Kirjahaku

Bess Streeter Aldrich's A White Bird Flying has long stood as a treasured American classic-a tender, beautifully crafted coming-of-age story that captures the enduring struggle between personal ambition and familial duty. In this Hans Illustrated Classics Edition, the beloved novel is thoughtfully reintroduced in a radiant new format that highlights its emotional power for modern readers while honoring the integrity of Aldrich's original prose. At the heart of the story is Laura Deal, a sensitive and fiercely imaginative young woman who inherits not only her aunt's cherished home but also a legacy of dreams, expectations, and unspoken hopes. Growing up in the early decades of the twentieth century-a time of rapid cultural change-Laura finds herself torn between the comforting traditions of her Midwestern upbringing and the creative aspirations that call her toward a wider world. As she navigates shifting family dynamics, emerging independence, and the quiet yet persistent pull of her writer's spirit, Laura's journey becomes a timeless reflection on the courage it takes to claim one's own identity. This Hans Illustrated Classics Edition elevates the narrative through all-new, graceful artwork that visually enriches each stage of Laura's emotional evolution. The illustrations capture the rural landscapes, intimate domestic moments, and poignant turning points with warmth and nuance, offering readers a deeper connection to the story's themes and atmosphere. Whether depicting the stark beauty of Nebraska fields or the tender complexities of family relationships, each image is crafted to complement Aldrich's lyrical storytelling. The text itself has been carefully re-edited for clarity and flow, ensuring accessibility for new readers while preserving the author's distinctive voice and historical authenticity. Subtle enhancements make the prose more inviting without altering its classic tone, making this edition ideal for book clubs, students, educators, collectors, and lifelong fans of early American literature. Readers encountering A White Bird Flying for the first time will find an edition perfectly suited to discovery, while returning admirers will appreciate the fresh artistic interpretation and refined presentation. Designed with meticulous attention to detail-featuring high-quality paper, elegant layout choices, and a balanced blend of art and text-this edition reflects a commitment to honoring the novel's legacy. It stands not only as a captivating reading experience but also as a meaningful keepsake for anyone who cherishes beautifully produced books. Profound yet gentle, nostalgic yet forward-looking, A White Bird Flying (Hans Illustrated Classics Edition) invites readers to rediscover the quiet determination of a young woman learning to trust her voice, shape her destiny, and embrace the soaring possibility of her own inner "white bird." It is a story of growth, resilience, and the universal search for purpose-rendered here in the most luminous and engaging edition available today.

In the first half of the twentieth century Bess Streeter Aldrich became one of America's best loved, most widely read, and highly paid writers. Her short works appeared in such major journals as Ladies Home Journal, Harper's Weekly, The American Magazine, Colliers, McCalls, and The Saturday Evening Post. Her most famous novel, A Lantern in Her Hand, has remained a favorite since first published in 1928. Her portrayals of pioneers, farm people, small-town residents, their activities, and their relationship with their surroundings won the admiration of the nation. Honest romance, marital concord, and parental love were her constant themes. She was much more concerned with what kept people together than with what drove them apart. Widowed in 1925 with four children who relied on her for support, Aldrich knew all too well the tensions between motherhood and working for pay. Collected Short Works contains twenty-six works written for publication between 1907 and 1919. Aldrich's admirers now have ready access to works that long ago were relegated to archives and library stacks. Scholars will appreciate how much of herself Aldrich invested in her fiction and how well she appreciated the changes occurring around her.

During the first half of the twentieth century, Bess Streeter Aldrich became one of the most highly paid and widely read American authors of her time. Among the most noteworthy of frontier writers, Aldrich published her short work in such leading magazines as Cosmopolitan, Colliers, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and the Saturday Evening Post. Her most famous novel, A Lantern in Her Hand, has remained a favorite since it was first published in 1928. All of her subsequent novels were also bestsellers. Aldrich's portrayals of pioneers, farm people, and small town traders—their spirit and enterprise—won the admiration of the nation. Unlike such contemporaries as Sinclair Lewis and Hamlin Garland, Aldrich saw the better side of Main Street. Honesty, hard work, friendship, and family life are constant themes in her writings. This second volume of The Collected Short Works brings together over thirty of Aldrich's short stories and essays published between 1920 and 1954, the year of her death. With this collection Aldrich's admirers have ready access to many hard-to-find works. Some of the stories appear here for the first time since their original publication.

As part of its program of books for Nebraska's centennial year, the UNP reprints this best-selling novel by a beloved Nebraska author.

Acclaimed for her 1928 novel A Lantern in Her Hand, Bess Streeter Aldrich became one of the most widely read interpreters of the prairie pioneer experience. In 1935, she published her masterpiece, Spring Came on Forever, a novel of two Nebraska pioneer families from settlement to the 1930s. Elsewhere an artist of the romance, here Aldrich turns romance on its head. The heroine is Amalia Holmsdorfer, one of a band of German immigrants who settle on the prairie. From her late teens to her mid-eighties she confronts and defeats the forces of nature and society that discourage or ruin others. Her life might be a modest triumph but for one detail: she married the wrong man. Quickly paced and precisely drawn, this novel is Aldrich's greatest tribute to the complexity, humor, endurance, and intelligence of the people who settled the prairie. Whatever its sentiments, it has as many cutting edges as a buzz saw.

The true meaning of Christmas emerges in these stories about reunited families, good fellowship, and restored faith. This is not to say that all is sugar candy. The mother in the title story faces a lonely Christmas in an empty house—but then something quite ordinary but miraculous happens. In "The Drum Goes Dead," a small-town bank cashier, a solid citizen and sterling friend, is dispirited by hard times until he discovers, through his own resources, that it is indeed a wonderful life. Here are nine other holiday stories, by turns dramatic, humorous, and inspirational. The closing piece recalls the author's childhood in Iowa. Bess Streeter Aldrich is well remembered for A Lantern in Her Hand, from which Christmas on the Prairie is reprinted, and Spring Came On Forever.

Bess Streeter Aldrich is known for her portrayals of wise and witty women whose identities are strengthened, not smothered, in the bosom of the family. Molly Mason, fifty-two, is the devoted wife of the bank president, mother of four fun-loving Masons, and a reliable standby for the library board, missionary society, and the women's clubs. She has a hand in everything that happens in her midwestern town. In fact, Mother Mason never has any time to do just as she likes. Then one day she makes a headlong dash for liberty—and look out! Bess Streeter Aldrich published stories about the Masons in American magazine during World War I. Homesick American soldiers asked for more, and in 1925 the same family became the subject of Mother Mason.

Abbie Deal, the matriarch of a pioneer Nebraska family, has died at the beginning of A White Bird Flying, leaving her china and heavy furniture to others and to her granddaughter Laura the secret of her dream of finer things. Grandma Deal's literary aspirations had been thwarted by the hard circumstances of her life, but Laura vows that nothing, no one, will deter her from a successful writing career. Childhood passes, and the more she repeats her vow the more life intervenes.

First published in 1928, A Lantern in Her Hand has outlasted literary fashions to touch generations of readers. In this classic story of a pioneer woman, Bess Streeter Aldrich modeled protagonist Abbie Deal on her own mother, who in 1854 had traveled by covered wagon to the Midwest. In A Lantern in Her Hand, Abbie accompanies her family to the soon-to-be-state of Nebraska. There, in 1865, she marries and settles into her own sod house. The novel describes Abbie's years of child-raising, of making a frontier home able to withstand every adversity. A Disciplined writer knowledgeable about true stories of pioneer days in Nebraska, Bess Streeter Aldrich conveys the strength of everyday things, the surprise of familiar faces, and the look of the unspoiled landscape during different seasons. Refusing to be broken by hard experience, Abbie sets a joyful example for her family—and for her readers.

The true meaning of Christmas emerges in Bess Streeter Aldrich's two enchanting stories about reunited families, good fellowship, and restored faith. The head may tell the heart all sorts of things, but at Christmastime the heart is stronger, so take a journey back through Christmases when something quite ordinary turns out to be miraculous. Both heartfelt and genuine, the stories "Journey into Christmas" and "Star across the Tracks" remind us to cherish the holidays with those we love, the ways we grow, and the memories we make throughout life.

First published in 1928, A Lantern in Her Hand has outlasted literary fashions to touch generations of readers. In this classic story of a pioneer woman, Bess Streeter Aldrich modeled protagonist Abbie Deal on her own mother, who in 1854 had traveled by covered wagon to the Midwest. In A Lantern in Her Hand, Abbie accompanies her family to the soon-to-be-state of Nebraska. There, in 1865, she marries and settles into her own sod house. The novel describes Abbie's years of child-raising, of making a frontier home able to withstand every adversity. A Disciplined writer knowledgeable about true stories of pioneer days in Nebraska, Bess Streeter Aldrich conveys the strength of everyday things, the surprise of familiar faces, and the look of the unspoiled landscape during different seasons. Refusing to be broken by hard experience, Abbie sets a joyful example for her family and for her readers.

The main character of this novel, Ella Bishop, is a healthy, sensitive, energetic, and happy person as she begins her college career in the Midwest in 1876. Her energy and devotion to learning made her an excellent student, then a gifted teacher. People were drawn toward her friendliness and enthusiasm. During her life she was betrayed in love when the man she was to have married was stolen by her young cousin. She was called upon to raise their daughter when the cousin died. Later on in life Ella was sorely tempted to have an affair, but she resisted the temptation.

In the heart of Nebraska's vast, sweeping plains, where the relentless march of time seems to pause, unfolds an enduring love story that defies the constraints of early 20th century America. This historical romance novel, once lost to the sands of time, has been lovingly restored for today's and future generations by Alpha Editions. A cultural treasure, it is not merely a reprint, but a collector's item that breathes life back into the rich tapestry of rural American life. Journey into the lives of a midwestern farming community, where the rhythms of nature dictate the pace of life and love blossoms amidst the challenges of the land. This family saga fiction captures the essence of an era, weaving a narrative that resonates with fans of Bess Streeter Aldrich and those who cherish the evocative landscapes reminiscent of Willa Cather's works. As you turn the pages, you'll find yourself transported to a Nebraska rural setting, where the characters' struggles and triumphs reflect the universal quest for connection and belonging. This American literature classic, out of print for decades, now stands as a beacon for readers of historical fiction and admirers of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Its significance lies not only in its poignant storytelling but also in its ability to illuminate the timeless themes of love and resilience in the face of adversity.