# The Dollmaker

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/harriette-simpson-arnow/the-dollmaker/9781784871871

![The Dollmaker](https://quivercdn.com/covers/vintage-classics/harriette-simpson-arnow/the-dollmaker_978-17-8487-187-1-0ba577a6.webp?v=2026-09-26%2003%3A59%3A25)

- Book: [The Dollmaker](https://www.bookquiver.com/harriette-simpson-arnow/the-dollmaker) ([The Dollmaker.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/harriette-simpson-arnow/the-dollmaker.md))
- Authors: [Harriette Simpson Arnow](https://www.bookquiver.com/harriette-simpson-arnow)
- Publisher: vintage_classics
- ISBN: 978-17-8487-187-1
- Pages: 624
- Published: 2017-03-02
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

'A terrifying lesson in US history – and a haunting tragedy' Guardian Gertie is the young mother of five children – uneducated, determined, strong. Her only ambition is to own her own small farm in the Kentucky hills where she lives, to become self-sufficient and free. Whenever the struggle to live off the land eases, her inarticulate imagination takes its freedom and flies. Because Gertie is also an artist, a sculptor of wood and creator of beautiful handmade dolls. When the family is forced to move to industrial Detroit, with its pre-fab houses, appliances bought on credit and neighbours on every side, life turns into an incomprehensible, lonely nightmare. Gertie realises she must adapt to a life where land, family and creativity are replaced by just one thing: the constant need for money. ‘A masterwork… A superb book of unforgettable strength and glowing richness’ New York Times WITH AN AFTERWORD BY JOYCE CAROL OATES