Awards
Winner of the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Synopses & Reviews
"A masterpiece....It has the completeness, [the] finality, that grips and exalts and convinces."
Literary Review
Widely regarded as the master work of celebrated author and Algonquin Round Table mainstay Edna Ferber—who also penned other classics including Show Boat, Giant, Ice Palace, Saratoga Trunk, and Cimarron—So Big is a rollicking panorama of Chicago's high and low life at the turn of the 20th Century. Following the travails of gambler's daughter Selina Peake DeJong as she struggles to maintain her dignity, her family, and her sanity in the face of monumental challenges, this is the stunning and unforgettable “novel to read and to remember” by an author who “critics of the 1920s and 1930s did not hesitate to call… the greatest American woman novelist of her day” (New York Times).
Winner of the 1924 Pulitzer Prize, So Big is a must-read for fans of contemporary novelists such Willa Cather (O Pioneers!), Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), and Marjorie Rawlings (The Yearling).
Synopsis
"A masterpiece. . . . It has the completeness, the] finality, that grips and exalts and convinces." Literary Review
Widely regarded as the master work of celebrated author and Algonquin Round Table mainstay Edna Ferber who also penned other classics including Show Boat, Giant, Ice Palace, Saratoga Trunk, and Cimarron So Big is a rollicking panorama of Chicago's high and low life at the turn of the 20th Century. Following the travails of gambler's daughter Selina Peake DeJong as she struggles to maintain her dignity, her family, and her sanity in the face of monumental challenges, this is the stunning and unforgettable novel to read and to remember by an author who critics of the 1920s and 1930s did not hesitate to call the greatest American woman novelist of her day (New York Times).
Winner of the 1924 Pulitzer Prize, So Big is a must-read for fans of contemporary novelists such Willa Cather (O Pioneers ), Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), and Marjorie Rawlings (The Yearling).
"
Synopsis
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"A masterpiece. . . . It has the completeness, the] finality, that grips and exalts and convinces." -- Literary Review
A brilliant literary masterwork from celebrated author and Algonquin Round Table mainstay Edna Ferber--who also penned other classics including Show Boat, Giant, Ice Palace, Saratoga Trunk, and Cimarron--So Big is a rollicking panorama of Chicago at the turn of the 20th Century. It is the unforgettaable story of Selina Peake DeJong, a gambler's daughter, and her struggles to stay afloat and maintain her dignity and her sanity in the face of marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood. Hailed as a "novel to read and to remember" (New York Times), So Big still resonates with its unflinching view of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.
So Big is a must-read for fans of contemporary novelists such Willa Cather (O Pioneers ), Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), and Marjorie Rawlings (The Yearling).
Synopsis
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and widely considered to be Edna Ferber's greatest achievement, So Big is a classic novel of turn-of-the-century Chicago.
Hailed as a novel "to read and remember" (New York Times), So Big is the unforgettable story of the indomitable Selina Peake DeJong and her struggles to stay afloat and maintain her dignity in the face of a challenging marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood. First published in 1924, So Big is a brilliant literary masterwork from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and admired writers, and still resonates today with its unflinching views of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.
Synopsis
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"A masterpiece." -- Literary Review - "A novel to read and to remember." --New York Times
Widely regarded as the masterwork of celebrated author and Algonquin Round Table mainstay Edna Ferber--who also penned other classics including Show Boat, Giant, Ice Palace, Saratoga Trunk, and Cimarron--So Big is a powerful and stirring portrait of one of the most memorable women in American literature, and still resonates today with its unflinching views of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.
Set in Chicago at the turn of the twentieth century, So Big tells the story of Selina Peake, orphaned at nineteen after her father is shot and killed in a gambling house. Alone and resolved to make something of her life, Selina gets a job as a schoolteacher in a farming community outside Chicago and falls in love with a kind but struggling farmer. She soon leaves the schoolhouse for long grueling days in the fields and gives birth to a son, Dirk, nicknamed "So Big." When she finds herself unexpectedly widowed, she takes the reins of the farm, defying convention and all those around her, determined to give Dirk every opportunity to follow his dreams.
So Big is a must-read for fans of contemporary novelists such Willa Cather (O Pioneers ), Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), and Marjorie Rawlings (The Yearling).
Synopsis
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and widely considered to be Edna Ferber's greatest achievement, So Big is a classic novel of turn-of-the-century Chicago. It is the unforgettable story of Selina Peake DeJong, a gambler's daughter, and her struggles to stay afloat and maintain her dignity and her sanity in the face of marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood. A brilliant literary masterwork from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and admired writers, the remarkable So Big still resonates with its unflinching view of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.
About the Author
Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was a novelist, short-story writer, and playwright whose work served as the inspiration for numerous Broadway plays and Hollywood films, including Show Boat, Cimarron, Giant, Saratoga Trunk, and Ice Palace. She co-wrote the plays The Royal Family, Dinner at Eight, and Stage Door with George S. Kaufman and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1925 for her novel So Big.