Doll Maker the - by Harriette Arnow (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This "deeply sincere and moving" (Chicago Tribune) American classic explores the Nevels family and their quest to preserve their deep-rooted values amidst the turmoil of war and industrialization.

When Gertie Nevels, a strong and self-reliant matriarch, follows her husband to Detroit from their countryside home in Kentucky, she learns she will have to fight desperately to keep her family together. A sprawling book full of vividly drawn characters and masterful scenes, The Dollmaker is a passionate tribute to a woman's love for her children and the land.

Review Quotes

"The Dollmaker has vividness and terrific reality. It is a book to make one think...a story of the strength of the human heart against bitter odds....Deeply sincere and moving." -- Chicago Tribune

"The Dollmaker's depiction of family life -- the entangled bonds between parents and children, brothers and sisters -- is unparalleled in modern fiction." -- The Georgia Review

"A masterwork...A superb book of unforgettable strength and glowing richness." -- The New York Times

"The depth and power and stature of this enormous book are rare indeed in modern fiction." -- The New York Times

About the Author

Harriette Arnow was born in Wayne County, Kentucky, in 1908. From her father, a former teacher who later worked in factories and oil fields, and her mother, also a teacher, Arnow inherited the rich storytelling tradition that inspired much of her written work. She published her first short stories in 1935 under the pseudonym H.L. Simpson alongside a photograph of her brother-in-law to disguise her gender. Her acclaimed novels include Mountain Path, Hunter's Horn, and The Dollmaker, the last considered her masterpiece and a landmark of American fiction. She died in 1986.