The Dollmaker

by Harriette Arnow, Harriette Louisa Simpson Arnow · 1954

Harriette Arnow’s The Dollmaker follows Gertie Nevel, a fierce, self‑reliant mother of five who dreams of a modest farm in the Kentucky hills. When World War II drags her husband to the factories of Detroit, the family is ripped from their backwoods world and thrust into the harsh, industrial landscape of a booming city. Amid cramped tenements, credit‑driven consumerism, and relentless poverty, Gertie must summon every ounce of her inner strength to protect her children, preserve the values of her heritage, and keep alive the creative spark that makes her dolls and wooden sculptures. A powerful portrait of love, loss, and resilience, the novel captures the clash between rural tradition and modern desperation, offering a moving tribute to a woman’s unyielding devotion to family and land.