Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

So Big: The Bestseller of 1924
So Big: The Bestseller of 1924
So Big: The Bestseller of 1924
Ebook303 pages5 hours

So Big: The Bestseller of 1924

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Edna Ferber was born on August 15th, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The family moved often due to her father's business failures, likely caused by his early blindness. After living in Chicago, Illinois, came Ottumwa, Iowa with her parents and older sister, Fannie, from ages five to twelve. In Ottumwa, Edna faced and experienced brutal anti-Semitism.

Age 12 Edna and her family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where she graduated from high school and briefly attended Lawrence University.

When recovering from anemia, Edna’s short stories were compiled and published. From there she took newspaper jobs at the Appleton Daily Crescent and the Milwaukee Journal before publishing her first novel. She also covered both the 1920 Republican National Convention and the 1920 Democratic National Convention for the United Press Association.

Edna was very proud of her Jewish heritage and already in 1922 was troubled by the rise of the Nazi Party and its spreading of anti-Semitic prejudice. Her fears greatly influenced her work, which often featured themes of racial and cultural discrimination.

In 1925, Edna won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for her book ‘So Big’. It was made into a silent movie that year and as a talkie in 1932. Edna initially had doubts about the novel, believing it lacked a plot and had a subtle theme that could easily be missed. Her publisher, Doubleday, dismissed her worries. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies of the novel sold to the public. In fact, it became the best-selling title of 1924.

Edna was a keen member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of wits who met for lunch every day at the New York Hotel in New York. She collaborated with Round Table member George S. Kaufman on several Broadway plays: Minick (1924), The Royal Family (1927), Dinner At Eight (1932), The Land Is Bright (1941), Stage Door (1936), and Bravo! (1948).

When composer Jerome Kern proposed turning her serious 1926 book ‘Show Boat’ into a musical, Edna wasn’t keen on it being a typical lightweight entertainment of the 1920s. Kern explained that he and Oscar Hammerstein II wanted to create a different type of musical. Edna granted him the rights. It changed musical theatre.

Across her career Edna had written some classic and best-selling works either in their own right or as adaptations. Many had received accolades, from the Pulitzer to Oscars. In her personal life though Edna never married and had no children. If there were any relationships, she kept them very quiet. Her outspokenness was usually based on protecting others from insult or putdowns to protect herself. After a man joked that her suit made her resemble a man, she shot back ‘So does yours.’

Edna Ferber died at her home in New York City on April 16th, 1968, of stomach cancer, at the age of 82.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2019
ISBN9781839671456
So Big: The Bestseller of 1924

Related to So Big

Related ebooks

Classics For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for So Big

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    So Big - Edna Ferber

    `3^book_preview_excerpt.html}ْƕ寀/3YdI4Hc[-,UR,YxD X2*I0z}ɜsuj#*×{u/}0elMz_lUWƾwsKǯOPlS+MiO06ŧMQw_C!M.>thȖb mݜ6ǪH1vE5bLˆ'>2 uWf).2L^EPڶ_dgn8eأ77 J5*CqjO)z<nСwM+C=M*t]7ŮOm]x]tK](S6c_ǎoi .mlycg:_IYMxl☺MS=LmŀˆgU,CJZܢ;4F} =+a@P;?>},jk?ƄĎ=֍8aеxƹcJwEO1`_S?yѿ X5oowm%_cw5{u)0溸ŋRq1}!2twa[}{|ֳ̟/cOO>YL*mOa~6 J0g 6ex+M NPIHM7S6Lng.U=/>B޿gO^ 5M|+/ ^q;?><襟m??q{O:SϿW$z^o&ᜟqxzm/ YCC)wڴ vH.y'0C%Z^L}Apc'lFG}kԙm# mvey۴~"P~j2:qF}з9D|b!.t6 =; S.^N#t M}]M,uЯh-@TD >pX(>԰ƆXY X1Fj:0l՘F$Q#G 5K OhY `Tl=6`DM-8w&Jka!y.z4Xʻ<@xЃVxch ]$ "jc)C6m)&P /9*f]4|>7soIq&L#McLwa;YvQ1gDហ}"-|ț=7a+X'^pfM9dMuU'[MTuw:PI6ݵPW'PUe^3{r oe0le ,T08ֺxW Kw1|*((6=>zAQPpj)ٌ x#g` 2>,j  1ѬH @vpb"T-Z"P9zIȏG 8:u'37"6zw6E] 3Y )9@ڧAIk`Ȇ+Ԃn9&.0+Ea*gjE hnhǠ֫6nҖ0"Mۇ NBVh¢L / &R88Rjڅfn̸@IPȰQ pݹ_gg.1/iBa{ 5͎6lI]b,>T =yD ḵUp탖ϰW<緶&AE5X.(oGZqlRv#t4C-$oD޼Q:a>83ݔm \oY? 9(=GG<"Z7ZaB&::}?cbT8 cpA&Luc*6f+k@UN,&)BpG7LĵrHs%y"vjiil d 0DlƠ'tF9#~ĥgLGgA Z( ^M'6Uv'tLU k>ԙ48:aoN1L =4Gt"Zx9~n ԯnR_ej~,4 .v!u$8&X9a"?ɓ{CMӑG ?'3%T6Gao\tYʼn焨ÅTG"J3gdb7Dd6+EqR‰TؕLJ9Gf+?\2`FJl_yb+~-AFfǽ1,hA|hKbp!>Wid ^ƎRi?Xb?gJfE?V֒.uKrKo+ Zp#TEGϫiFS-gi"k "'r\`!ĩV:rH6cV>%S~4g#%NÕb1Tl8njvza96gEuețVuYrRD26e13 6FC }jhiH%(["9ahr్VAo0Ҋ㗘'a-ζmd}s42 ro^sȺB+c*HRUaRKgto793afx3;s̶ml)0d r!(+([ 0SY,TqŴ8ݫIҡ䌸qu-W 蚢̕IA 1tj 83+߶#xW 5PU6dY#lqK7*5*BZzşVCכ6.ʈjYPQY m2ښ{tLt,M rX_0J)̎.Ұ8paYwԍ6ūHJ`@LqkXjf^YOVy_xs]w *YP?7+^E"fXqWMH$/јQ*ףZF@z69#U.fD%[P=hR\ohWJY c1~ДΧ87gc_ *vXRkV6?,3\PІ]!$loj6gm30t&"'?2fD+~hm"!h! (+Ϛ|١01A ,EZM|yHZU/>gPpLK{Q2]X"( d)<)LUr‰TΪés|$x_6E*<*Q9~dH"sVHs4;qEF&Jvrx䭰r o-5RiQeE"_,I"/UnBffMΆʚAp ^UQ$c7Vt 5ʨţn N7D%T,f?V8E|l!əN%vRlg؇縞n ڏElǒ0'{3#Q\ݒgSt[_ a&i" G@^ǩ "ξ0QZ1zqY(`fKXh]#s=[|"\&t(dn[)EIoe=[WX*W&6 ugYl z7$PFEd u!TW$ :-aQej_P`=Ffjr9-&cL'=K'äg$Y>s&8*/اjYCEee>*=Nh1e"DSBypoTz_CVDV!ٞ([ H ;`i@@G2_ffQ.̼+Ϟ4&Ŷ9l$В4ҍW^Ћad[m9h9MlRkS/;fhqcR 4'QbCEu`6H.V\/EΘRS1ʅLh .](0dFdmFpK1kM*l OM=HLaxUX^Qe\ŧ; /[Z\HR ^ed:e΋|CpKXʌI_ÜpE,]<`M#cQCd2)?SM̪*ͅ M^ۜ!24U0POm|2xVcmB -S6qA dLYcU 3=Csys/~Ro82NS|EC{)X͔Fɪ}1a Q. JA{uOLs4O =aFȢj 6.N{J_`۞A&R9J ttQ 6EvV'Q:foǭI,Iu*0oXMorfLfJz1"F,Bp'56F I QKxEXڦ Dfj Iy7%|jOm.Ţ0[ UAgV"%|1q1a8`#|_@|UgـP*k}0XGt?z22 %$A;TUHM8Sr$Ė4h]R07&HaLВ=RO氮>R̮v^F=o*aNsTg>H[jBy3AxhC9vM0Q[zP#g9MHi oyrJ˫1m?kS͵z0M\В.y*GR0yV渔;,u kEXr lTඏw4rvTa^ؚfN+tT֎N,>;,-7k(c.Q-Y0 `gN/f#:`{TFK%Z_lL4"4nRc"2N*;4d1 U|`Lcʼn0X9, !њ 19j K =JM Wb\ 7'oYU8|"y1ئȿa^),h:Pʿ f;W!\z7-ҩiHxˮ^kd"dKda$ҋoC;Eqo\;IKLF{[cfRZZ;mK+bKؙC2W;^u$>C!XrA)khO{L Ū_ef'NUd -YH}ĎɺXnv^lO*۸).~$7tuHԨ?O2 :zoomoYe!/r4zBn D;9>s}2wnwA7hb Q`"b[A`e6jlFk0-YfC6(p^LY~.rmՐ< aL`XqMċܤ}ڪd9r#nv$!:rr޵믗e-ƪTU_M TMރDOǪ V )~\o}Uq%$Y= O\i|53~| *R0( |0qwm:Q;Uoz!r Ek{[LGJ RJ_<\jx1{5y7dT}wi(AEJfMUƒ*hs2IHaXO  39 tLԭAWڢ&֢M5<GgCy3WzU<)Ia$3#囿ĵ>=cס6 XgH~H~~ Vvmebe_.^:c6?B]o$z%̫w7rqVԹ4Z%L0h73FB-$+e 9xɛ9:]}wIkx12KSZds2.ɎGD^$ vb5h;l6(:yr9gŮwWEw>O[ã[r<h = qCeKd rјZ(/JV~z314ȹ~eDRnu$ &h(`]2sQŰH}4q_Vl=Ztl"%Ǹ{~je>%B[_2ɍ-A^? T-VuC cbgJ80zEBH*sķJislpc|*3*]>y[c؃گU ofm7I|YY" % W<2Ͻ=7hF7KI>.*}UM(4;,99w=-">;GU:se s\!{ݥ׋He>(dgoP만O(bʟEڳL? l^ɢL <O!|1G}X6lU/\r m}q'ֺucͯ7 rh}{blOfUgU6 Hk2)5outT-Nxhh'-Hx2m%&j{^z崹q[^&&A r婄8_g[dvY=|}~>6S3N_ey;9Z/&T4 ܆1Zzc̝`c4 ܀")~Ig "JZO*^*yJKVύGhϢ!Dn&ұ~j'xV)za|?a1ۘ ]Z7a8L:kPJђ=T`lIӊ  ̏ʓa]~SYOXɻ",C<:fE]J}s%<s1%,Xä=*jg/Olai1sl3gODŝ7g*aiMmM :A]}W0&r&`mRtRM5gtcÿR ۃ :ZtВ P Lg&CR3-aT0v❫N2&F~!<2:̂a963D ~v2U tFy qw^tĦF mupμ| -m]<飥 Rv?oxP3_a@dE-.k,!C! hLh|pkzXZ1Ւ~'#em5S`Sm D>ŕQntf@EzO6E -v:Sxِ WeTWRF(91c(OD Mr˝@<%v*j::0'..r0]lk G' q5W]=f6/ u<,f?]g9ϕ;NJ=A^BC0FG? .IՍXMvrP|:\Kڹǵd1\2n:uXqq_߇ntC**q-Rfxޫ8q>-,9\-)M>ˈ)z%9He# <vJNbs A#ɲg/߄/Qa\>z]/B<j19:P=ڿ=`&#V>,?aِ29K;l_%(s<'G<秵! ^72>Y,Yn>,MSp Sk[xxo- U4T94 oͿk;;۳W"[2<Ђe:,X]kZ%șr΀'64)Q{͓8|l _f懻.YK|xN. 7l+Zd\)hZ!wdwGsv'\^!x+@iu~bub^jJik}?u}E,wD%ȧsA)ɜ)ٔa9&!۶|㻼 0d>P^8elYe'v*6]`ˡlD]UMߠ5Xg
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1