Franklin Library Edna Ferber books:
So Big - Pulitzer Prize Classics - 1978
Giant - World's Best Loved Books - 1979
One Basket - Collected Stories of the World's Greatest Writers - 1982
Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was an American author and playwright who was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ferber attended Appleton High School in Appleton, Wisconsin, and studied at Lawrence University for a short while. She worked as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal and Appleton Daily Crescent for a short period before deciding to pursue a career as a full time author. The first books by Edna Ferber which earned her fame were fictional stories about a woman named Emma McChesney working within the American business world. These books which were originally started as short stories are Roast Beef Medium (1913(, Personality Plus (1914), and Emma McChesney and Co. (1915). Books by Edna Ferber are mostly centered around American working and business class people and their achievements which contribute to America prosperity. Some of the other books by Edna Ferber which are notable in American literature include Dawn O'Hara (1911), Fanny Herself (1917), The Girls (1921), So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926), Mother Knows Best (short stories, 1927), Cimarron (1930), A Peculiar Treasure (autobiography, 1939), Saratoga Trunk (1941), Great Son (1945), One Basket (short stories, 1947), Giant (1952), Ice Palace (1958)and A Kind of Magic (autobiography, 1963). Perhaps the two books that Edna Ferber is best known for are Giant, and So Big which she won the Pulitzer Prize for in 1928. A number of her books were made into movies such as Giant, Ice Palace, and Show Boat. The movie version of Cimarron even won an Oscar. Two of Edna Ferber's books were made into musicals including Saratoga Trunk and Show Boat which has earned notable fame. The many plays by Edna Ferber include Minick (1924), The Royal Family (1927), Dinner at Eight (1932), Stage Door (1936), The Land is Bright (1941), and Bravo (1948).
