A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

Truman Capote wrote the short tale "A Christmas Memory". Originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956, it was reproduced in Truman Capote's Selected Writings in 1963. Random House released it as a standalone hardcover edition in 1966, and it has since been reprinted in other editions and anthologies.

The largely autobiographical story, set in the 1930s, depicts a period in the lives of the narrator, a seven-year-old boy, and an elderly woman who is his distant cousin and best friend. The woman was Nanny Faulk, the elder sister of Capote's errant parents, who had abandoned him as a child. Nanny, sometimes known as Sook, was assumed to be developmentally retarded. "I had an elderly relative, the woman in my tale 'A Christmas Memory', who was a genius", Capote later wrote to a friend. The evocative story focuses on country life, friendship, and the joy of giving during the Christmas season, while also touching on loneliness and loss delicately but powerfully. "A Christmas Memory", now a holiday classic, has been televised, recorded, filmed, and produced several times in award-winning productions.

Detailed information:
Author: Truman Capote
Published: 1956
Genre: Holiday, short stories, classics, fiction
Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/53246185