Skip to content

Fanny Herself
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Fanny Herself Paperback - 2001

by Edna Ferber


From the publisher

Heralded by one reviewer as "the most serious, extended and dignified of [Edna] Ferber's books," Fanny Herself is the intensely personal chronicle of a young girl growing up Jewish in a small midwestern town. Packed with the warmth and the wry, sidelong wit that made Ferber one of the best-loved writers of her time, the novel charts Fanny's emotional growth through her relationship with her mother, the shrewd, sympathetic Molly Brandeis. "You could not have lived a week in Winnebago without being aware of Mrs. Brandeis," Ferber begins, and likewise the story of Fanny Brandeis is inextricable from that of her vigorous, enterprising mother. Molly Brandeis is the owner and operator of Brandeis' Bazaar, a modest general store left to her by her idealistic, commercially inept late husband. As Fanny strives to carve out her own sense of herself, Molly becomes the standard by which she measures her intellectual and spiritual progress. Fanny's ambivalent feelings about being Jewish, her self-deprecating attitude toward her gift for sketching and drawing, and her inspired success as a businesswoman all contribute to the flesh-and-blood complexity of Ferber's youthful, eminently believable protagonist. She is accompanied on her journey by impeccably drawn characters such as Father Fitzpatrick, the Catholic priest in Winnebago; Ella Monahan, buyer for the glove department of the Haynes-Cooper mail order house; Fanny's brother, Theodore, a gifted violinist for whose musical education Molly sacrifices Fanny's future; and Clarence Heyl, the scrappy columnist who never forgot how Fanny rescued him from the school bullies. Ferber's only work of fiction with a strong autobiographical element, Fanny Herself showcases the author's enduring interest in the capacity of strong women to transcend the limitations of their environment and control their own circumstances. Through Fanny's honest struggle with conflicting values-financial security and corporate success versus altruism and artistic integrity-Ferber grapples with some of the most deeply embedded contradictions of the American spirit.

Details

  • Title Fanny Herself
  • Author Edna Ferber
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 1st Printing
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Illinois Press, U.S.A.
  • Date 2001-04
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780252069468 / 0252069463
  • Weight 0.82 lbs (0.37 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.44 x 5.16 x 0.98 in (18.90 x 13.11 x 2.49 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Midwest
    • Ethnic Orientation: Jewish
    • Geographic Orientation: Wisconsin
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Mothers and daughters, Domestic fiction
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 00051229
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • Library Journal, 08/01/2001, Page 172
Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

Fanny Herself
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Fanny Herself

by Edna Ferber

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780252069468
ISBN 10
0252069463
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$17.46
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Illinois Press, 2001-04-12. Paperback. Good.
Item Price
$17.46
FREE shipping to USA
Fanny Herself
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Fanny Herself

by Ferber, Edna

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used:Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780252069468
ISBN 10
0252069463
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$27.16
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Illinois Press, 2001-04-12. paperback. Used:Good.
Item Price
$27.16
FREE shipping to USA