Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dawn O’Hara: The Girl Who Laughed | 1911 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 2 | Cheerful, by Request | 1913 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 3 | Fanny Herself | 1917 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 4 | The Girls | 1921 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 5 | Gigolo | 1922 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 6 | So Big | 1924 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 7 | Show Boat | 1926 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 8 | Stage Door | 1926 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 9 | Mother Knows Best | 1927 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 10 | Cimarron | 1929 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 11 | American Beauty | 1931 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 12 | Come and Get It | 1934 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 13 | Saratoga Trunk | 1941 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 14 | Great Son | 1944 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 15 | Giant | 1952 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 16 | Ice Palace | 1958 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
| 17 | A Kind of Magic | 2013 | Edna Ferber | Buy |
Edna Ferber’s standalone novels represent the core of her literary legacy. So Big (1924) won the Pulitzer Prize, telling the story of a woman who sacrifices everything for her son’s education. Show Boat (1926) became the basis for the landmark American musical. Cimarron (1929) chronicled the Oklahoma land rush, while Giant (1952) took on Texas oil wealth and racial prejudice.
Her earlier novels like Dawn O’Hara (1911) and Fanny Herself (1917) show a young writer developing her voice, while later works like Saratoga Trunk (1941), Great Son (1944), and Ice Palace (1958) continued to explore American regional identity. Ferber wrote about different parts of the country with an interest in the people and industries that defined each place.