Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed

[donnie]

(Link to Kitty's original blog: https://blog.silentphotoplay.com/2022/0 ... o-laughed/)

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It’s a wonderful story with one of the most engaging characters I’ve encountered. Edna Ferber’s descriptive powers and abilities at characterization are really something special. I’m so glad you found this book, and thank you for recommending it.

Well, some comments. First, on the setting—such an important part of the story. 1911 Milwaukee really comes alive and becomes as beloved to the reader as it is to Dawn. It’s obvious that Ferber had to have had not only a close acquaintance with both the look and feel, the daily ins and outs of the newspaper business, but also an intimate knowledge of the city of Milwaukee, with its German people and traditions. But yes, like you, I had to hit the Google translator hard! (And wasn't always perfectly successful.)

On the characters:

Dawn is so unique and likable with a strong and three-dimensional personality. Right from the beginning, you identify with her. She is vulnerable, yet has a strength and sense of integrity. And she also has that unique kind of self-deprecating humor and an entertaining unpredictability.

And there are so many other endearing characters: Frau Nirlanger, the lady in the cottage (forget her name), Frau Knapf (I loved her! ), but most especially—Blackie. What an unforgettable and lovable character.

One character I could never get a clear picture of in my mind was Gerhard. He did not come into focus as much as much as some of the other characters. For one thing, I wasn’t entirely sure about his age and couldn’t pin down his personality.

► Show Spoiler

And I sometimes had trouble thinking of him as a suitor of Dawn’s rather than as a more fatherly figure—perhaps because he talked to her as a child so often. But overall, I liked him, both because of Dawn’s affection for him, and because he loved Dawn. (I could sympathize with him on that, because I fell in love with her myself pretty early on in the book. )

How did you feel about Gerhard?

And of course, there were the detestable characters,

► Show Spoiler

all of which, interestingly, have cruelty as their dominant trait: little Bennie’s guardian at the orphan home (ugh!), the oogly husband , and let’s not forget Peter Orme .

On the plot:

There were so many moving parts:

► Show Spoiler

the two sisters and Bennie uniting; the chapter of the Knapf’s farewell party—so well-written, especially the part at the end of that chapter where Frau Nirlanger blows a kiss from the stairs and a couple of minutes later Dawn does the same to von Gerhard below; the scene with the moonlit room and the roses; Dawn’s saying goodbye to Blackie, many others.

But most especially, the very ending scene, when Dawn went into Blackie’s old office and put her cheek on his coat. I'll tell you, it’s not easy for me to get excessively emotional over scenes in books, but I have to admit—that one got to me.

And I loved the way she ended it with the goodbye tear left on Blackie’s coat, then Gerhard calling to her softly, and then “I’m coming,” signalling her goodbye to the old life and the beginning of their new life together. Just perfect.

[Kitty]

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It’s a wonderful story with one of the most engaging characters I’ve encountered. Edna Ferber’s descriptive powers and abilities at characterization are really something special. I’m so glad you found this book, and thank you for recommending it.

I'm so glad you liked it!

Well, some comments. First, on the setting—such an important part of the story. 1911 Milwaukee really comes alive and becomes as beloved to the reader as it is to Dawn. It’s obvious that Ferber had to have had not only a close acquaintance with both the look and feel, the daily ins and outs of the newspaper business, but also an intimate knowledge of the city of Milwaukee, with its German people and traditions.

The descriptions make you really want to visit this place. Couldn't you just smell the pastries in the bakery? I want to go there so badly.

Dawn is so unique and likable with a strong and three-dimensional personality. Right from the beginning, you identify with her. She is vulnerable, yet has a strength and sense of integrity. And she also has that unique kind of self-deprecating humor and an entertaining unpredictability.

I really want more books with Dawn O'Hara in them!

but most especially—Blackie. What an unforgettable and lovable character.

I pictured Blackie looking like Burgess Meredith. In my mind he looked exactly like he did in the Twilight Zone episode Printer's Devil.

One character I could never get a clear picture of in my mind was Gerhard. He did not come into focus as much as much as some of the other characters. For one thing, I wasn’t entirely sure about his age and couldn’t pin down his personality. .... How did you feel about Gerhard?

I think I feel exactly the same as you do. I couldn't get quite a clear picture in my mind of him, either. I think that he was a bit older than her, as he was the husband's friend, but his picture is hazy. I'm sort of wondering if she didn't know what she was going to do with him early on in the book,

► Show Spoiler

because at first he seemed like a sort of uppity psychologist type rather than a suitor for Dawn. I think she tries to lay the foundation in the part where they were running through the field (I think that's what was happening in that scene) before she leaves for Milwaukee. I wasn't sure whether it was going to be a good friend type character or a suitor, and I think it wasn't so blatantly spelled out because Ferber was trying to write the romance as adult and calculated, rather than a passionate romance.

There were so many moving parts:

► Show Spoiler

the two sisters and Bennie uniting; the chapter of the Knapf’s farewell party—so well-written, especially the part at the end of that chapter where Frau Nirlanger blows a kiss from the stairs and a couple of minutes later Dawn does the same to von Gerhard below; the scene with the moonlit room and the roses; Dawn’s saying goodbye to Blackie, many others.

► Show Spoiler

I cried at the part where Dawn discovered Bennie in the orphanage, and the sisters reuniting was particularly moving, as well. I didn't want her to leave the Knapf's, and I was so very proud of Nirlanger standing up for herself in front of her boorish husband. My heart broke for her when she felt so pretty and was so expecting the surprise to her husband to be a good one, and then he comes in and tries to take her joy. She gave up everything for him, family, son! He's worse than Dawn's husband, in my opinion.

[/quote]

► Show Spoiler

But most especially, the very ending scene, when Dawn went into Blackie’s old office and put her cheek on his coat. I'll tell you, it’s not easy for me to get excessively emotional over scenes in books, but I have to admit—that one got to me.

Blackie is the best character in the whole thing. I'm wondering if she knew a guy like that in her own newspaper office.

And I loved the way she ended it with the goodbye tear left on Blackie’s coat, then Gerhard calling to her softly, and then “I’m coming,” signalling her goodbye to the old life and the beginning of their new life together. Just perfect.
[/spoil]

I think this book could be a fantastic movie if directed right.

[donnie]

The descriptions make you really want to visit this place. Couldn't you just smell the pastries in the bakery? I want to go there so badly.

Yes, that bakery was incredible. But my, that German cuisine! You'd gain 300 pounds or either have a heart attack before age 40. (Or both.) I’ll bet Americans of German descent who may have read this at that time enjoyed it, especially if they were midwesterners or Milwaukeeans.

I really want more books with Dawn O'Hara in them!

Yes, and by the way, here's a scary thing I learned: Ferber thought her manuscript for this book so bad that it was hopeless and threw it away! Her mother saw it the trash and snatched it out, else it would never have been published. Can you believe that? Just goes to show you that great writers, artists, composers, etc., are not always the best judge of their own works. (Getting off-topic, but two other examples: Arthur Conan Doyle thought of his Sherlock Holmes stories and junk, hack work. And Tchaikovsky despised The Nutcracker.)

I pictured Blackie looking like Burgess Meredith. In my mind he looked exactly like he did in the Twilight Zone episode Printer's Devil.

The way I pictured him is not too far from Burgess Meredith. There's another actor that I pictured him as exactly looking like, but I don't know who it is. I can picture him very plainly, but don't know where I saw him. Now it bugs me. Maybe it will come to me.

Re Gerhard:

► Show Spoiler

I think she tries to lay the foundation in the part where they were running through the field (I think that's what was happening in that scene) before she leaves for Milwaukee. I wasn't sure whether it was going to be a good friend type character or a suitor, and I think it wasn't so blatantly spelled out because Ferber was trying to write the romance as adult and calculated, rather than a passionate romance.

Yes, I wondered about that, because they were holding hands, for one thing. But I figured maybe they were just chums in a happy mood, but no, it did develop into something.

Re Nirlanger:

► Show Spoiler

I was so very proud of Nirlanger standing up for herself in front of her boorish husband.

Yes! That was surprising and so good to see. I wanted to jump into the book and slap that guy senseless. That scene and the one where Bennie is in the orphanage were two really distressing parts to read.

Blackie is the best character in the whole thing. I'm wondering if she knew a guy like that in her own newspaper office.

She had to have. That was my thinking, because he is just too much of a distinctly drawn character. There had to be a prototype. Of course, he could have been an amalgam of two or three people.

I think this book could be a fantastic movie if directed right.

I thought that too! That's a big "if" at the end, though.

I'm definitely interested in reading some of Ferber's other writing.

So let’s see: Edna, a newspaper writer, wrote a book about Dawn, a newspaper writer, who wrote a book about— Edna, a newspaper writer, maybe? Who wrote a book about Dawn, who wrote a book about…

A couple of other things: As is my (probably bad) habit, I noted words and expressions I couldn't understand. I'll list them to see if you know what they mean.

And could you post or send me a photo of that frontispiece and possibly title page? By the way, I enjoy it when you give the details of your individual copy, like the name in it, etc.

[Kitty]

Yes, and by the way, here's a scary thing I learned: Ferber thought her manuscript for this book so bad that it was hopeless and threw it away! Her mother saw it the trash and snatched it out, else it would never have been published. Can you believe that? Just goes to show you that great writers, artists, composers, etc., are not always the best judge of their own works.

That is shocking! Perhaps it was because this was her first book that she didn't realize that it was good; one could argue if it had not been for her mother, she might not have been the big success she became!

(Getting off-topic, but two other examples: Arthur Conan Doyle thought of his Sherlock Holmes stories and junk, hack work.

A lot of his short stories are very terrible, but his successes overshadow the fact that his lesser-known stories were obviously churned out as filler.

And Tchaikovsky despised The Nutcracker.)

I wonder why? I love anything Tchaikovsky. There's just something to it that makes me happy.

The way I pictured him is not too far from Burgess Meredith. There's another actor that I pictured him as exactly looking like, but I don't know who it is. I can picture him very plainly, but don't know where I saw him. Now it bugs me. Maybe it will come to me.

If you think of it, let me know.

► Show Spoiler

Re Gerhard:
...But I figured maybe they were just chums in a happy mood, but no, it did develop into something.

"chums in a happy mood." That phrasing made me laugh, but I think that hits the nail right on the head as to what I thought the situation was.

I'm definitely interested in reading some of Ferber's other writing.

I'll let you know if I find anything else of hers. I think her more popular titles are often outrageous prices, and, I admit, I'm kind of cheap.

So let’s see: Edna, a newspaper writer, wrote a book about Dawn, a newspaper writer, who wrote a book about— Edna, a newspaper writer, maybe? Who wrote a book about Dawn, who wrote a book about…

A couple of other things: As is my (probably bad) habit, I noted words and expressions I couldn't understand. I'll list them to see if you know what they mean.

Absolutely! I can't wait to see what you have.

And could you post or send me a photo of that frontispiece and possibly title page? By the way, I enjoy it when you give the details of your individual copy, like the name in it, etc.

I updated the blog post with those photos. By the way, thank you for making a comment in the comments section. I really appreciate when people do that.

[donnie]

Thanks for the photos! Yes, that's just about how I pictured Dawn (sans owl hat ) And the expression on her face might be one Dawn would have. (But that hat has to go.)

Ok, here's the list. I give the sentence for context. (Note: some of these could possibly be misprints in the digital copy I was reading in Apple Books. I did notice there was an oddly placed comma here or there.)

“I used to laugh, sometimes, when I was alone, at the bitter humor of it all. It was like a Duchess novel come to life.”

“You are coming home with me, and you shall sleep and eat, and sleep and eat, until you are as lively as the Widow Malone, ohone, and twice as fat.”

“Dad used to say that a sense of humor was like a shillaly—an iligent thing to have around handy, especially when the joke's on you.”

“Don't you know that the game isn't worth the candle, and that you'll give yourselves nervous jim-jams and then you'll have to go home to be patched up?” (I was able to get a definition of jim-jams; I like that term. )

“What did she say?" gurgled Flossie. "Was it something real reezk?”

“It happened in this way, on a day when I was indulging in a particularly greenery-yallery fit of gloom.”

“It needs only a Kaiser or so, and a bit of Unter den Linden to be quite complete.”

“There followed a blessed week of work—a "human warious" week, with something piquant lurking at every turn.”

“There follow days so bristling with real, live copy that perfectly good stuff which, in the ordinary course of events might be used to grace the front sheet, is sandwiched away between the marine intelligence and the Elgin butter reports.”

“Name and address on this slip. Take a Greenfield car. Nice old maid has lived in nice old cottage all her life.”

“Talk! Sa-a-ay, girl, that guy, he could talk the leads right out of a ruled, locked form.”

“I thought his eyes looked somethin' like those of the Black Cat up on the mantel just over his head—you know what I mean, when the electric lights is turned on in-inside{sic} the ugly thing.” (One of the ones I'm suspecting might be a typo. This is from ch. 18.)

“You who had always the money to lend a man Down on his luck and hard up for a V, ”

“There came to my desk one day an envelope bearing the letter-head of the publishing house to which I had sent my story. I balanced it for a moment in my fingers, woman-fashion, wondering, hoping, surmising.”

[Kitty]

These are the few I came up with. The others will take some search time.

“You are coming home with me, and you shall sleep and eat, and sleep and eat, until you are as lively as the Widow Malone, ohone, and twice as fat.”

I looked this one up at the time. According to Webster, it's a scot and Irish expression of sorrow or regret.

“Dad used to say that a sense of humor was like a shillaly—an iligent thing to have around handy, especially when the joke's on you.”

I think this is an Irish term for clever.

“Don't you know that the game isn't worth the candle, and that you'll give yourselves nervous jim-jams and then you'll have to go home to be patched up?” (I was able to get a definition of jim-jams; I like that term. )

Jim jams was a funny term. I think the phrase called for here is equal to "hill of beans."

“What did she say?" gurgled Flossie. "Was it something real reezk?”

This is a weird way to spell risqué.

“It happened in this way, on a day when I was indulging in a particularly greenery-yallery fit of gloom.”

I think this is a term for 'pathetic'.

“It needs only a Kaiser or so, and a bit of Unter den Linden to be quite complete.”

From visitberlin.de:

Unter den Linden is one of the most important arterial roads in the centre of Berlin and is the ideal starting point for getting to know the city.

“Name and address on this slip. Take a Greenfield car. Nice old maid has lived in nice old cottage all her life.”

I thought this was a type of taxi.

“You who had always the money to lend a man Down on his luck and hard up for a V, ”

I'm pretty sure the V (Roman numeral) stands for $5.

[donnie]

Thanks!

Yes, Flossie's mispronunciation of risqué, I should have figured that.

And I thought the V might be a five, but couldn't figure why it wouldn't just be spelled out. I thought maybe it was because it was in that odd little poem of Peter's at the beginning of ch. 19. But "V" didn't seem to rhyme with anything. Maybe that was slang for a five, based on the Roman numeral?

On the Elgin butter reports, I'm wondering if that's maybe like an agricultural commodity report or something? Like daily market prices for dairy? Elgin, Illinois is in the vicinity of Milwaukee.

Edit: I'm not sure that would make sense either, though, since farmers don't sell butter, they sell milk, which creameries then manufacture into butter; so there wouldn't be a market price for that, would there?

Mysteries, mysteries... What we need is a Cliff Notes for Dawn O'Hara.

[Kitty]

Maybe that was slang for a five, based on the Roman numeral?

I think so.

On the Elgin butter reports,

I can only find this phrase in Dawn O'Hara, so I think it's kind of a cheeky way to say that a lot of the stuff got pushed down to the lesser cared about portions of the paper.