Lance Avery Morgan
Every Texan Will Want to Read This Insider Guide To The Lush Film
We love that Julie Gilbert’s “Giant Love” is a richly layered, scholarly yet deeply personal exploration of her great-aunt Edna Ferber’s life, her magnum opus tome, Giant, and the complex journey of adapting it into one of Hollywood’s most iconic films. How could it not be? After all, to many, including us, this is devoted to the greatest book and the greatest movie about Texas in all its mid-century glory. This book, a triumph in itself, blends intimate family anecdotes with cultural and cinematic history, producing a work that is as entertaining as it is enlightening.
The Legacy of Edna Ferber: A Trailblazer in Literature
It’s a personal book for Gilbert, the great-niece of Edna Ferber, who was already a literary luminary with a Pulitzer Prize to her name for So Big and was no stranger to societal critique at the time of the book’s debut on January 1, 1952. So much had already been written in the press and pop culture at the time about the rise of Texas: its oil, money, and, by then, plenty of millionaires to add to the centuries-long folklore. With Giant, Ferber stepped into new, contentious territory with the examination of Texas, its wealth, racial tensions, and the evolving role of women in the era’s patriarchal society.
Gilbert captures the essence of Ferber’s audacity in writing this book—a decision met with vitriol from proud Texans who felt their state had been unfairly caricatured. Had it? Sometimes the truth is tough to swallow when it’s being written about such a proud state as Texas. This is handy to know as the author expertly dissects Ferber’s research process, her keen observation of the Texan oil boom, and her interactions with the larger-than-life figures who inspired the novel’s characters. This section of the book reads like a masterclass in how a writer channels observation into transformative fiction.
Silver Screen: Giant’s Tale of Triumph and Tension
The second half of Giant Love pivots to the 1956 cinematic adaptation, which turned Ferber’s sprawling, nuanced novel into a box-office sensation. Here, Gilbert’s narrative becomes almost novelistic in its detail, recounting the behind-the-scenes drama with a historian’s rigor and a dramatist’s flair. From George Stevens’ perfectionist directorial style to the temperamental genius of James Dean, every personality springs vividly to life. Interestingly, every feature showing of it, from coast to coast, not just in Texas, was sold out, and in some Texas cities, schools were let out to see it.
Because the book chronicles the uneasy relationship between Ferber and Hollywood, there is a tension rooted in her distaste for the commodification of her work. Gilbert shares fascinating insights into Ferber’s initial resistance to casting James Dean as Jett Rink, a character inspired by the rough-and-tumble wildcatters she had studied over many years and many visits to explore Texas culture. Yet Ferber’s eventual acceptance of Dean underscores her pragmatism and her grudging acknowledgment of his burgeoning star power.
The on-set filming dynamics in Marfa, Texas, provide some of the book’s most compelling anecdotes. Gilbert delves into the camaraderie between Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, contrasting it with Dean’s aloofness, which only enhanced his mystique after his untimely death after the film was released. The interplay of personalities, the grueling desert conditions, and the sheer ambition of translating a sprawling narrative into film are recounted with a robust cinematic vibrancy. Giant received 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture, and Stevens won his second Oscar for best director.
Cultural Relevance
What elevates Giant Love beyond a straightforward biography or film history is Gilbert’s ability to situate both the novel and the movie within their broader cultural contexts. She examines how Giant, both the book and the film, confronted America’s racial inequities, particularly its treatment of Mexican-Americans, long before the Civil Rights movement gained momentum.
Gilbert also touches on themes of female empowerment. Ferber, a single woman with no children, lived a life that defied the conventions of her era, and her female characters, including Giant’s Leslie Benedict (played by Elizabeth Taylor), reflect her progressive ideals. Gilbert’s portrayal of Ferber is one of a woman ahead of her time, unafraid to challenge societal norms in both her life and her art.
Masterful Tribute
Julie Gilbert’s Giant Love is more than a biography or a Hollywood tell-all; it is a celebration of creativity, resilience, and the enduring power of storytelling. By sharing Edna Ferber’s private and professional struggles with the larger-than-life saga of adapting Giant for film, Gilbert crafts a narrative as sweeping and multifaceted as her great-aunt’s masterpiece.
For lovers of literature, classic cinema, and American cultural history, Giant Love is an essential read—a book that not only honors Ferber’s legacy but also invites a new generation to discover the boldness of her vision. Gilbert’s writing is both academic and accessible, brimming with wit and a profound understanding of her subject. Much like Giant, it’s a book that will stand the test of time.
To get your copy, go here.
