Showing results by author "Edna Ferber" in All Categories

I started to read a story once. It was a good one. There was in it not a single allusion to brandy-and-soda, or divorce, or the stock market. The dialogue crackled. The hero talked like a live man. It was a shipboard story, and the heroine was charming so long as she wore her heavy ulster. But along toward evening she blossomed forth in a yellow gown, with a scarlet poinsettia at her throat. I quit her cold. Nobody ever wore a scarlet poinsettia; or if they did, they couldn't wear it on a yellow gown.

A man returns to his home town from prison. He hopes to sneak in, pay a quick visit and vanish before people recognize him. But this may not be possible. What happens to a man's soul after years in prison? Ferber explores this poignant and sad subject in this story. But the ending is full of hope.

Who ever heard of a plain and downright homely heroine? Isn't a heroine by definition beautiful? Well, Edna Ferber, in her well known style that later produced Show Boat and Giant, tells us about just such a heroine in this special short story. It is special to me because of her insight into the deep courage and faith of 'ordinary' people, people like most of us. And of course our failings and frailties and sometimes, the prince does not marry the right person. Yep.

Although the story is over 100 years old, it offers an important truth that is still relevant to the modern listener. Rather than rely on dialogue to advance the plot, noted American Edna Ferber is an exceptional storyteller who delights and entertains the listener with narrative. Her stories featuring strong heroines are as fresh and original today as when they were written.

Blanche Devine is a middle aged woman who has lived in the same small Midwestern town most of her life. She decides she wants to purchase a 'real' home in a pleasant neighborhood in the town. Because Blanche has a past as the town's 'scarlet' woman, many of the self-described good and respectable people do not want her as a neighbor. Edna Ferber wrote mostly about women and their place in society along with their plight when they did not follow society's norms.

War has always changed men physically and mentally. They go away as healthy physically fit young men; when they come back, if they do they are not the same young man who went away. They may have suffered disabling physical injury in addition to a mental injury that may or may not manifest itself physically, but typically it is there. In World War I they called it shell-shocked, today we call it PTSD. This is a short story by Edna Ferber of a healthy, husky, and slightly arrogant in a nice way young man, and the beautiful girl awaiting his return home.

A story of growth and responsibility through the person of an energetic grounded woman divided between work and art. First published in 1917.

An insightful story about a happily married woman who takes over her husband’s business upon his early death and creates a prospering business with seed capital from a childhood friend. She maintains her beliefs and avocations while doing the hard work of farming.

The Girls is the story of three spinsters living in Chicago—an aunt, her niece, and her niece’s niece. The aunt has memories of the Civil War, and all three women have adjusted to the outbreak of the First World War. Generational changes, particularly in regard to romantic attachments, are a central feature of the book, which is also a fascinating portrait of the Chicago lifestyle of the time. The emerging political and social power of women is also a significant feature of the story.

Presented here is Volume III of our Feminist Literary Classics series, featuring three of the most important feminist novels ever written: Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, O Pioneers! by Willa Cather and So Big by Edna Ferber. The first book in this collection is Orlando: A Biography, a groundbreaking English novel by Virginia Woolf that explores English history, gender roles and sexual politics in a way few books have before or since.

Discover the secrets to personal charm and influence with "Personality Plus" by Edna Ferber. This podcast explores the traits and habits that make individuals magnetic and engaging, offering practical advice for developing a compelling personality.