is in his climax moment, there is snowing, but once the angel does his thing, the snow stops.
It was snowing in that town thanks that George lived there.
Yes, I know, you may think that I lose it, but this is just like the “Butterfly Effect”, where if a diminutive butterfly flaps its wings in Japan, it will rain in New York.
So, yes, I can believe that certain town will have a white Christmas with a gentle snowfall if, IF the right person lives there.
Life is the greatest gift that God gave us.
Never to doubt that each of you have an important purpose and impact while living in this plane of existence.
And even more important, never rejecting the gift of life or corrupt it due doing the bad decisions.
Merry Christmas to you all and blessings to you and all your families.
NO MAN IS A FAILURE WHO HAS FRIENDS
It’s not rare if you haven’t read this short story or even know about it. But certainly it could be quite rare if you haven’t watched, at least once, the film that inspired.
The Greatest Gift, by Phillip Van Doren Stern, is the inspiration for the masterpiece directed by Frank Capra and performed by James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell and Henry Travers. I am talking about...
...It’s a Wonderful Life...
...the timeless classic which is now a tradition (especially in United States) to be watched on TV on each Christmas’ Eve. And certainly since I was a kid, I watched each time that I was able to do it, and now as adult and since several years ago that I got the DVD and later the Blu-ray, now I do it as my own personal tradition too, on each Christmas’ Eve’s night, I watched the film It’s a Wonderful Life.
And it’s because the love and respect that I have for the film that it wasn’t easy to rate this short story. I really, really, REALLY, wished to be able to give it a full 5-stars rating,...
BUT...
...it was an odd reading experience, very much like when I decided to read The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, since some people whom only watched the mere rating (also a 3-stars rating), may think that I didn’t like the story or even worse that I have no respect for what the book represented...
...And that would be as far from truth as able possible,...
...since I do have a lot of respect to the general message, the literature’s importance and the social impact of the story (in BOTH cases).
However, as I commented in my appreciation about the reading value of The Diary of a Young Girl, where I pointed out that it was a personal diary, written by a teenager, without caring about any coherency, or even having a proper ending (due understandable reasons) but still hardly a good example of a typical book in the genre of a memoir.
In the case, of The Greatest Gift, is a short story that it was originally printed on xmas cards to the friends of the author (since he didn’t get to publish it), so you already have the main character, George Pratt (in the short story the last name was Pratt instead of the film version’s Bailey) in the climax scene and you basically you get a simplified version of the general message but the things are already changed and it’s through the comments of the main character that you have to understand how as before, and why it seems to be changed from the point of view of the main character.
So, I have to admit that since I have watched A LOT of time the classic film, so I am “contaminated” of being used to that form of getting the story, but still I am truly believe that if you want to impact the audience, you first have to get them to know and to like how it’s the “real life” of the characters and then, to make the change, so you can be as impacted as is the main character.
So, taking in account that it’s a short story, showing very little details, never explaining why George Pratt was so desperate to try to do what was going to do, since he tells that he thought that he never do a relevant thing in life, but I do think that must be some kind of detonating event, to force him to do something unspeakable, but no, there isn’t in the written short story, so hardly you can sympathize with the main character (something that it’s quite taking care of, in the film) and finally, telling the changes in reverse order (already living the changed reality, and only commenting how was the “real life”) you can’t really being impacted by it.
However, the general message is there, and one can appreciate the importance of the existence of this book, since without it, we would never had the film It’s a Wonderful Life and that could certainly leave an irreplaceable hole in humanity’s history.
A special compliment to the excellent job of Scott McKowen, who did the illustration on this edition and it was a wonderful artwork.
EACH MAN’S LIFE TOUCHES SO MANY OTHER LIVES
People who have watched the film, they will recognize my chosen titles for the sections of this reviews as quotes from the film, that they are only in the film, the written short story doesn’t have these truly remarkable quotes giving a testimony of the priceless work done on the screenplay adapting the original short story into a full long story presented in the classic movie.
The general message in both versions is simple. If you don’t do your part in life, no one else will do it. Many times, people use to say that anyone is replaceable, BUT one thing is to replace someone and totally another to be the same person. Even is the smallest things, in decisions that you may think aren’t impacting on anyone, they are crucial to have their lives as they use to know them. A single change, and those lives can be totally different.
A detail found on both versions, short story and film, and that you may think that it’s not important or impossible that a person can influence, it’s that George (Pratt or Bailey) is in his climax moment, there is snowing, but once the angel does his thing, the snow stops.
It was snowing in that town thanks that George lived there.
Yes, I know, you may think that I lose it, but this is just like the “Butterfly Effect”, where if a diminutive butterfly flaps its wings in Japan, it will rain in New York.
So, yes, I can believe that certain town will have a white Christmas with a gentle snowfall if, IF the right person lives there.
Life is the greatest gift that God gave us.
Never to doubt that each of you have an important purpose and impact while living in this plane of existence.
And even more important, never rejecting the gift of life or corrupt it due doing the bad decisions.
Merry Christmas to you all and blessings to you and all your families.
December 11, 2022
The greatest Christmas movie ever made, by virtually universal acclamation, is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). In the aftermath of the Second World War, Capra, a veteran of the war, crafted, with lead actor and fellow World War II veteran Jimmy Stewart, a holiday tale of a despairing small-town man who realizes at Christmastime that his seemingly insignificant life has actually made a vital difference in the lives of thousands of other people.
Today, It’s a Wonderful Life is #21 on the Internet Movie Database’s list of the top 250 films of all time. It’s not just a great Christmas movie; it’s a great movie. And yet, of the millions of viewers who have viewed and cherished the movie during one Christmas season after another, relatively few have read the modest little short story that inspired Capra’s classic film.
How fortunate it is, then, that back in 2014, the good people at Simon & Schuster offered the world a Christmas gift, in the form of a fresh, red-bound reprinting of Philip Van Doren Stern’s 1943 short story “The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale.” It is a lovely little story, and the unlikely saga of how it became the basis for one of the best-loved films ever made could constitute a small Christmas miracle of its own.
Philip Van Doren Stern was a hard-working writer and editor who built a strong career at publishing houses like Alfred A. Knopf and Simon & Schuster. During the Second World War, he led the U.S. Office of War Information, and directed the production of “Armed Services Editions,” small and easy-to-carry editions of popular American books that would fit inside the pocket of an infantryman’s M-43 field jacket. As the war was ending, he edited an edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s work for the Viking Portable Library; bringing together as it does letters, poems, stories, and nonfiction by Poe, with thoughtful commentary by Stern, The Portable Edgar Allan Poe (1945) remains an essential edition of Poe’s work (and one that holds a special place of honor on the shelf of my library here in Northern Virginia). And Stern wrote a number of American Civil War histories, of which his Secret Missions of the Civil War (1959) is probably the best-known – fun, engaging, well-illustrated works of popular history.
But for all that success over the course of a lifetime advancing the cause of American letters, Stern today is best known for a 35-page story that he crafted in 1943, near the beginning of his career as a fiction writer. As his daughter Marguerite Stern Robinson explains in an engaging afterword, Stern was not having much success placing his Christmas story “The Greatest Gift” with publishers, and therefore he decided to send the story out, as a sort of literary Christmas card, to his circle of friends. How surprised and flattered Stern’s friends must have been to receive, as their Christmas card from the Stern family, this extraordinary labor of love – and how interesting it is to wonder what one of those original Christmas cards is worth today.
The Greatest Gift starts out on a note that will be strongly familiar to It’s a Wonderful Life’s legions of fans: “The little town straggling up the hill was bright with colored Christmas lights. But George Bailey did not see them. He was leaning over the railing of the iron bridge, staring down moodily at the black water” (p. 1). His dangerous meditations on “how long a man could stay alive” in the icy water below are interrupted when he is interrupted by “a quiet voice beside him” speaking the words, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” (p. 2).
George Bailey wonders who the shabbily dressed stranger beside him might be, observing that the stranger “was a most unremarkable little person, the sort you would pass in a crowd and never notice – unless you saw his bright blue eyes, that is. You couldn’t forget them, for they were the kindest, sharpest eyes you ever saw” (p. 2). The stranger is not called Clarence – indeed, he is never given a name – and he is never designated as an Angel Second Class (AS-2). As in the film, however, George is irritated, and at the same time abashed, at the stranger’s knowledge that George has been considering suicide: “You know you shouldn’t think of such things – and on Christmas Eve of all times!” (p. 3).
George Bailey, in response to the stranger’s insistence that George has much to be thankful for, pours out his feelings of despair: “I’m stuck here in this mudhole for life, doing the same dull work day after day. Other men are leading exciting lives, but I – well, I’m just a small-town bank clerk that even the Army didn’t want. I never did anything really useful or interesting, and it looks as if I never will. I might just as well be dead. I might better be dead. Sometimes I wish I were” (pp. 4-5). In passages like this one, it is easy to see the genesis of the more fully developed character of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life – a talented and ambitious young man who dreams of traveling the world and doing great things, but who feels bitter at never having gotten to leave his job at the Bailey Building and Loan in Bedford Falls, New York.
When George follows up on his nihilist thinking by saying that “I wish I’d never been born!”, the stranger seizes upon George’s words with an odd sort of excitement: “Why, that’s wonderful! You’ve solved everything!” The stranger then informs George that “All your troubles are over. Your wish, I am happy to say, has been granted – officially” (p. 5).
The stranger then sends George off to explore his brave new world – giving him a satchel of brushes, so that George can pretend to be a brush salesman; it’s the 1940’s, after all, when one might see brush salesmen going from door to door in many U.S. communities.
And with that send-off, George starts discovering what the world would have been like if he had never been born. The bank that would have been his place of employment is closed; without George to take the bank job, and do that job conscientiously and well, his rival Marty Jenkins took the job. Marty Jenkins then stole $50,000 from the bank and fled, and the bank closed as a result.
Visiting his parents (who, of course, don’t know him), George sees a picture of his brother Harry, asks about Harry, and is told by his father that Harry has “been dead a long while. He was drowned the day that picture was taken.” George then recalls a long-ago summer day when he and Harry “had gone swimming. Harry had been seized with a cramp, he remembered. He had pulled him out of the water and had thought nothing of it. But suppose he hadn’t been there!” (pp. 20-21)
As in It’s a Wonderful Life, George finds that his absence from the scene has caused bad consequences to pile upon one another, in an escalating cycle of unhappiness. Marty Jenkins’s act of embezzlement from the bank caused his brother Art to turn to drink; Art subsequently married Mary Thatcher, the woman who was to be George’s wife, and one of the most painful scenes of the story shows George seeing that Mary is now trapped in an unhappy marriage with a drunken and quite-possibly-abusive husband.
George hurries back to the bridge that he considered jumping from – and thankfully, the stranger is still there. George pleads with the stranger: “Change me back – please. Not just for my sake, but for the others. You don’t know what a mess this town is in….I’ve got to get back. They need me here.” The stranger says that he understands, and adds that “You had the greatest gift of all conferred upon you – the gift of life, of being a part of this world and taking a part in it. Yet you denied that gift” (p. 31).
At first, the stranger seems disinclined to grant George’s request for reinstatement to his former life – “You brought it on yourself” – but then adds that “since it’s Christmas Eve” (p. 31), George should close his eyes and keep listening to the Christmas bells and see what happens…
In the above-mentioned afterword, Marguerite Stern Robinson writes with evident love and pride about how her father’s story, inspired by a dream, found its way into the hands of Frank Capra. “After reading The Greatest Gift, he became excited about its possibilities as a film, and wanted Jimmy Stewart for the leading role” (p. 41). We all know, of course, how very well that film project turned out; and admirers of the film who find their way to this delightful little book will no doubt agree with Robinson’s closing declaration that “The Greatest Gift is as compelling today as it was seventy years ago because, in this story, lies a powerful message about the significance of the lives of all of us” (p. 53).
This edition of The Greatest Gift is a great gift indeed.
Today, It’s a Wonderful Life is #21 on the Internet Movie Database’s list of the top 250 films of all time. It’s not just a great Christmas movie; it’s a great movie. And yet, of the millions of viewers who have viewed and cherished the movie during one Christmas season after another, relatively few have read the modest little short story that inspired Capra’s classic film.
How fortunate it is, then, that back in 2014, the good people at Simon & Schuster offered the world a Christmas gift, in the form of a fresh, red-bound reprinting of Philip Van Doren Stern’s 1943 short story “The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale.” It is a lovely little story, and the unlikely saga of how it became the basis for one of the best-loved films ever made could constitute a small Christmas miracle of its own.
Philip Van Doren Stern was a hard-working writer and editor who built a strong career at publishing houses like Alfred A. Knopf and Simon & Schuster. During the Second World War, he led the U.S. Office of War Information, and directed the production of “Armed Services Editions,” small and easy-to-carry editions of popular American books that would fit inside the pocket of an infantryman’s M-43 field jacket. As the war was ending, he edited an edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s work for the Viking Portable Library; bringing together as it does letters, poems, stories, and nonfiction by Poe, with thoughtful commentary by Stern, The Portable Edgar Allan Poe (1945) remains an essential edition of Poe’s work (and one that holds a special place of honor on the shelf of my library here in Northern Virginia). And Stern wrote a number of American Civil War histories, of which his Secret Missions of the Civil War (1959) is probably the best-known – fun, engaging, well-illustrated works of popular history.
But for all that success over the course of a lifetime advancing the cause of American letters, Stern today is best known for a 35-page story that he crafted in 1943, near the beginning of his career as a fiction writer. As his daughter Marguerite Stern Robinson explains in an engaging afterword, Stern was not having much success placing his Christmas story “The Greatest Gift” with publishers, and therefore he decided to send the story out, as a sort of literary Christmas card, to his circle of friends. How surprised and flattered Stern’s friends must have been to receive, as their Christmas card from the Stern family, this extraordinary labor of love – and how interesting it is to wonder what one of those original Christmas cards is worth today.
The Greatest Gift starts out on a note that will be strongly familiar to It’s a Wonderful Life’s legions of fans: “The little town straggling up the hill was bright with colored Christmas lights. But George Bailey did not see them. He was leaning over the railing of the iron bridge, staring down moodily at the black water” (p. 1). His dangerous meditations on “how long a man could stay alive” in the icy water below are interrupted when he is interrupted by “a quiet voice beside him” speaking the words, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” (p. 2).
George Bailey wonders who the shabbily dressed stranger beside him might be, observing that the stranger “was a most unremarkable little person, the sort you would pass in a crowd and never notice – unless you saw his bright blue eyes, that is. You couldn’t forget them, for they were the kindest, sharpest eyes you ever saw” (p. 2). The stranger is not called Clarence – indeed, he is never given a name – and he is never designated as an Angel Second Class (AS-2). As in the film, however, George is irritated, and at the same time abashed, at the stranger’s knowledge that George has been considering suicide: “You know you shouldn’t think of such things – and on Christmas Eve of all times!” (p. 3).
George Bailey, in response to the stranger’s insistence that George has much to be thankful for, pours out his feelings of despair: “I’m stuck here in this mudhole for life, doing the same dull work day after day. Other men are leading exciting lives, but I – well, I’m just a small-town bank clerk that even the Army didn’t want. I never did anything really useful or interesting, and it looks as if I never will. I might just as well be dead. I might better be dead. Sometimes I wish I were” (pp. 4-5). In passages like this one, it is easy to see the genesis of the more fully developed character of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life – a talented and ambitious young man who dreams of traveling the world and doing great things, but who feels bitter at never having gotten to leave his job at the Bailey Building and Loan in Bedford Falls, New York.
When George follows up on his nihilist thinking by saying that “I wish I’d never been born!”, the stranger seizes upon George’s words with an odd sort of excitement: “Why, that’s wonderful! You’ve solved everything!” The stranger then informs George that “All your troubles are over. Your wish, I am happy to say, has been granted – officially” (p. 5).
The stranger then sends George off to explore his brave new world – giving him a satchel of brushes, so that George can pretend to be a brush salesman; it’s the 1940’s, after all, when one might see brush salesmen going from door to door in many U.S. communities.
And with that send-off, George starts discovering what the world would have been like if he had never been born. The bank that would have been his place of employment is closed; without George to take the bank job, and do that job conscientiously and well, his rival Marty Jenkins took the job. Marty Jenkins then stole $50,000 from the bank and fled, and the bank closed as a result.
Visiting his parents (who, of course, don’t know him), George sees a picture of his brother Harry, asks about Harry, and is told by his father that Harry has “been dead a long while. He was drowned the day that picture was taken.” George then recalls a long-ago summer day when he and Harry “had gone swimming. Harry had been seized with a cramp, he remembered. He had pulled him out of the water and had thought nothing of it. But suppose he hadn’t been there!” (pp. 20-21)
As in It’s a Wonderful Life, George finds that his absence from the scene has caused bad consequences to pile upon one another, in an escalating cycle of unhappiness. Marty Jenkins’s act of embezzlement from the bank caused his brother Art to turn to drink; Art subsequently married Mary Thatcher, the woman who was to be George’s wife, and one of the most painful scenes of the story shows George seeing that Mary is now trapped in an unhappy marriage with a drunken and quite-possibly-abusive husband.
George hurries back to the bridge that he considered jumping from – and thankfully, the stranger is still there. George pleads with the stranger: “Change me back – please. Not just for my sake, but for the others. You don’t know what a mess this town is in….I’ve got to get back. They need me here.” The stranger says that he understands, and adds that “You had the greatest gift of all conferred upon you – the gift of life, of being a part of this world and taking a part in it. Yet you denied that gift” (p. 31).
At first, the stranger seems disinclined to grant George’s request for reinstatement to his former life – “You brought it on yourself” – but then adds that “since it’s Christmas Eve” (p. 31), George should close his eyes and keep listening to the Christmas bells and see what happens…
In the above-mentioned afterword, Marguerite Stern Robinson writes with evident love and pride about how her father’s story, inspired by a dream, found its way into the hands of Frank Capra. “After reading The Greatest Gift, he became excited about its possibilities as a film, and wanted Jimmy Stewart for the leading role” (p. 41). We all know, of course, how very well that film project turned out; and admirers of the film who find their way to this delightful little book will no doubt agree with Robinson’s closing declaration that “The Greatest Gift is as compelling today as it was seventy years ago because, in this story, lies a powerful message about the significance of the lives of all of us” (p. 53).
This edition of The Greatest Gift is a great gift indeed.
December 24, 2018
4 stars for this 1943 short story, and an extra half-star for its having inspired one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time, It's a Wonderful Life, the great movie directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart.
"Other men are leading exciting lives, but I – well, I’m just a small-town bank clerk. I never did anything really useful or interesting, and it looks as if I never will. I might just as well be dead. Sometimes I wish I were. In fact, I wish I’d never been born!”George Pratt is staring into the dark waters of the river on Christmas Eve, depressed about his failure of a life, when he's met by an older man who mysteriously grants his wish. The man sends George off with a sales bag full of brushes (like the old Fuller Brush door-to-door salesmen) to see what his town and family are like now that George has never been born.
If you're familiar with the movie, it's kind of a bare-bones version of that, but a lot of the story - and the heart and spirit of it -are here in this 75 year old story. It's worth reading! Free online here at Tor.com.
Merry Christmas to all!
Bonus material:
Per Tor.com:
When he found himself unable to find a publisher for his story, author Philip Van Doren Stern printed up copies of the “The Greatest Gift” and gave them out as Christmas cards in 1943. Eventually, the story came to the attention of director Frank Capra, who explained later, “It was the story I had been looking for all my life! A good man, ambitious. But so busy helping others, life seems to pass him by…Through the eyes of a guardian angel he sees the world as it would have been had he not been born."The movie It's a Wonderful Life was initially not a success, despite its star and director. It was quickly forgotten, so much so that the movie’s copyright wasn’t renewed in the 70s (under the old copyright laws renewal was required after 28 years), so it was considered to be in the public domain for many years. That led to its being shown on TV so often - because FREE!! - that this all-but-forgotten movie became extremely popular. When that happened, the movie’s studio owner started enforcing the copyright of the movie’s music and the underlying story - this story here, which the studio bought the copyright for. So basically they back-doored the copyright protection. Here’s an article on it: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/...
November 16, 2015
“I want to live again. I want to live again. I want to live again. Please God, let me live again."
Heartwarming and inspirational.
As a collector of Christmas books, I am so glad that I found this one as it was the inspiration for the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life."
I didn't realize until reading the "Afterword" that he had thought of this story while shaving one morning and then spent a couple of years polishing it up before presenting it to magazines that would not published it. Since he couldn't get it published,he placed it in 200 Christmas cards that were then sent to family and friends. He has even sent the card and story to his friend, Shirley Collier, who called him a few months later wanting him to turn it into a film. The rest is history.
If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, this year is a good a time.
Update: I read the book again this year, just as many people watch the movie over and over again.
Heartwarming and inspirational.
As a collector of Christmas books, I am so glad that I found this one as it was the inspiration for the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life."
I didn't realize until reading the "Afterword" that he had thought of this story while shaving one morning and then spent a couple of years polishing it up before presenting it to magazines that would not published it. Since he couldn't get it published,he placed it in 200 Christmas cards that were then sent to family and friends. He has even sent the card and story to his friend, Shirley Collier, who called him a few months later wanting him to turn it into a film. The rest is history.
If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, this year is a good a time.
Update: I read the book again this year, just as many people watch the movie over and over again.
December 18, 2025
Thanks to my Goodreads friend Terrie R. for recommending The Greatest Gift, the short story that inspired the beloved film It’s a Wonderful Life. I chose the audiobook, and as I listened, I couldn’t help but picture Jimmy Stewart as George in every scene—it was impossible not to.
American author Philip Van Doren Stern originally wrote the story for magazine publication, but it was rejected everywhere he submitted it. Undeterred, Stern printed the story as a small Christmas card book and mailed it to 200 friends and acquaintances. That simple, personal gesture is what ultimately brought the story to the world’s attention.
At its heart, The Greatest Gift is the moving tale of a man who, in a moment of deep despair, wishes he had never been born. His wish is granted, and what follows is a tender, uplifting exploration of how one ordinary life can have an extraordinary impact on a community.
The story itself takes less than an hour to listen to, but it’s the afterword that I found especially fascinating. Stern’s daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, provides rich historical context, detailing how Frank Capra discovered the story, fell in love with it, and insisted that Jimmy Stewart be cast as George. The film was released in December 1946—seven years after the story was first written.
I highly recommend the audiobook to anyone who loves It’s a Wonderful Life. Marguerite Stern Robinson’s afterword is an absolute must-listen and adds meaningful depth to this timeless holiday classic. 🎄✨
May 21, 2023
یک مرد، یک مرد خوب، جاهطلب. اما به نظر میرسد آنقدر مشغول کمک به دیگران است که زندگیاش همینطوری میگذرد. آرزو میکند که کاش هرگز به دنیا نمیآمد. به آرزویش رسید!
این قسمت شاید مهمترین قسمت این داستان بسیار کوتاه باشد که ایده بزرگی را برای ساخت فیلمی ماندگار به جا میگذارد.
فیلمی که با گذشت بیش از ۷۰ سال از اکران آن هنوز هم با قدرت روایی بالای خود از فیلم های بسیار محبوب مردم دنیاست و در دسته آثار به اصطلاح “حالخوبکن” دنیای سینما جای میگیرد.
نمیشود عاشق سینما بود و سینمای کلاسیک رو دوست نداشت. و نمیشود سینمای کلاسیک را دوست بداریم و این فیلم را در آغوش خیال خود نگیریم.
درباره داستان باید بگویم بسیار کوتاه و مطالب به گونهای اساسی و کلی مطرح شده است. اما همین چند صفحه حدودا ۴ سال از نویسندهاش زمان گرفته است.
پرداخت درامی که عوامل سازنده فیلم به آن دادهاند البته باعث محبوبیت عمومی این قصه شده است. چرا که کتاب در ابتدا هیچ مجله و نشریهای را مجاب و راضی به چاپ نمیکند و پنجاه سال بعد از اکران فیلم چاپ عمومی شده است.
انگار این قصه کوتاه نوشته شد تا از آن فیلمی ساخته شود.
و این قدرتی است که این داستان و این ایده دارد؛ بهطوری که فرانک کاپرا، کارگردان و جیمز استوارت، بازیگر نقش اول فیلم در نامههایشان به نویسنده کتاب، بارها به این موضوع یعنی قدرتمندی ایده اصلی داستان اشاره کردهاند.
خواندن این قصه شیرین و دلچسب است، اما اگر فیلم آن یعنی
It’s a wonderful life 1946
را دیدهاید، اصلا انتظار تاثیرگذاری نسخه سینمایی را نداشته باشید.
این قسمت شاید مهمترین قسمت این داستان بسیار کوتاه باشد که ایده بزرگی را برای ساخت فیلمی ماندگار به جا میگذارد.
فیلمی که با گذشت بیش از ۷۰ سال از اکران آن هنوز هم با قدرت روایی بالای خود از فیلم های بسیار محبوب مردم دنیاست و در دسته آثار به اصطلاح “حالخوبکن” دنیای سینما جای میگیرد.
نمیشود عاشق سینما بود و سینمای کلاسیک رو دوست نداشت. و نمیشود سینمای کلاسیک را دوست بداریم و این فیلم را در آغوش خیال خود نگیریم.
درباره داستان باید بگویم بسیار کوتاه و مطالب به گونهای اساسی و کلی مطرح شده است. اما همین چند صفحه حدودا ۴ سال از نویسندهاش زمان گرفته است.
پرداخت درامی که عوامل سازنده فیلم به آن دادهاند البته باعث محبوبیت عمومی این قصه شده است. چرا که کتاب در ابتدا هیچ مجله و نشریهای را مجاب و راضی به چاپ نمیکند و پنجاه سال بعد از اکران فیلم چاپ عمومی شده است.
انگار این قصه کوتاه نوشته شد تا از آن فیلمی ساخته شود.
و این قدرتی است که این داستان و این ایده دارد؛ بهطوری که فرانک کاپرا، کارگردان و جیمز استوارت، بازیگر نقش اول فیلم در نامههایشان به نویسنده کتاب، بارها به این موضوع یعنی قدرتمندی ایده اصلی داستان اشاره کردهاند.
خواندن این قصه شیرین و دلچسب است، اما اگر فیلم آن یعنی
It’s a wonderful life 1946
را دیدهاید، اصلا انتظار تاثیرگذاری نسخه سینمایی را نداشته باشید.
December 26, 2025
This is the book that inspired 'It's A Wonderful Life'. That is one of my favourite Christmas movies! It is a short story and obviously the film has much broader themes in it but this was nice to revisit this year. 🎄
December 22, 2018
4.5★
I read this here https://www.tor.com/2008/12/25/the-gr... Just be aware that there are a lot of typos in this edition.
Also I must be one of the few in the English speaking world who hasn't seen It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe if we still had Sky TV...
This was such a sweet, heartwarming story with a moral of counting your blessings. It appears at first read to be quite a simple tale, but it takes quite a few turns, before ending up in a really good place.
I may never have seen the movie but I'm sure I'll reread this story again & again.
I read this here https://www.tor.com/2008/12/25/the-gr... Just be aware that there are a lot of typos in this edition.
Also I must be one of the few in the English speaking world who hasn't seen It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe if we still had Sky TV...
This was such a sweet, heartwarming story with a moral of counting your blessings. It appears at first read to be quite a simple tale, but it takes quite a few turns, before ending up in a really good place.
I may never have seen the movie but I'm sure I'll reread this story again & again.
December 19, 2020
Philip Van Doren Stern was a writer of History books so when it came time to sit down and write the fictional story, which was named The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale based on a dream he had, he said and I quote “I had to learn how to write fiction”! His first draft, he said, “was terrible” so he put the story away for a few years and after those few years he took it out again to work on it and still he wasn’t happy! In 1943, after showing the story to his agent who liked it, was afraid that selling it to magazines would be hard because people of that time were not into “fantasy”! After revising the story, yet again, the author decided to have 200 twenty-four-page pamphlets printed at his own expense and sent them out as Christmas cards in 1943. In early 1944 the author received a telegram from his agent announcing that she received an offer from a well-known Hollywood studio for the movie rights.
The rest, as they say, was history! The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale became The Greatest Gift: The Original Story That Inspired the Christmas Classic It's a Wonderful Life and was released in December 1946. Incredibly, the movie was not a box office success! It wasn’t until years later that it became a Christmas classic!
The book is completely different from the movie and you can definitely tell that it was written for a magazine and not a book. It’s pretty choppy and nothing really like the movie but I still got the “feel good vibe” I get when I watch the movie!
This book is for everyone! Merry Christmas! 🎅🏻🎄🤶🏻
The rest, as they say, was history! The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale became The Greatest Gift: The Original Story That Inspired the Christmas Classic It's a Wonderful Life and was released in December 1946. Incredibly, the movie was not a box office success! It wasn’t until years later that it became a Christmas classic!
The book is completely different from the movie and you can definitely tell that it was written for a magazine and not a book. It’s pretty choppy and nothing really like the movie but I still got the “feel good vibe” I get when I watch the movie!
This book is for everyone! Merry Christmas! 🎅🏻🎄🤶🏻
December 30, 2016
Best known for its movie adaptation ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, this really touching tale really highlights the importance of friendship and family.
As George Bailey contemplates suicide, he’s visited by a guardian angle Clarence.
Clarence reveals to George how many lives he has touched in the town of Bedford Falls.
The perfect quick read for the festive period, it really is a wonderful story!
As George Bailey contemplates suicide, he’s visited by a guardian angle Clarence.
Clarence reveals to George how many lives he has touched in the town of Bedford Falls.
The perfect quick read for the festive period, it really is a wonderful story!
December 21, 2020
When I came across this book and realized it was the written story that became the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, I knew I had to find a copy, which was surprisingly difficult. But I did manage to find one at a thrift store, a copy that appeared to never have been read and in new condition with the exception of a slight wrinkle on the cover.
This story was written when the author woke from a dream, in 1938, which gave birth to this short, 64 page book, but not for many years. This was a deviation from his work as a historian and author renowned for his books about the Civil War, in addition to the writings which he assembled with annotations, of such well known men as Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln and Edgar Allan Poe. Writing fiction did not come as easily to him, but he began writing this in 1939, eventually finishing it in 1943 after several re-writes. And when he did finally finish writing, and rewriting this story, he was unable to find anyone to publish this story, so he printed out 200 copies and sent them as Christmas cards. In the Afterword, his daughter shares the story of how this short story came to the attention of Hollywood months later, and brought to film one of the most beloved of Christmas movies.
The story itself is 36 pages, but the Afterword really is worth reading.
This story was written when the author woke from a dream, in 1938, which gave birth to this short, 64 page book, but not for many years. This was a deviation from his work as a historian and author renowned for his books about the Civil War, in addition to the writings which he assembled with annotations, of such well known men as Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln and Edgar Allan Poe. Writing fiction did not come as easily to him, but he began writing this in 1939, eventually finishing it in 1943 after several re-writes. And when he did finally finish writing, and rewriting this story, he was unable to find anyone to publish this story, so he printed out 200 copies and sent them as Christmas cards. In the Afterword, his daughter shares the story of how this short story came to the attention of Hollywood months later, and brought to film one of the most beloved of Christmas movies.
The story itself is 36 pages, but the Afterword really is worth reading.
September 27, 2024
" ای کاش اصلا به دنیا نمیآمدم"... شاید بعضی از ماها تو زندگی به این نقطه رسیده باشیم.جرج پرت شخصیت اصلی داستان هم تو همین فکر و خیال بود که یه غریبهی مهربون میاد سمتش و این آرزوشو برآورده میکنه!! و حالا جرج باید شاهد زندگیای باشه که توش حضور نداره و دیگه اطرافیانش اون رو نمیشناسند.... کتاب موهبت بزرگ یک داستان کوتاه فوق العادهاست که فیلم بسیار معروف its a wonderful life رو از روی این داستان ساختند. خود داستان پنجاه سال پس از ساخت فیلم منتشر میشه چون اوایل کسی به داستان و موفقیتش خوشبین نبوده و ریسک چاپش رو به عهده نمیگرفتند ولی همین داستان کوتاه، باعث ساخت یکی از آثار محبوب و ماندگار سینما شده... این داستان از ارزش زیستن به ما میگه و تلنگری میزنه که چشمها را باید شست، طور دیگر باید دید. در طی صفحاتی کم خیلی پرمغز و محتوا این پیامها به مخاطب منتقل میشه... در ایران سال 1401 برای اولین بار ترجمه این داستان توسط آقای مهدی جاوید و به همت نشر وال انجام شده و من سومین نفری هستم که ریویو فارسی دارم مینویسم و یه جورایی دور موندن این کتاب از چشم اهالی فخیم گودریدز برام عجیبه!
December 25, 2017
The basis of the Capra classic It's a Wonderful Life. The story was published in a magazine and is too short for the character development and world-building that the movie is so good at, and the supernatural element is much more pronounced and better-explained in the movie. The story is still well worth your time, and barely takes any to read.
December 19, 2017
I love Frank Capra's It a Wonderful Life and was happy to read the very short story that started it all. The short story and the movie have differences but the basic story line and the meaning ring true. It was interesting to read the story and see the difference, which any fan of the movie would truly enjoy. The Afterword by Philip Can Doren Stern's daughter is interesting regarding the conception of the story and how it came to Capra. The book is really good but the movie takes it up another level. This is the first time IMO, the movie out does the book but the book was a much needed ingredient in the movie and without this basic story, there would be no George Bailey. Looking at the story as if the movie had not been made, it was a great little read with a big heart to it!
Lux Radio Theater version
https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com...
Lux Radio Theater version
https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com...
December 22, 2016
Re-read 2025
Rating: Love it😍
Format: Audio
Re-read 2024
Rating: Love it😍
Format: Audio
Re-read 2023
Rating: Love it😍
Format: Audio
Update:2022
I love it 😍
Este es mi Cima sabor navideño, mi navidad inicia leyéndolo.
Update:2021
Still Love it 😍
Update:2020
Love it 😍, bumped to 5/5⭐️
Update dec 2019 I still love it
Update: First re-read dic 2018, I still loved it. I think I’ll make it a tradition to read it every christmas.
Rating: I loved it 😍
This is a wonderful, uplifting and beautiful christmas story.
The classic movie It's a wonderful life is based on it. The movie expands on George's backstory and his disappointment in life, his depression and despair. The movie makes the strange man an angel, Clarence, who is trying to get his wings. In the story we don't know who he is or even what his name is.
To me the movie is pretty boring, long and slow paced, and the best part, when George gets to see a world where he wasn’t born, takes place in the last hour or 45 minutes. This short story only tells us about this incident, and that's why is so interesting, beautiful and powerful.
Is concise, to the point, magical, light, uplifting and heartworming.
I recommend it.
Rating: Love it😍
Format: Audio
Re-read 2024
Rating: Love it😍
Format: Audio
Re-read 2023
Rating: Love it😍
Format: Audio
Update:2022
I love it 😍
Este es mi Cima sabor navideño, mi navidad inicia leyéndolo.
Update:2021
Still Love it 😍
Update:2020
Love it 😍, bumped to 5/5⭐️
Update dec 2019 I still love it
Update: First re-read dic 2018, I still loved it. I think I’ll make it a tradition to read it every christmas.
Rating: I loved it 😍
This is a wonderful, uplifting and beautiful christmas story.
The classic movie It's a wonderful life is based on it. The movie expands on George's backstory and his disappointment in life, his depression and despair. The movie makes the strange man an angel, Clarence, who is trying to get his wings. In the story we don't know who he is or even what his name is.
To me the movie is pretty boring, long and slow paced, and the best part, when George gets to see a world where he wasn’t born, takes place in the last hour or 45 minutes. This short story only tells us about this incident, and that's why is so interesting, beautiful and powerful.
Is concise, to the point, magical, light, uplifting and heartworming.
I recommend it.
December 20, 2020
A Christmas short story with the meaning of friends and family come out through the soul searching from George, a good man but so busy his life is passing him by, he feels pointless and than Clarence steps in.
Philip Van Doren Stern a well respected Civil War historian wrote and rewrote, was turned down several times. He ended up sending it in Christmas cards to friends.
"He grasped his startled brother’s hand and wrung it frantically, wishing him an almost hysterical Merry Christmas."
Philip Van Doren Stern a well respected Civil War historian wrote and rewrote, was turned down several times. He ended up sending it in Christmas cards to friends.
"He grasped his startled brother’s hand and wrung it frantically, wishing him an almost hysterical Merry Christmas."
December 29, 2017
With It's a Wonderful Life being one of my favorite films of all time, I just had to read the story that inspired the film! This is a short story about a man who, while contemplating ending his life, is visited by an angel who temporarily grants the man's wish to never have been born. In seeing the effects of his nonexistence on the town the man has always called home, as well as on the people he knew and loved, the man finds that the life he lived was more meaningful than he ever could have imagined. This book is a quick read and its story is truly inspiring for anyone, any time of the year!
January 21, 2015
I'm delighted beyond words right now! It's a Wonderful Life is one of my favourite old movies and I had no idea it was based on a short story.
This is a truly magical tale, which I'm so glad to relieve. There is something so lovely and endearing in it. It may not be Christmas yet, but I don't see how having the Christmas spirit in you all year long is a bad thing. In fact, I hope to stumble upon such precious jewels more often.
...well, I really want to re-watch the movie now.
This is a truly magical tale, which I'm so glad to relieve. There is something so lovely and endearing in it. It may not be Christmas yet, but I don't see how having the Christmas spirit in you all year long is a bad thing. In fact, I hope to stumble upon such precious jewels more often.
...well, I really want to re-watch the movie now.
December 30, 2016
This was so cute! I read 4 different Christmas books this December and somehow this super short story was the best of them! It had everything I wanted from a Christmas story and it left me with a smile on my face. It was lovely :)
November 30, 2021
Christmas 2021 - Nice/Surprising/A bit of a publishing mystery
How did I not know this short story existed? It's the basis for "It's a Wonderful Life" A movie I've seen and loved dozens of times.
I have been collecting the Christmas issues of women's magazines (Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, etc.) since the 90s, and during the season I flip through them with my morning coffee, one of my favorite traditions. Today’s issue was Good Housekeeping from 2010, and The Greatest Gift was presented with the note that it first appeared in their December 1944 issue.
Reading the short story made me appreciate the movie even more, if that's possible. The short story was VERY different. Frank Capra took the good idea at the heart of a mediocre story and totally reworked it to become his amazing classic film, the viewing of which no Christmas can be complete without.
UPDATE: This is really strange. Now that I'm reading other reviews, I realize that the version of the story I read in GH 2010 magazine is quite different from the Real Version others are reviewing as found on Kindle, for free online etc. The GH version was not even set at Christmas, George's motivation is very weak, and encounter with Mary and the children is completely different. I found the info below:
Now I wonder if in 2010 GH accidentally published an earlier draft of the story instead of the final version as published in 1944? Anyway, now I've read them both. Here is a downloadable version of the Christmas version (MUCH better and a bit closer to the movie) with the beautiful Busoni illustrations: https://booksvooks.com/the-greatest-g...
In the spoilers below, I originally pointed out differences between the movie and the GH Version; now I added differences between the GH Version and the Real Version. This turned out to be a strange reading experience!
How did I not know this short story existed? It's the basis for "It's a Wonderful Life" A movie I've seen and loved dozens of times.
I have been collecting the Christmas issues of women's magazines (Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, etc.) since the 90s, and during the season I flip through them with my morning coffee, one of my favorite traditions. Today’s issue was Good Housekeeping from 2010, and The Greatest Gift was presented with the note that it first appeared in their December 1944 issue.
Reading the short story made me appreciate the movie even more, if that's possible. The short story was VERY different. Frank Capra took the good idea at the heart of a mediocre story and totally reworked it to become his amazing classic film, the viewing of which no Christmas can be complete without.
UPDATE: This is really strange. Now that I'm reading other reviews, I realize that the version of the story I read in GH 2010 magazine is quite different from the Real Version others are reviewing as found on Kindle, for free online etc. The GH version was not even set at Christmas, George's motivation is very weak, and encounter with Mary and the children is completely different. I found the info below:
The Greatest Gift was eventually made into an actual published work in 1944, one year after Stern had sent it out as a Christmas present, being published in Reader’s Scope magazine. One month later, it was also published in Good Housekeeping under the title “The Man Who Was Never Born.” Stern also managed to get it published in book form around this time, with illustrations for the story done by Rafaello Busoni.
Now I wonder if in 2010 GH accidentally published an earlier draft of the story instead of the final version as published in 1944? Anyway, now I've read them both. Here is a downloadable version of the Christmas version (MUCH better and a bit closer to the movie) with the beautiful Busoni illustrations: https://booksvooks.com/the-greatest-g...
In the spoilers below, I originally pointed out differences between the movie and the GH Version; now I added differences between the GH Version and the Real Version. This turned out to be a strange reading experience!
December 8, 2021
I don’t know how I stayed in my bubble for such a long time and did not watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”, one of the most popular Christmas movies ever existed. I knew that it was based on this inspirational short story by Philip Van Doren Stern and decided to give it a go this season. It’s heartwarming story written with a pragmatic-narrative similar to “The Christmas Carol”, which makes you appreciate the “greatest gift” ever bestowed upon you: Life. Once you realize that you can lose everything you have and love that you take for granted in life, it creates an enlightenment culminating in gratitude and appreciation. Well, we human beings are the worst; we waste time and do not acknowledge what’s important until everything’s lost, life withered and opportunities brushed away. It’s nice to be reminded of this every once in a while, to realize that life is really a gift and that’s why I really enjoyed this bright and hopeful story. Definitely recommended.
December 12, 2019
3.5 stars.
This was very cute, heartwarming short story :)
This was very cute, heartwarming short story :)
December 27, 2016
A beautiful story with a beautiful message, the inspiration for the beautiful Christmas movie "It's a wonderful life"
May 30, 2025
باسمه
🔰 نمیدونم فیلم «It's a wonderful life» رو دیدین یا نه. اسمش رو معمولاً توی فهرست فیلمهای حالخوبکن میتونین پیدا کنین. داستان مردی که قصد داره بهخاطر گرفتاریهای روزمره، در شب کریسمس خودکشی کنه؛ اما با یه رخداد عجیب مواجه میشه که بهش کمک میکنه نگاه صحیحتری به زندگیش داشته باشه. اولین بار توی یه قسمت از سریال «The Big Bang Theory» باهاش آشنا شدم؛ اونجا که شخصیتها تصمیم میگیرن شب کریسمس این فیلم رو تماشا کنن. اون موقع برام جالب بود که چرا این فیلم انتخاب شده. بعدها فهمیدم این فیلم برای خیلی از آمریکاییها یه انتخاب کلاسیکه برای شب کریسمس؛ مثل یه رسم قدیمی که هر سال تکرار میشه. چرا اینا رو گفتم؟ که برسم به اینجا 👇
🔰 این فیلم، از یه داستان کوتاه کمتر از ۳۰ صفحهای اقتباس شده؛ داستانی که خانواده نویسنده، تصمیم گرفتن به مناسبت پنجاهمین سالگرد اکران فیلم، به صورت عمومی منتشرش کنن. کتاب «موهبت بزرگ»، همون کتابه! وقتی این کتاب رو بخونین، متوجه میشین که ایده محوری فیلم و اون چیزی که باعث موندگاریش شده، در اصل از همین چند صفحه گرفته شده و باقی موارد فیلم، شاخ و برگهایی هستن که به دور این تنه استوار قرار گرفتن.
🔰 کتاب حجمی نداره و در چند ساعت میشه تمومش کرد. تصویرسازیهای زیبای پنگوئن هم به تصور هرچه بهتر داستان کمک کرده. نشر دوستداشتنی وال این کتاب رو منتشر کرده که از لحاظ ترجمه و چاپ، واقعاً کارش خوب بوده؛ اما بهنظرم، برای یه تجربه عالی، نیاز به یه ویراستاری جدیتر داشته باشه.
✅ امروزه روز توی دورانی قرار گرفتیم که به علت حجم بالا و کیفیت پایین ارائه مفاهیم امیدوارانه، در مقابلشون عکسالعمل منفی نشون داده میشه. با این حال، به نظرم جنس این کتاب متفاوته... از دیشب و لحظات تمومشدن کتاب، دارم به این مسئله فکر میکنم که چقدر تونستم از تجربه زندگی و ظرفیت مؤثربودن و مؤثرواقعشدن استفاده بکنم... چه فرصتهایی رو از دست دادم و چه فرصتهایی پیش رو هنوز هم میتونم داشته باشم... حتی الآن هم که دارم متن رو مینویسم، گوشه ذهنم بهش مشغوله... بگذریم... در مجموع، بهخاطر همین لحظات کوتاه به فکر فرورفتن هم که شده میارزه که کتاب رو بخونین؛ حتی اگه فیلمش رو هم قبلاً دیده باشین...
🔰 نمیدونم فیلم «It's a wonderful life» رو دیدین یا نه. اسمش رو معمولاً توی فهرست فیلمهای حالخوبکن میتونین پیدا کنین. داستان مردی که قصد داره بهخاطر گرفتاریهای روزمره، در شب کریسمس خودکشی کنه؛ اما با یه رخداد عجیب مواجه میشه که بهش کمک میکنه نگاه صحیحتری به زندگیش داشته باشه. اولین بار توی یه قسمت از سریال «The Big Bang Theory» باهاش آشنا شدم؛ اونجا که شخصیتها تصمیم میگیرن شب کریسمس این فیلم رو تماشا کنن. اون موقع برام جالب بود که چرا این فیلم انتخاب شده. بعدها فهمیدم این فیلم برای خیلی از آمریکاییها یه انتخاب کلاسیکه برای شب کریسمس؛ مثل یه رسم قدیمی که هر سال تکرار میشه. چرا اینا رو گفتم؟ که برسم به اینجا 👇
🔰 این فیلم، از یه داستان کوتاه کمتر از ۳۰ صفحهای اقتباس شده؛ داستانی که خانواده نویسنده، تصمیم گرفتن به مناسبت پنجاهمین سالگرد اکران فیلم، به صورت عمومی منتشرش کنن. کتاب «موهبت بزرگ»، همون کتابه! وقتی این کتاب رو بخونین، متوجه میشین که ایده محوری فیلم و اون چیزی که باعث موندگاریش شده، در اصل از همین چند صفحه گرفته شده و باقی موارد فیلم، شاخ و برگهایی هستن که به دور این تنه استوار قرار گرفتن.
🔰 کتاب حجمی نداره و در چند ساعت میشه تمومش کرد. تصویرسازیهای زیبای پنگوئن هم به تصور هرچه بهتر داستان کمک کرده. نشر دوستداشتنی وال این کتاب رو منتشر کرده که از لحاظ ترجمه و چاپ، واقعاً کارش خوب بوده؛ اما بهنظرم، برای یه تجربه عالی، نیاز به یه ویراستاری جدیتر داشته باشه.
✅ امروزه روز توی دورانی قرار گرفتیم که به علت حجم بالا و کیفیت پایین ارائه مفاهیم امیدوارانه، در مقابلشون عکسالعمل منفی نشون داده میشه. با این حال، به نظرم جنس این کتاب متفاوته... از دیشب و لحظات تمومشدن کتاب، دارم به این مسئله فکر میکنم که چقدر تونستم از تجربه زندگی و ظرفیت مؤثربودن و مؤثرواقعشدن استفاده بکنم... چه فرصتهایی رو از دست دادم و چه فرصتهایی پیش رو هنوز هم میتونم داشته باشم... حتی الآن هم که دارم متن رو مینویسم، گوشه ذهنم بهش مشغوله... بگذریم... در مجموع، بهخاطر همین لحظات کوتاه به فکر فرورفتن هم که شده میارزه که کتاب رو بخونین؛ حتی اگه فیلمش رو هم قبلاً دیده باشین...
August 25, 2026
Goodreads Review
کتاب ساده و دوستداشتنیای بود که بیشتر از چیزی که انتظار داشتم منو به فکر فرو برد. داستانش دربارهی ارزش چیزهاییـه که شاید تا وقتی از دستشون ندیم، قدرشون رو ندونیم؛ اینکه چقدر با درگیرِ روتینِ زندگی و روزمرگی ها شدن ، از ارزش زندگی و باهم بودن غافل میشیم و همین ایدهی ساده، حس عجیبی بعد از تموم شدن کتاب برام گذاشت.
نوشتن این داستان کوتاه ۴ سال برای نویسندهش زمان برد و فیلم it's a wonderful life با اقتباس ازش ساخته شده.از اون داستان کوتاه هاییه که خوندنش حس خوبی به آدم میده و باعث میشه کمی بیشتر به زندگی و چیزهای کوچیکش و اینکه چقدر غافلیم که چه نقشی توی زندگیمون داریم فکر کنیم.
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«... و متنفر از همه چیز! اینجا در این آشغالدانی گیر کرده ام و برای زنده ماندن سگدو میزنم، صبحتا شب کار یکنواختی انجام میدهم.زندگی بقیه آدم ها سراسر عشق و حال است،اما من، منِ بدبخت، کارمندی پیزوری در این شهر کوچک هستم که حتی سربازخانه هم مرا نمیخواهد و نمیگوید خَرَت به چند است.»
«همان بهتر که بمیرم.بعضی وقت ها میگویم کاشکی مرده بودم. راستش آرزو میکردم اصلا به دنیا نمیآمدم!»
کتاب ساده و دوستداشتنیای بود که بیشتر از چیزی که انتظار داشتم منو به فکر فرو برد. داستانش دربارهی ارزش چیزهاییـه که شاید تا وقتی از دستشون ندیم، قدرشون رو ندونیم؛ اینکه چقدر با درگیرِ روتینِ زندگی و روزمرگی ها شدن ، از ارزش زندگی و باهم بودن غافل میشیم و همین ایدهی ساده، حس عجیبی بعد از تموم شدن کتاب برام گذاشت.
نوشتن این داستان کوتاه ۴ سال برای نویسندهش زمان برد و فیلم it's a wonderful life با اقتباس ازش ساخته شده.از اون داستان کوتاه هاییه که خوندنش حس خوبی به آدم میده و باعث میشه کمی بیشتر به زندگی و چیزهای کوچیکش و اینکه چقدر غافلیم که چه نقشی توی زندگیمون داریم فکر کنیم.
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«... و متنفر از همه چیز! اینجا در این آشغالدانی گیر کرده ام و برای زنده ماندن سگدو میزنم، صبحتا شب کار یکنواختی انجام میدهم.زندگی بقیه آدم ها سراسر عشق و حال است،اما من، منِ بدبخت، کارمندی پیزوری در این شهر کوچک هستم که حتی سربازخانه هم مرا نمیخواهد و نمیگوید خَرَت به چند است.»
«همان بهتر که بمیرم.بعضی وقت ها میگویم کاشکی مرده بودم. راستش آرزو میکردم اصلا به دنیا نمیآمدم!»
January 8, 2020
Many thanks to the author for writing this short story. If he hadn't written it, Mr. Frank Capra would not have turned it into a most beautiful Christmas movie ever - "It's a Wonderful Life".
December 21, 2020
This is where It's a Wonderful Life (the movie made in 1946) starts!
The author of this little book tried and tried to get it published but no one bit. So he printed it himself and turned it into a Christmas card for his family and friends. The story has bones that are in the same kind of places, but the flesh and features are entirely different. Being such a big fan of George Bailey & Co. it was no far leap for me to thoroughly enjoy George Pratt.
A short, sweet read. If you like/love IAWL, seek this one out. I was misty at the end. (My instant mistability it is well known.)
Happy holiday reading!
The author of this little book tried and tried to get it published but no one bit. So he printed it himself and turned it into a Christmas card for his family and friends. The story has bones that are in the same kind of places, but the flesh and features are entirely different. Being such a big fan of George Bailey & Co. it was no far leap for me to thoroughly enjoy George Pratt.
A short, sweet read. If you like/love IAWL, seek this one out. I was misty at the end. (My instant mistability it is well known.)
Happy holiday reading!
November 20, 2020
This book turned out to be the original story behind the movie It's a wonderful life. It's a really short one, the introduction and the afterwards are longer than the story, so you will read it in about 10 minutes. I wander if I can find any more original stories of my favourite holiday movies.
December 24, 2019
Sometimes one short story can change the world. This one surely did, and it warmed my heart on this Christmas Eve.
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