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Available
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Description
The basis for the classic film starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman, Saratoga Trunk unfolds the story of Clio Dulaine, an ambitious Creole beauty who more than meets her match in Clint Maroon, a handsome Texan with a head for business -- and an eye for beautiful young women. Together they do battle with Southern gentry and Eastern society, but in their obsession to acquire all they've ever wanted, they fail to realize they already have all they'll ever need -- each other.
User reviews
LibraryThing member crtaylor
An exciting story about a young woman out to find wealth and position in society. Through a series of events and a variety of interesting predicaments she learns that perhaps money is not the only thing that matters to her after all.
LibraryThing member rocketjk
A good, old-fashioned "Novel" novel! A beautiful, headstrong young woman, Clio, orphaned and on her own, takes on the world, determined to make her own way in the world of late 19-century America, only as scrupulously as she can afford to be and not caring a bit about it. "Her own way" means
It's a pot-boiler, for the most part, although the high-quality writing and detailed look at the very rich of the era raise Saratoga Trunk above the turgid nonsense we'd expect this book to be today. Not great literature, but a fun book of its kind if one is in the mood.
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marrying money for the security and prestige, but will true love foil her plan? The story plays out for the most part among the super-rich upper class at Saratoga, NY. And of course, in the hands of many of our modern pot-boiler writers, this whole exercise would be dreadful. But Ferber was a very good writer, or at least writes very well here. The characters are larger than life, to be sure, especially the tall, handsome Texan our heroine takes as her scheming partner as well as the somewhat grotesque but immensely strong and resourceful dwarf she has had as one of her two loyal servants since her childhood (spent in exile in Paris because of an illicit and tragic love affair that had gotten her mother chased from New Orleans society). You get the picture. The story is a little slow getting going, due to the less than fascinating exposition through which the mother's backstory is told. But once we get going, as the mother dies and Clio hits New Orleans to claim back her birthright, things heat up.It's a pot-boiler, for the most part, although the high-quality writing and detailed look at the very rich of the era raise Saratoga Trunk above the turgid nonsense we'd expect this book to be today. Not great literature, but a fun book of its kind if one is in the mood.
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LibraryThing member Alphawoman
Reading this book was like watching a black and white TCM movie from the 1940's
LibraryThing member Zumbanista
First off, there were many small errors in this Kindle version. I didn't find them too annoying as they were easy to figure out and repetitive: i.e. lidte for little
Interesting how the novel starts off in the present and then without a break, it dives right into Clio Dulaine's past. Same thing at
Ferber has a powerfully descriptive style of writing, enumerating all the details of food, dress and architecture extremely well. Perhaps a shade anachronistic, with mentions of well known early 20th century millionaires and other less well known society names. Sadly, I believe Ferber has been overlooked by modern day readers, even though she is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
The plot is not profound in any way, but the characterizations are meticulous and enjoyable. I was not offended in the least by various racial attributions or language which I viewed in the context of the era the novel was created in.
I enjoyed Saratoga Trunk and am interested in reading some of Ferber's other works, which I know from their film adaptations, such as Showboat, Cimmaron and Giant. I will certainly watch the movie version of Saratoga Trunk starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman.
If you like American tales of New Orleans, brawny Texans, high society in the early 1900's and satire, I think you like this book.
Interesting how the novel starts off in the present and then without a break, it dives right into Clio Dulaine's past. Same thing at
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the end.Ferber has a powerfully descriptive style of writing, enumerating all the details of food, dress and architecture extremely well. Perhaps a shade anachronistic, with mentions of well known early 20th century millionaires and other less well known society names. Sadly, I believe Ferber has been overlooked by modern day readers, even though she is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
The plot is not profound in any way, but the characterizations are meticulous and enjoyable. I was not offended in the least by various racial attributions or language which I viewed in the context of the era the novel was created in.
I enjoyed Saratoga Trunk and am interested in reading some of Ferber's other works, which I know from their film adaptations, such as Showboat, Cimmaron and Giant. I will certainly watch the movie version of Saratoga Trunk starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman.
If you like American tales of New Orleans, brawny Texans, high society in the early 1900's and satire, I think you like this book.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1941
Other editions
Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber (Hardcover)