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Edna Ferber

"Here, I thought, was one of the most melodramatic and gorgeous bits of Americana that had ever come my way. It was not only the theater — it was the theater plus the glamour of the wandering drifting life, the drama of the river towns, the mystery and terror of the Mississippi itself... I spent a year hunting down every available scrap of show-boat material; reading, interviewing, taking notes and making outlines."

Inspired by an offhand comment made by Winthrop Ames during the opening night of Minick, Edna Ferber became enamored with the idea of show boats and the magic of the lives of traveling performers. Crafting a story of love and racial prejudice amid the changing times, Ferber’s 1926 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Show Boat follows three generations of performers aboard the Cotton Blossom.

Set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, Show Boat sees Captain Andy Hawks, his wife Parthy Ann and his daughter, Magnolia, buying the new show boat Cotton Blossom and setting down the Mississippi River with their small cast: Julie, Steve, Ellie and “Schultzy.” Despite being married to Steve, Julie is relentlessly pursued by a crewmember named Pete who ends up losing to a fight with Steve who demands he cease his unwanted advances. Threatening to expose a dark secret about their marriage, he sends the Cotton Blossom into a cycle of tragedy that will stick for generations to come.

Professionally typeset with a beautifully designed cover, this edition of Show Boat is an award-winning classic reimagined for the modern reader.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Mint Editions

Mint Editions—Jewish Writers: Stories, History and Traditions

Show Boat

Israel Zangwill

Ghetto Tragedies (1899) is a collection of stories by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. “People who have been living in a Ghetto for a couple of centuries, are not able to step outside merely because the gates are thrown down, nor to efface the brands on their souls by putting off the yellow badges. The isolation imposed from without will have come to seem the law of their being.” As a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poverty in London, Israel Zangwill knows that the condition of life in the ghetto changes not just lives, but mentalities. In the fourth installment of his Ghetto series, Zangwill imagines the lives of everyday Jewish people. Zillah and Jossel, successful boot makers; Daniel Peyser, a father of seven daughters; Isaac Levinsky, the son of a pious Rabbi. These are the lives so lovingly shaped in the author’s skillful hands, people whose experiences with love, loss, doubt, and faith are not so different from our own. The tales of Jewish life in Ghetto Tragedies earned Zangwill comparisons to Dickens upon publication and helped to establish him as an author with a gift for intensive character study and a passion for political themes. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s Ghetto Tragedies is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Ghetto Tragedies

Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People (1892) is a novel by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. “People who have been living in a Ghetto for a couple of centuries, are not able to step outside merely because the gates are thrown down, nor to efface the brands on their souls by putting off the yellow badges. The isolation imposed from without will have come to seem the law of their being.” As a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poverty in London, Israel Zangwill knows that the condition of life in the ghetto changes not just lives, but mentalities. Even if the Jews living in squalor on the East End of London were given the same rights as native Britons, they would still live with fear and doubt every day of their lives. In the first novel of his Ghetto series, Zangwill explores the day to day existence of these very people, illuminating their hopes and their dreams, illustrating their struggle to uphold traditions threatened by assimilation and the increasing secularism of modern life. The tales of Jewish life in Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People earned Zangwill comparisons to Dickens upon publication, and helped to establish him as an author with a gift for intensive character study and a passion for political themes. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People

Ghetto Comedies (1907) is a collection of stories by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. “People who have been living in a Ghetto for a couple of centuries, are not able to step outside merely because the gates are thrown down, nor to efface the brands on their souls by putting off the yellow badges. The isolation imposed from without will have come to seem the law of their being.” As a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poverty in London, Israel Zangwill knows that the condition of life in the ghetto changes not just lives, but mentalities. In the fifth and final installment of his Ghetto series, Zangwill imagines the lives of everyday Jewish people. A German painter searches for a Jewish model for his painting of Jesus Christ; Solomon Cohen, or S. Cohn, rises to prominence as a Town Councillor in Sudminster while suppressing his Jewish heritage; Bloomah Beckenstein, a young Jewish girl, is blamed for spreading smallpox at her school in London. These are the lives that take shape in the author’s skillful hands, people whose experiences with love, loss, doubt, and faith are not so different from our own. The tales of Jewish life in Ghetto Comedies earned Zangwill comparisons to Dickens upon publication and helped to establish him as an author with a gift for intensive character study and a passion for political themes. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s Ghetto Comedies is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Ghetto Comedies

Grandchildren of the Ghetto (1892) is a novel by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. “People who have been living in a Ghetto for a couple of centuries, are not able to step outside merely because the gates are thrown down, nor to efface the brands on their souls by putting off the yellow badges. The isolation imposed from without will have come to seem the law of their being.” As a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poverty in London, Israel Zangwill knows that the condition of life in the ghetto changes not just lives, but mentalities. Even if the Jews living in squalor on the East End of London were given the same rights as native Britons, they would still live with fear and doubt every day of their lives. In the second novel of his Ghetto series, Zangwill explores the day-to-day existence of these very people, illuminating their hopes and their dreams, illustrating their struggle to uphold traditions threatened by assimilation and the increasing secularism of modern life. A new generation experiences wealth and comfort beyond the wildest dreams of those who came before them. But what will they do with their newfound privilege? The tales of Jewish life in Grandchildren of the Ghetto earned Zangwill comparisons to Dickens upon publication and helped to establish him as an author with a gift for intensive character study and a passion for political themes. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s Grandchildren of the Ghetto is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Grandchildren of the Ghetto

Dreamers of the Ghetto (1892) is a collection of stories by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. “This is a Chronicle of Dreamers, who have arisen in the Ghetto from its establishment in the sixteenth century to its slow breaking-up in our own day. Some have become historic in Jewry, others have penetrated to the ken of the greater world and afforded models to illustrious artists in letters…” As a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poverty in London, Israel Zangwill knows that the condition of life in the ghetto changes not just lives, but mentalities. In the third installment of his Ghetto series, Zangwill imagines the lives of such historical Jewish figures as Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, German poet Heinrich Heine, and Prussian lawyer and political activist Ferdinand Lasalle. The tales of Jewish life in Dreamers of the Ghetto earned Zangwill comparisons to Dickens upon publication, and helped to establish him as an author with a gift for intensive character study and a passion for political themes. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s Dreamers of the Ghetto is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Dreamers of the Ghetto

Dawn O’Hara: The Girl Who Laughed (1911) is a novel by Edna Ferber. Written while the author was recovering from a bout of anemia, Ferber’s debut marked the beginning of an illustrious literary career. Inspired by her experience as a reporter in the city and countryside, Dawn O’Hara: The Girl Who Laughed is the story of a young woman who recognizes the unhappiness in her life and decides to risk it all for something better. Lighthearted in nature, Ferber’s novel recalls the best of Fitzgerald in its unswerving commitment to humanity in all its beauty and terror. “‘Newspaper reporting, h'm? In New York? That's a devil of a job for a woman. And a husband who... Well, you'll have to take a six months' course in loafing, young woman. And at the end of that time, if you are still determined to work, can't you pick out something easier—like taking in scrubbing, for instance?’” As though suffering a mental breakdown wasn’t bad enough, Dawn is forced to listen to the snide advice of a doctor who seems to know more about her home and professional life than she does. Determined to maintain her career as a reporter, she decides to move to a small town and start fresh. Away from the hustle and bustle of New York City, she hopes to find success while learning more about herself in the process. This edition of Edna Ferber’s Dawn O’Hara: The Girl Who Laughed is a classic work of American literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Dawn O' Hara: The Girl Who Laughed

Fanny Herself (1917) is a novel by Edna Ferber. Inspired by her experience as a young Jewish woman from the Midwest, Fanny Herself is the story of a young woman who recognizes the unhappiness in her life and decides to risk it all for something better. Lighthearted in nature, yet serious in its ideals, Ferber’s novel recalls the best of Fitzgerald in its unswerving commitment to humanity in all its beauty and heartbreak. “You could not have lived a week in Winnebago without being aware of Mrs. Brandeis.” Such a confident pronouncement proves even truer for young Fanny, whose mother is the Mrs. Brandeis in question. As the owner of Brandeis’ Bazaar—a successful store raised from the ashes of her deceased husband’s chronic mismanagement—Molly Brandeis is a deeply serious woman who wants nothing but the best for her daughter. Where they differ, of course, is in the definition of that deceptive superlative. While Molly wants to train her daughter to follow in her managerial footsteps, Fanny dreams of training as an artist in order to escape the confinement of small-town life. Consistently moving, frequently funny, and supremely true, Fanny Herself is an underappreciated novel from Pulitzer Prize winning author Edna Ferber. This edition of Edna Ferber’s Fanny Herself is a classic work of American literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Fanny Herself

The King of Schnorrers (1893) is a novel by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. When “England denied her Jews every civic right except that of paying taxes,” a class Schnorrers, or beggars, was forced through desperation to survive by the charity of others. On Sabbath days, the entrance to London’s synagogues are crowded with groups of these men, seeking from more recent immigrants, from those not yet driven to poverty, some small token of brotherhood. As Joseph Grobstock, a successful merchant, emerges from the service, he is accosted by a man who appeals first to his charitable nature. When Grobstock insults the man with a penny, causing the other Schnorrers to laugh at his expense, Manasseh Bueno Barzillai Azevedo da Costa, a Sephardi, curses Grobstock, who proceeds to argue in an effort to preserve his honor. The King of Schnorrers, a brilliant satire, earned Zangwill comparisons to Dickens and Twain upon publication, and helped to establish him as an author with a gift for intensive character study and a passion for political themes. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s The King of Schnorrers is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

The King of Schnorrers

The Melting Pot (1908) is a play by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city’s Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. When it was staged in Washington, DC, The Melting Pot received praise from President Theodore Roosevelt, who proclaimed from the audience “That's a great play, Mr. Zangwill!” During the 1903 Chișinău pogrom, David Quixano lost his entire family to antisemitic violence. Unable to remain in Russia, he emigrates to the United States, where he hopes to be accepted not just into the nation’s growing Jewish community, but into its open democratic society. When he arrives, he composes a successful symphony called “The Crucible,” written in tribute to the melting pot of American culture, its promise to rise above ethnic divisions. He soon meets a fellow immigrant named Vera, who hails from a Christian family in Russia. As he begins to fulfill his own American Dream, a shocking revelation forces David to question his unwavering idealism. The Melting Pot ran for over one hundred performances in New York City, starring some of the leading actors of its time and galvanizing the image of the immigrant experience in America for generations to come. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s The Melting Pot is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

The Melting Pot

The Big Bow Mystery (1892) is a novel by Israel Zangwill. Although he is frequently recognized as a writer who focused on the plight of London’s Jewish community, Zangwill also wrote works of genre fiction. Originally serialized in The Star, The Big Bow Mystery is a satirical take on the locked room mystery that continues to astound, entertain, and frustrate readers to this day. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, Zangwill dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels and stories of the Victorian era. On a foggy morning in a working-class neighborhood on the East End of London, a landlady rises to light the fire and make a pot of tea. Eventually, Mrs. Drabdump realizes that one of her tenants has overslept, and goes upstairs to wake him. Finding his room locked from the inside, she grows concerned and enlists the help of another tenant. Forcing open the door, they find the man—a prominent activist for worker’s rights—dead in his own bed. When the coroner’s report reveals that the man was neither murdered or killed by his own hand, an investigation is launched involving inept policemen, a major politician, and several strange characters whose peculiarities provide a darkly humorous tint to an otherwise brutal tale of death and urban decay. This edition of Israel Zangwill’s The Big Bow Mystery is a classic of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

The Big Bow Mystery

Inspired by the life events of Antje Paarlberg, So Big is an award-winning drama that depicts the life of Selina Peake de Jong. Raised in a strict farming community, Selina decides to be a schoolteacher. Good-hearted and kind, she attempts to inspire her students to work for their dreams, no matter how nontraditional they seem. By encouraging artistic expression, Selina changes the lives of her students. When she marries a farmer named Pervus, the two welcome a baby boy into their family, naming their child Dirk. However, after the family suffers a tragic loss, Selina is forced to quit her job and work on a farm in order to provide her son with a stable life. As Dirk grows, Selina nurtures his artistic talent, proud when he begins to express interest in architecture. However, when Dirk comes of age, he begins to value money more and more, eventually giving up on the architect profession in favor of a stable and lucrative job as a stock broker. Heartbroken, Selina still tries to support her son, while quietly hoping that he returns to value his artistic roots. 

First published in 1924, Edna Ferber felt unsure about her novel So Big, which would eventually go on to win a Pulitzer Prize, and inspire adaptations for film, radio and television. Set in a rural community within a Chicago suburb, So Big features a slice-of-life narrative, with strong themes of community, expression, and family. With intricate description of the daily life of the lower-class Dutch community, contemporary readers are afforded a privileged perspective into the social dynamics of early 20th century America. 

This edition of So Big by Edna Ferber now features a new, eye-catching cover design and is printed in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition of So Big crafts an accessible and pleasant reading experience for modern audiences while restoring the original mastery and emotion of Edna Ferber’s literature. 
 
Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

 

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Mint Editions—Jewish Writers: Stories, History and Traditions - The book series

Mint Editions—Jewish Writers: Stories, History and Traditions - The book series

Mint Editions—Jewish Writers: Stories, History and Traditions books in order