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Dawn O’Hara, The Girl Who Laughed (1911) by Edna Ferber ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finished 8/13/2022
My copy of Dawn O’Hara has a red cover with a green block on top that displays the name of the book. It was published by Grosset & Dunlap. Inside is written in pencil “Grace O’Neal Xmas 1914”. There is also a paper bookplate glued to the flyleaf of a candle surrounded by books that says “ex libris COURTRIGHT”. On the next page, there is a lovely color frontispiece of Dawn in a pretty, but admittedly strange owl hat. This is the eighth edition of today’s novel.
If my rating system could give this book more than 5 stars, I would give it more. This was an excellent read ; it made me happy, made me cry, and also made me look up a lot of German translations. That last one may seem a little random, but you’ll understand when this review is finished!
Dawn O’Hara, The Girl Who Laughed speaks in first person to give us a witty and engaging account of a year in the life of Dawn, a newspaper woman of Irish descent who keeps herself steady through tough circumstances.
Dawn Orme is married, though her husband went crazy ten years back, and is in the madhouse. She is a New York newspaperwoman who has a breakdown due to overwork, and goes to her sister Norah’s house in Michigan to recover. After becoming well enough to leave, she wants to move back to New York and start up her old life, when she is convinced to settle in a little German Milwaukee town that has a newspaper office in which she can work. Here she lives, and falls in love with their way of life, all while attempting to write her first novel.
Some of the details of the story are taken from her own life, as Ms. Ferber was really a news reporter, she suffered a breakdown due to overwork at a young age, and the main character, as aforementioned, is writing her first novel (this happens to be Edna Ferber’s first novel). Edna Ferber also liked to people-watch, and Dawn always takes time to observe her surroundings, allowing her to create back stories in her head about the people around her.
Lots of the German language is sprinkled throughout, and it kind of leaves me wondering how someone in 1911 who didn’t know the language could get the most out of the book without having a German translation book next to them. Luckily, I have google translate, and it was just a click and a type away!
Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was a successful writer, and wrote 12 novels, 12 short stories, and 2 autobiographies. Her novels include Cimmaron and Show Boat, the former being adapted into a film which won best picture in 1931, and the latter becoming a hit broadway play. In addition, her novels Ice Palace and Giant both were adapted into films. She also co-wrote the famous play Dinner at Eight.
A very recommended read, and you can read it at https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1602.
A marvelous book! I’ve just finished it, and can highly recommend it as well. An absorbing plot and setting, with some unforgettable characters. Thanks for the nice review. 🙂
Thank you! I’m so glad you took the suggestion and liked it so much!