Edna Ferber Summary

American author Edna Ferber (1887-1968) wrote popular fiction and collaborated on several successful Broadway plays.Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Edna Ferber at an early age moved with her family to Apple... Read more

Edna Ferber was one of the most popular Jewish-American women writers in history. She was a best-selling author as well as a critically successful one and the first Jewish-American woman to win the Pu... Read more

Generally known as a novelist who deftly illustrated American life and culture in her popular fiction, Edna Ferber was always drawn to the stage. As a child she wanted to act, but she later realized t... Read more

Critical Essay by Stevie Smith There is something good about Miss Ferber's fighting character that comes through [her autobiography, A Kind of Magic,] and warms the reader's heart—... Read more

Critical Essay by William Mcfee Miss Ferber's talent, this reviewer is irrevocably convinced, does not lie in the way of the novel…. She writes a novel as a modern athletic girl might we... Read more

Critical Essay by Joe Dever Edna Ferber is a reportorial novelist with a powerful, encompassing love for America and the people in it. Miss Ferber's skill at reportage and enormous, healthy cur... Read more

Critical Essay by Edward Weeks In The Emma McChesney Stories, Edna Ferber staked out her claim as a delineator of American character; and in Show Boat she gave us one of the most appealing romances of... Read more

In the following mixed review of The Girls, Hackett applauds the realistic details of the plot and characters, but faults Ferber's "underlying sentimentalism and snappy technique."... Read more

Farrar, an American journalist, editor, and critic, founded the publishing companies Farrar and Rinehart and Farrar, Straus and Company, now known as Farrar, Straus and Giroux. In the following anecdo... Read more

In the following favorable review of Roast Beef, Medium, Hawthorne praises Ferber's depiction of the modern American woman. "Roast beef, medium." A sane sensible order, pretty cer... Read more

In the following review, Ross favorably assesses American Beauty. Miss Ferber's title is cryptic. This story is not, as one might expect, of hothouse America, of cities and show girls and night... Read more

Van Doren was an esteemed American novelist, critic, and autobiographer; her husband was poet Mark Van Doren. In the following largely negative review of American Beauty, she laments Ferber's r... Read more

In the following review of They Brought Their Women, Walton argues that while she has the talent to write realistic and exciting short stories, "depth, subtlety, intensity are beyond Miss Ferbe... Read more

In the following review, Currier favorably assesses the characterizations and plotlines of "Nobody's In Town" and "Trees Die at the Top," the two novellas in Nobody&... Read more

Quennell was an American essayist, novelist, and critic. In the following review of A Peculiar Treasure, he praises Ferber as a keen observer and an honest and enthusiastic writer, rather than as a pa... Read more

In the following review of Great Son, Rothman praises Ferber's skill as a novelist but laments the fact that she did not fully develop her story in this novel. Miss Ferber is a swell writer, gi... Read more

In the following mixed review of Great Son, Feld applauds the plotline as "a lavish and prodigious feast," but contends that the characters are not well-defined. In a two-page introducti... Read more

In the following essay, based on a 1945 interview, Gelder examines Ferber's views on the writing process. Edna Ferber waited for the publication of her new novel, Great Son. Her hands and her t... Read more

In the following favorable review of Giant, Barkham argues that the novel presents a scathing view of Texas, one that Texans will probably resent. If you haven't read Edna Ferber's name ... Read more

In the following mixed review of Fanny Herself, the critic applauds the realism of the characters and story in the first half of the novel, but faults the concluding chapters for losing the narrative&... Read more

Gruening, who served as governor of Alaska from 1939 to 1953 and senator from 1958 to 1969, was also a critic and author of several books about Alaska. In the following favorable review, he examines t... Read more

In the following mixed review, Weeks applauds the geographical and historical scope of Ice Palace, but contends that the believability of the characters and plot are compromised by Ferber's &#x... Read more

In the following essay, Uffen explores the mythical aspects of Ferber's novels, focusing on her use of "larger-than-life" characters, the differences between her heroes and heroin... Read more

In the following favorable review of Half Portions, the critic notes that Ferber's characters are similar to those of O'Henry. There are times while reading Edna Ferber's stories ... Read more

In the following favorable review of The Girls, Field praises Ferber's sense of realism. Congratulations to Edna Ferber! For her new novel, The Girls, is not only the best, and very much the be... Read more