Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed

Edna Ferber (1885 - 1968)

Dawn O’Hara, the Girl Who Laughed was Edna Ferber’s first novel. Dawn, a newspaperwoman working in New York, finds herself back home in Michigan on doctor’s orders. Years of living in boarding-houses and working to pay for the care of her brilliant but mentally ill husband, Peter Orme, have taken their toll. At twenty-eight, Dawn feels like an old woman with no future. But, the loving care of her sister Norah and her family along with the attentions of the handsome German doctor, Ernst Von Gerhard, slowly bring Dawn back to life. With Dr. Von Gerhard’s help, she obtains a newspaper job in Milwaukee and begins a year of new adventures among new people. However, the specter of her husband living in a mental hospital is always present and Dawn fears she may never be free to love again. (Summary by Lee Ann Howlett)

Genre(s): General Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 The Smash-Up Lee Ann Howlett
00:14:35
Play 02 Mostly Eggs Lee Ann Howlett
00:16:23
Play 03 Good As New Lee Ann Howlett
00:15:15
Play 04 Dawn Develops A Heimweh Lee Ann Howlett
00:18:28
Play 05 The Absurd Becomes Serious Lee Ann Howlett
00:20:00
Play 06 Steeped In German Lee Ann Howlett
00:16:08
Play 07 Blackie's Philosophy Lee Ann Howlett
00:19:23
Play 08 Kaffee And Kaffeekuchen Lee Ann Howlett
00:23:57
Play 09 The Lady From Vienna Lee Ann Howlett
00:14:54
Play 10 A Tragedy Of Gowns Lee Ann Howlett
00:16:42
Play 11 Von Gerhard Speaks Lee Ann Howlett
00:13:25
Play 12 Bennie The Consoler Lee Ann Howlett
00:20:33
Play 13 The Test Lee Ann Howlett
00:17:09
Play 14 Bennie And The Charming Old Maid Lee Ann Howlett
00:19:35
Play 15 Farewell To Knapfs' Lee Ann Howlett
00:19:11
Play 16 June Moonlight, And A New Boarding House Lee Ann Howlett
00:16:00
Play 17 The Shadow Of Terror Lee Ann Howlett
00:18:55
Play 18 Peter Orme Lee Ann Howlett
00:16:44
Play 19 A Turn Of The Wheel Lee Ann Howlett
00:10:53
Play 20 Blackie's Vacation Comes Lee Ann Howlett
00:09:03
Play 21 Happiness Lee Ann Howlett
00:08:13