Editing Cimarron (novel) (section)

==Novel==
''Cimarron'' derives its name from the [[Cimarron Territory]]. The Cimarron Territory was an unrecognized name for the [[Oklahoma Panhandle|No Man's Land]], an unsettled area of the West and Midwest, especially lands once inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American tribes]] such as the [[Cherokee]] and [[Sioux]]. In 1886 the government declared such lands open to settlement. At the time of the novel's opening, [[Oklahoma]] is one such "Cimarron Territory," though in actuality the historical setting of the novel is somewhere in the [[Cherokee Outlet]], also known as the [[Cherokee Strip]], and probably the city of [[Guthrie, Oklahoma]].

The novel is set in the Oklahoma of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It follows the lives of Yancey and Sabra Cravat, beginning with Yancey's tale of his participation in the [[Oklahoma Land Race|1893 land rush]]. They emigrate from [[Wichita, Kansas]], to the fictional town of Osage, Oklahoma with their son Cim and—unknowingly—a black boy named Isaiah. In Osage, the Cravats print their newspaper, the ''Oklahoma Wigwam'', and build their fortune amongst Indian disputes, outlaws, and the discovery of oil in [[Oklahoma]].

Upon its publication, ''Cimarron'' was a sensation in America and came to epitomize an era in [[American history]]. It was the best selling novel of 1930,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kahnscorner.com/2013/06/1930-cimarron-by-edna-ferber.html|title=1930: Cimarron by Edna Ferber|last=Kahn|first=Matt|language=en|access-date=2019-02-15}}</ref> as it provided readers an outlet to escape their present suffering in the [[Great Depression]]. This novel became Ferber's third successful novel and paved the way for many more Ferber-penned historical epics, and it was published as an [[Armed Services Edition]] during WWII.

While it became seen as a triumphant feminist story detailing Sabra Cravat's growth from a traditional American housewife into a successful leader and politician, Ferber has stated in her autobiography, ''[[A Peculiar Treasure]]'', that the novel was originally intended as a satirical criticism of American womanhood and American sentimentality.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shapiro |first1=Ann R. |date=2002 |title=Edna Ferber, Jewish American Feminist |journal=Shofar |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=52–60 |doi=10.1353/sho.2001.0159 |s2cid=143198251 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ferber |first=Edna |date=1938 |title=A Peculiar Treasure |publisher=Doubleday, Doran, & Co. |page=330 |author-link= Edna Ferber }}</ref> Throughout the novel, Sabra's practice of imperial domesticity can be seen in her attempts to "civilize" Native Americans by forcing them to adopt white values, and her fixation on expanding her own sphere of influence, which as a woman, was traditionally her home.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zink |first1=Amanda |date=2012 |title=Peyote in the Kitchen: Gendered Identities and Imperial Domesticity in Edna Ferber's Cimarron |journal=Western American Literature |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=66–86 |doi=10.1353/wal.2012.0027 |s2cid=162474216 }}</ref>

The character of Yancey Cravat is based on [[Temple Lea Houston]], last child of Texas icon [[Sam Houston]]. Temple Houston was a brilliant trial lawyer known for his flamboyant courtroom theatrics. He was also a competent gunfighter who killed at least one man in a stand-up shootout.