'Fanny Herself ' Summary

This is also a novel about religious tolerance and the culture of the midwest during this period of history. Ferber is an acute, humorous, and precise observer of culture and behavior. Her eye for detail, and her ear for dialogue are apparent in the many plays and movies which she wrote. Her observations of the pleasures of growing up as a bright, curious, and Jewish girl in small town Wisconsin are both revealing, and amusing.

Ferber also writes tellingly of the dynamics of her family, a father who could not work, and had no business instincts; a mother who was proud, capable, and competent, unafraid of taking risks, and a sibling for whom much was sacrificed.