Editing Edna Ferber (section)

== Personal life ==
Ferber never married, had no children, and is not known to have engaged in a romance or sexual relationship.{{efn|There have been undocumented rumors that Ferber was a lesbian.
Professor John Unsworth makes an unsupported claim in John Sutherland (2007) ''Bestsellers: A Very Short Introduction'' Oxford University Press: 53. Haggerty and Zimmerman imply she was gay because of her visits to [[Provincetown]] in the early 20th century (Haggerty and Zimmerman (2000), ''Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia'', Taylor and Francis, p. 610).
Porter (Porter, Darwin (2004) ''Katherine the Great'', Blood Moon Productions, Ltd, p. 204) comments in passing that Ferber was a lesbian, but offers no support. Burrough (Burrough, Brian (2010) ''The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes'', Penguin) also remarks in passing that Ferber was gay, citing the biography written by Julie Goldsmith Gilbert (Ferber's great niece, see bibliography).  Gilbert, however, makes no mention of lesbian relationships.}}
In her early novel ''Dawn O'Hara'', the title character's aunt remarks, "Being an old maid was a great deal like death by drowning – a really delightful sensation when you ceased struggling." Ferber did take a maternal interest in the career of her niece [[Janet Fox]], an actress who performed in the original Broadway casts of Ferber's plays ''[[Dinner at Eight (play)|Dinner at Eight]]'' (1932) and ''[[Stage Door (play)|Stage Door]]'' (1936).

Ferber was known for being outspoken and having a quick wit. On one occasion, she led other Jewish guests in leaving a house party after learning the host was antisemitic.<ref name="brody" /> Once, after [[Noël Coward]] joked about how her suit made her resemble a man, she replied, "So does yours."<ref name=":1" />

=== Importance of Jewish identity ===
Starting in 1922, Ferber began to visit Europe once or twice annually for thirteen or fourteen years.<ref name=":3">{{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> During this time and unlike most Americans, she became troubled by the rise of the [[Nazi Party]] and its spreading of the [[antisemitic]] prejudice she had faced in her childhood. She commented on this saying, "It was a fearful thing to see a continent – a civilization – crumbling before one's eyes. It was a rapid and seemingly inevitable process to which no one paid any particular attention."{{sfn|Ferber|1939|p=267}} Her fears greatly influenced her work, which often featured themes of racial and cultural discrimination. Her 1938 autobiography, ''[[A Peculiar Treasure]]'', originally included a spiteful dedication to [[Adolf Hitler]] which stated: <blockquote>To Adolf Hitler, who has made me a better Jew and a more understanding human being, as he has of millions of other Jews, this book is dedicated in loathing and contempt.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>While this was changed by the time of the book's publication, it still alluded to the Nazi threat.<ref name=":3" /> She frequently mentions Jewish success in her book, alluding to and wanting to show not just that Jewish success, but Jews being able to use that and prevail.<ref name=":3" />

=== Algonquin Round Table ===
Ferber was a member of the [[Algonquin Round Table]], a group of wits who met for lunch every day at the [[Algonquin Hotel]] in New York. Ferber and another member of the Round Table, [[Alexander Woollcott]], were long-time enemies, their antipathy lasting until Woollcott's death in 1943, although [[Howard Teichmann]] states in his biography of Woollcott that their feud was due to a misunderstanding. According to Teichmann, Ferber once described Woollcott as "a New Jersey [[Nero]] who has mistaken his [[pinafore]] for a [[toga]]".

Ferber collaborated with Round Table member [[George S. Kaufman]] on several plays presented on Broadway: ''Minick'' (1924), ''[[The Royal Family (play)|The Royal Family]]'' (1927), ''[[Dinner at Eight (play)|Dinner At Eight]]'' (1932), ''[[The Land Is Bright]]'' (1941), ''[[Stage Door (play)|Stage Door]]'' (1936), and ''Bravo!'' (1948).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bard.org/study-guides/about-the-playwright-the-royal-family|title=About the Playwright: The Royal Family – The Kaufman-Ferber Partnership|work=Utah Shakespeare Festival|publisher=The Professional Theater at Southern Utah University|access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref>

===Political views===
In a poll carried out by the ''[[Saturday Review of Literature]]'', asking American writers which presidential candidate they supported in the [[1940 United States presidential election|1940 election]], Ferber endorsed [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>''"Among those who have stated they will vote for President Roosevelt are Edna Ferber..."'' "Editorial: Presidential Poll", ''Saturday Review of Literature''. November 2, 1940 (p.8).</ref>