# A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film - Hardcover

by **Jean Shepherd** (Author)

**A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana--the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film and the live musical on Fox.  
**  
The holiday film _A Christmas Story_, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family's typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to _It's a Wonderful Life_ and _Miracle on 34th Street_.

This edition of _A Christmas Story_ gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker's shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father's pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie's duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie's unstoppable campaign to get Santa--or anyone else--to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid"?

The pieces that comprise _A Christmas Story_, previously published in the larger collections _In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash_ and _Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories_, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

### Front Jacket

A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana--the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film.  
The holiday film "A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family's typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to "It's a Wonderful Life and "Miracle on 34th Street.  
This edition of "A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker's shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father's pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie's duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie's unstoppable campaign to get Santa--or anyone else--to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid"?  
The pieces that comprise "A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

### Author Biography

For many years a cult radio and cabaret personality in New York City, **Jean Shepherd** was the creator of the popular film _A Christmas Story_, which is based on his novels _In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash_ and _Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories_, and which has become a holiday tradition on the Turner Network. Jean Shepherd passed away in 1999.

**Number of Pages:** 144

**Dimensions:** 0.65 x 7.8 x 5.3 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** October 28, 2003

## Details

- **Price:** 18.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 18.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film - Hardcover

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