--- product_id: 1652664 title: "Show Boat" brand: "edna ferberfoster hirsch" price: "£22.32" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1652664-show-boat store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Show Boat **Brand:** edna ferberfoster hirsch **Price:** £22.32 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Show Boat by edna ferberfoster hirsch - **How much does it cost?** £22.32 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1652664-show-boat) ## Best For - edna ferberfoster hirsch enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted edna ferberfoster hirsch brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Show Boat ## Images ![Show Boat - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51MVLuusDuL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Neglected, Often Surprising and Subversive Masterpiece About Strong Mothers and Daughters *by S***L on Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2002* The popularity of the Kern-Hammerstein musical, academia's refusal to include the work in the "canon" of regularly-taught American novels, the popular assumptions about the novel's datedness, sentimentality and racial stereotypes--these are some of the factors that have contributed to the comparative neglect of one of the most original, engaging narratives by an American novelist.The so-called "modernist" tradition is one that casts suspicion upon any narrative that might be termed "melodramatic" in its plotting, tone and style. It's true that Ferber plays out the emotions of her characters, but she's equally adept at keeping those emotions in play. Her voice is so vital and strong, her narrative so multilayered in its social-psychological-cultural-archetypal meanings, that an open-minded reader cannot fail to become swept up in the force of her storytelling. Moreover, in her characterization of Magnolia, who defends her unstable marriage against her daughter's staid one and who prefers the tenderloin districts to the churches and parks of Chicago, Ferber reveals the subversiveness of a true artist, making the reader question common assumptions about the dual gods of "success" and "progress."The river and the theater are not only Ferber's favorite settings but her metaphors for exploring the life of consciousness and explaining the forces that shape personality. Even when Gaylord and Magnolia abandon the river and take up residence in Chicago, the river lives in them, exposing by its constantly-felt presence what is alive and dead, what is enduring and transitory. Magnolia's daughter and her husband, the "new" American theater of New York, the "reformed" Chicago--all these are condemned less in the surface narrative than in the energy Ferber brings to the subjects that are closer to her heart: characters and places whose life traces its wellsprings to the river.This is melodrama ("music drama') in the best sense of the word--Ferber's prose evoking the musical elements that invest the narrative with fullness and necessity. The African-American spirituals and folk songs that provide Magnolia's education in turn inform the reader of her values and understandings through the course of her life's journey. Moreover, the narrative's movement matches the river's: it creates unexpected channels, moving forward in time, then backward, a device that enables the narrative to provide a perspective on the past as something familiar, as a place we already know and treasure, a "spot of time" we've been missing and to which we wish to return.But the melodrama also works here because Ferber constantly blurs the line between theater and life, letting us in on the "backstage" action that goes into playing a role and preparing a face. Magnolia blossoms only when she is on the stage, and Gaylord is never closer to authenticity than when he becomes an actor long enough to woo and marry Magnolia. Because Ferber presents her characters as deliberately assuming melodramatic parts, we don't see them as stereotypes as much as fellow beings taking on the roles required of us all to deal with life's changes as symbolized by the river.The musical version has a happy ending, with no deaths, no permanent damage. The sentiments in Ferber's original, on the other hand, are at once higher and deeper--equal parts elegy, stoicism, endurance, resolve. Ferber's last sentence describing Magnolia is a replication of an earlier sentence describing her mother: "The river, the show boat, the straight silent figure were lost to view." By this time Ferber's words have become such an integral part of the reader's consciousness that there's little chance any of these three images will be lost to view. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Come aboard! *by P***! on Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2021* It's not politically correct but you'll want to come aboard for Show Boat! Edna Ferber's classic tale of three generations of women - and those whom surround them - is beautifully and authenticity written including the horrific treatment of Blacks, who although Emancipated by law still wore the chains of White society. A tale of love, loss and courage, Show Boat should be required reading for our daughters. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ the better the reader recognizes the writers ability *by S***R on Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2014* This is a classic I had never read and now wish I had read a long time ago. I found it to start off slowly and end very quickly. I think readers may be influenced by the musicals if they have seen them. I kept looking for songs and hearing people singing (in my head only). One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book for me were the profound sentences created by the author. The more closely one reads, the better the reader recognizes the writers ability. As an endorsement I must admit that I am now reading Cimarron and am a Ferber fan. She has an ability to use satire and use it well. I also enjoyed the historical period of the book and life on a showboat. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1652664-show-boat](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1652664-show-boat) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-19*