"A Christmas Memory" was first published in Mademoiselle in 1956 and then reprinted in Selected Writings of Truman Capote in 1963, but it received little attention until it was reprinted as a gift-boxed set for Christmas in 1966. Reviews at the time were generally favorable, with a writer for Harper's calling it "an enchanting little book destined ... to become a classic." Nancy McKenzie noted in The New York Times that the story "seesaws slowly and nostalgically in time." However, other critics, including playwright Tennessee Williams, characterized the story as saccharine, overly sentimental, or even repulsive. Capote himself described the story as a catharsis which helped him to deal with his experiences as a child in the South: "The moment I wrote that short story I knew I would never write another word about the South......
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 416 words. This
study guide contains 12,416 words (approx. 41 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our A Christmas Memory Access Pass.
