The girls

This novel, written before Ferber's better, more famous work, tells the story of three spinsters in WWI-era Chicago. Great Aunt Charlotte, who had her heart broken by a strict family and the Civil War, her niece Lottie (who struck me as a possible lesbian for the majority of the book), and her niece Charley, who's young and still has a chance for love. Most of the action takes place in the large Prairie Avenue house occupied by Charlotte, her sister Carrie, and Lottie, and I imagine it would be an entertaining read for any Chicago natives or current dwellers, to see how the city has changed in the past century.

As with a lot of books written nearly one hundred years ago, the reader should be prepared to encounter some casual racism and other backward thinking, but this book is otherwise surprisingly feminist and progressive in its depiction of women making their way in society. (Lee Anne)

About the Author

Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 - April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), Cimarron (1930; adapted into the 1931 film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture), Giant (1952; made into the 1956 film of the same name) and Ice Palace (1958), which also received a film adaptation in 1960.

Ferber's novels generally featured strong female protagonists, along with a rich and diverse collection of supporting characters. She usually highlighted at least one strong secondary character who faced discrimination, ethnic or otherwise.

Ferber's works often concerned small subsets of American culture, and sometimes took place in exotic locations she had visited but was not intimately familiar with, such as Texas or Alaska. She thus helped to highlight the diversity of American culture to those who did not have the opportunity to experience it. Some novels are set in places she had not visited. (wikipedia.org)