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).
