Originally published in 1923, this epic tale of motherhood, money, and sacrifice inspired the first radio soap opera, a play, and three films, including the Oscar-nominated 1937 movie starring Barbara Stanwyck. Stella Dallas brings into sharp focus our societal obsession with the judgment of mothers, offering cultural commentary that is still shockingly relevant nearly one hundred years after its initial publication.
In the aftermath of an acrimonious divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled back and forth between her father and mother, both of them amoral and monstrously self-involved. After her parents find new spouses -- and after the new spouses find themselves drawn to each other, as much for Maisie's sake as their own -- Maisie feels even more misplaced. As she observes the world of adults and their adulteries, and finds herself in the position to decide her own fate, Henry James's rendering of her child's-eye view -- his depiction of what precisely Maisie knows -- draws the reader into this scathing satire of social mores and insightful meditation on familial dependence.
Heartfelt and gripping, this novel relates the tale of Jennifer Lavender, who has always been a lonely child, constantly feeling like second best and desperately craving her parent's love. When the truth is revealed and Jenny learns she was adopted, everything falls into place#x97;that is, until she realizes her dream of finding her real family can never be fulfilled, her mother died alone giving birth. Now a grown woman, she attempts to fill her void by marrying. For a while, she finds the love she had been lacking, but when the police show up at their door, Jenny discovers that her marriage is not what it seemed. Destitute, she is forced to move away and start again, forming a new life by the sea. It is there that she meets a young woman, one who will change her life forever. This narrative documents their joint search as they seek the truth, but what they find may be more than they can bear.
Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery. While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company's bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something--a romance, a promotion--to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places--that is, if his high-powered wife has her way. Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant--Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.--Provided by Publisher.
Anthony Sonaghan, an Irish Traveller, is descended from two families whose ancient enmity has endured into the present. He comes to Dublin to lie low, and is disturbed only by Judith, a librarian who encourages him to record his stories, until his uncle Arthur arrives, apparently on the run.
Stella Dallas by Olive Higgins Prouty | Literally Just Books
