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Olive Higgins Prouty

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Stella Dallas: A novel Hardcover – January 1, 1942

by Olive Prouty (Author)

4.3 93 ratings

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She's ambitious, she's relentless, she's unstoppable - but she can't hide the stain of her working-class roots. A woman big enough for both Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Midler, Stella Dallas was a best-seller in its time - and a terrific read today.One of the most entertaining, excellently sustained and consistently developed novels of the season. - New York TimesAll she wants is to get ahead in the world. But Stella Dallas's world is one that always brings her shame. She marries Stephen Dallas, a man of great refinement, but he cannot tolerate her crudities; when he finally loses patience with her indiscreet flirtations, it's curtains for the marriage.Stella transfers her hopes for the future to her sweet-as-pie daughter, Laurel, and the two live in shabby gentility, a shadow of their former life. While Stella imagines herself the grand lady, her coarseness and rumored exploits with unsavory men bring her public ridicule - and ostracize Laurel from polite society.Stella finally makes the ultimate sacrifice, marrying an alcohol- and drug-addicted man she loathes to force Laurel to leave her and seek the advantages of her father's home and social class.Deeply moving narrative...Mrs. Prouty's subject is conceived with that surety and understanding which in literature makes beauty. - Boston TranscriptStill shown throught the country at revival houses, the 1937 King Vidor/Sam Goldwyn production of Stella Dallas brought Osca nominations to both Barbara Stanwyck and Ann Shirley. Literary Cinema Classics now brings back the great American novels that became beloved American films. Each book is illustrated with stills form the movie, and each is completely reset in a typeface to enhance your reading pleasure.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00087SWK0
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Triangle Books (January 1, 1942)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces

Best Sellers Rank: #6,582,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 93 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

93 global ratings

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cathleen castillo

Book

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2023

Verified Purchase

Birthday gift. Very impressed. Beautiful cover. Loved this book

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upfront_reader

Why aren't people nice to my mother?

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2015

It might have been impossible for any book to live up to the Barbara Stanwyck movie version for me, just because I saw and loved it first. But this book disappointed me more than I anticipated. It is still a moving story of motherly love and sacrifice, and it does provide more depth and detail than the movie. But—and there again, maybe because I saw the movie first—it didn’t move me as much as I expected. I almost wondered if it isn’t an abbreviated version of the original novel. The Femmes Fatales edition of another Olive Higgins Prouty title mentions that it is an abridgement of the original, so this one might be also. Unusual for this press, the book doesn’t have an Afterword that might provide such information.

At its heart, this book is about snobbery. Yes, Stella does some things that might lead people to believe she is “no better than she should be” to use the old-fashioned phrase. But it’s hard to reach any conclusion other than that she and Laurel are ostracized because Stella wears the wrong clothes and behaves in the wrong fashion according to the society she most wants to cultivate. She’s from the wrong side of the tracks, marries up, and finds herself alone when her common ways drive that husband away. Once on her own, she reverts to vulgar form and no "decent" people will have anything to do with her or her daughter. It’s not a very attractive picture. Contrasted with that, is Helen Morrison, the woman from the right side of the tracks who makes everyone feel at home, who never wears paint or powder or costume jewelry, and who knows instinctively how to behave in any situation. Mrs. Morrison is a very appealing character, no doubt, but her refined perfection, contrasted with Stella’s vulgarity, jarred. And the book didn’t always make sense to me. Stella judges what clothes Laurel should wear by copying society girls but can’t make the same judgments for herself? Since she’s so intent on cultivating society, why not copy the mothers of those society girls in her own clothing and behavior? The book didn’t always provide a believable answer to that question. Hard to escape the conclusion that Prouty believes the father’s society blood is enough to save Laurel, but Stella’s lack of breeding makes her beyond redemption. Snobbery, as I said, and that made the novel occasionally difficult to relate to. I especially hated how Stella, a good person and a devoted mother, was judged and condemned for such superficial reasons. (Nowadays, people far more vulgar than Stella are rewarded with reality TV shows and the rest of us are supposed to keep up with them, not condemn them. Ironic.) For the most part, I enjoyed it, but this novel will never replace the Stanwyck movie for me.

8 people found this helpful

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J. Kor

Good, crisp copy of a marvelous novel

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was so happy to receive my copy of Stella Dallas---the only copy I could get here in Ohio from the library distribution service is VERY old, crackly and a bit smelly, so to actually have my own copy is really nice. The photos from the movie itself are an added bonus! I'm very glad I bought this book. Thanks, Amazon!

8 people found this helpful

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Vickie Lynne

Fantastic Book

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

A great read. Would highly recommend.

One person found this helpful

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meganajjcec

great but have to get an old copy

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2013

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Absolutely touching and there are two movies on it. One with Barbara Stanwyck and one with Bette Midler. Very good.

2 people found this helpful

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jenna baker

No to my liking

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

Was kind of boring. It starts with the daughter already a preteen or teenager where the movie was more enjoyable and kept my attention.

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

Such a great book and condition exactly as described.

One person found this helpful

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Jan R. S.

cheap imprint

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024

Verified Purchase

this is one of those cheap imprints with tiny fonts and a silly cover illustration that has nothing to do with the book. i hate these. I will either donate it or throw it away./ it's too had to read that font. thanks but no thanks. i consider this a scam sale. i'm ashamed of you.

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Top reviews from other countries

J. Pratt

So Many Typo's!

Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2023

Verified Purchase

I'm 12 pages in, and there are so many weird typo's that I can't continue (the ones I screenshot were from the same page). I should have realized this book was low quality by the cover, which is so out of character to anything in this story. I'm returning this, and hopefully can find a better quality version. Avoid this one if you care about accuracy!