The Home-Maker
Kuhusu kitabu hiki cha kusikiliza
Written by a well-known educational reformer and social activist who counted Eleanor Roosevelt among her supporters, Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s wildly successful The Home-Maker was ahead of its time in its portrayal of gender expectations.
Dedicated to keeping her home immaculate and organized, Evangeline Knapp runs a tight ship, with the Knapp family constantly on edge. Meanwhile, her husband Lester, a dreamer, drifts through his bookkeeping job. Both feel depressed and out of place. Suddenly, after a near-fatal accident, their roles are reversed: Lester is confined to home in a wheelchair and his wife must work to support the family. Evangeline dedicates herself to improvement and customer service, something she learned working in her father’s store as a child. She quickly moves up the ladder, while Lester brings contentment to the household. As he slowly begins to heal, both dread the possibility of returning to their old roles. Is it possible to remain in their current roles, or must they conform to gender stereotypes?
The Home-Maker was one of the top-ten bestselling books in the US in 1924, and Fisher’s deft handling of societal expectations of men and women and role reversal in marriage continues to secure its relevance today.
Kuhusu mwandishi
Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879–1958) was a pioneer in children’s literature. In addition to writing more than fifty books for children, she was a member of the Book-of-the-Month Club and a key reviewer for the New York Times. While Ms. Fisher lived most of her life in New York City, she retained an enormous affection for the hills of Vermont, where she was raised.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
