Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! - (Elmwood Springs) by Fannie Flagg (Paperback)

About the Book

From the author of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" comes a touching, funny, totally engaging novel about the healing power of life in a small Missouri town--now available for the first time in paperback.

Book Synopsis

A funny, serious, and compelling novel by Fannie Flagg, author of the beloved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (and prize-winning co-writer of the classic movie).

"[This] tale of tough, eccentric, endearing women who first endure and then prevail. . . . will make you laugh out loud--and shed a few tears. . . . Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! is another rattling success."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

Once again, Flagg's humor and respect and affection for her characters shine forth. Many inhabit small-town or suburban America. But this time, her heroine is urban: a brainy, beautiful, and ambitious rising star of 1970s television. Dena Nordstrom, pride of the network, is a woman whose future is full of promise, her present rich with complications, and her past marked by mystery.

Among the colorful cast of characters are:

Sookie, of Selma, Alabama, Dena's exuberant college roommate, who is everything that Dena is not; she is thrilled by Dena's success and will do everything short of signing autographs for her; Sookie's a mom, a wife, and a Kappa forever

Dena's cousins, the Warrens, and her aunt Elner, of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, endearing, loyal, talkative, ditsy, and, in their way, wise

Neighbor Dorothy, whose spirit hovers over them all through the radio show that she broadcast from her home in the 1940s

Sidney Capello, pioneer of modern sleaze journalism and privateer of privacy, and Ira Wallace, his partner in tabloid television

Several doctors, all of them taken with--and almost taken in by-Dena

There are others, captivated by a woman who tries to go home again, not knowing where home or love lie.

Review Quotes

"Utterly irresistible."--Time

"Enjoyable . . . [Flagg] keeps it simple, she keeps it bright, she keeps it moving right along--and, most of all, she keeps it beloved."--The New York Times Book Review

"Satisfying . . . [Flagg's] faith in the healing power of small towns and family are refreshing."--People

About the Author

Fannie Flagg began writing and producing television specials at age nineteen and went on to distinguish herself as an actress and writer in television, films, and the theater. Her first novel, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, spent ten weeks on The New York Times paperback bestseller list, and her second novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe , spent thirty-six weeks on the same list. It was produced by Universal Pictures as the feature film Fried Green Tomatoes. Flagg's script was nominated for both the Academy and Writers Guild of America awards, and won the highly regarded Scripters Award. Flagg narrated both novels on audiotape and received a Grammy Award nomination for best spoken word. Flagg lives in Montecito, California.