Saratoga Trunk: A Novel (Perennial Classics)

I believe Edna Ferber is one of the finest writers of the 20th century. When you think of the books she has written that have been made into superb movies: Giant; Saratoga Trunk; So Big; Showboat that still endure, reading her written word is sheer pleasure. I adored this book. Beautifully written, evocative, and frank; I grew up in New Orleans where the first half takes place and Ferber so perfectly captured the beauty, essence and spirit of New Orleans, as though the Crescent City was transported onto the pages of the book. It tells the story of Clio Dulaine, the illegitimate daughter of a placee and her wealthy planter lover, an arrangement made in the cities history between beautiful quadroon women and white men considered the cream of society. It is also a strong social statement of the times without being woke, preachy or pendantic. The dialogue is wonderful, and the chemistry between Ciio and Clint Maroon perfect. Added to this wonderful gumbo are the characters of Angelique and Cupidon. Highly recommended.

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 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.

This refers to the Kindle Edition. You would think since this is not a FREE book that they could have done a better job of editing. Obviously done with an OCR reader, the "tl" combination consistently shows up at "d". A global search could have corrected most of these! I don't know why I'm always surprised at the greed evident in the world.

This book typifies repudiation of the Industrial Revolution by the socialistic cultural network. It's a tasteful, inventive, and beautifully written romance novel, what might be termed a corset-unlacer, looking back to the Gilded Age of unbridled industrialization from the perspective of the more congenial, heavily regulated New Deal. It reads as if it might have been inspired by "Gone with the Wind," Margaret Mitchell's recent popular period romance about resistant Southern Jeffersonian gentry abruptly thrust into the full-blown Industrial Revolution. An impressive array of detail evokes each of the three settings where Ferber's story takes place. The title refers to both a capacious traveling case needed for the immense wardrobe expected at the fashionable spa, and a railroad. The ultimate theme is the physical battle for the short-line railroad from Binghamton to Albany, N.Y., waged by the Erie RR in its rapacious phase under direction by Jay Gould against the ultimate victor Delaware & Hudson RR seeking a route to ship anthracite coal from its Lackawanna Valley mines toward New England and Canadian markets, and command of the booming seasonal tourist and racehorse traffic to Saratoga Springs and other fashionable therapeutic Adirondack spa resorts. This battle actually took place a decade earlier than the time frame of the novel. Two rival groups vied for domination of Saratoga society: the refined but uninhibited patricians denied their presumptive hereditary rule over the Industrial Revolution, represented by the shrewd fictional matron Sophie Bellop and the two unconventional protagonists, namely the provocative, scheming, manipulative Creole belle Clio Dulaine, a sort of Mary Queen of Scots figure with her European flair and primitive, exotic entourage, and Clint Maroon, the flower of Texas chivalry; vs. the impertinent, conventional, unscrupulous moneyed middle-class self-made Yankee opportunists who had seized control of all enterprises, personified by railroad titans Jay Gould and William H. Vanderbilt, and another shrewd fictional matron Clarissa Van Steed. It was the right and duty of patricians to wet their beaks in the stream of unprecedented ill-gotten wealth flowing to, from, and between the undeserving entrepreneurs, and re-channel some of it in altruistic directions. The gentry joined forces with the less objectionable D&H faction for control of the title railroad line. The approaching Golden Age was within the author's gaze when the Garden of Eden would be restored, and all resources and earnings evenly distributed. My copy of the book includes brief supplemental accounts of the author's literary career and her original dramatic intent for this novel.

Saratoga Trunk is the fifth of Edna Ferber’s novels I’ve read recently. Since it is almost nine decades old, I was struck by how potent the satire still is. Ferber’s sendup of high society is pointed and resonant. She skews rich people and their attitudes hilariously. An early feminist, Ferber once again has a strong woman as her leading lady. But this time, unlike the other four novels I’ve read, her Clio Dulaine is a deceptive, self-centered, con-woman. And thus Ferber, in portraying a strong woman, departs from the virtuous women in the other books I read. Saratoga Trunk’s point, Ferber is making, is that we believe what we want to, no matter the truth. And that is how this book is so relevant after all these years, for we are experiencing that kind of thing today in the US, especially.

The women are beautiful and the men so handsome and Edna Ferber weaves a wonderful tale. I read Edna's books 30 years ago and loved them so I am reading them all again.

I have enjoyed both this book and Giant. Cant beat the story tellers of the past. If you enjoy historical fiction these are well worth the read as are the movies.

This is a story written quite some time ago. A tad difficult to get into. The characters did not seem developed so I didn’t grow to care about. It seemed more to be a screen play than a book.

Like all Edna Ferber's novels, this one gives a vivid account of a specific period and place in American history. The crux of this novel is the brutality and lawlessness that were accepted in late 19th/early 20th century Texas but more specifically in New York State, in the achievement of necessary developments like reliable railway lines. The two main characters are larger than life - one from Texas, one from Paris and New Orleans - and the interplay between them is delicious. Edna Ferber is sadly neglected. I welcome being able to read so many of her works, which have been out of print for decades.

well pleased