Trapped in an isolating newspaper reporter job in New York City with her husband in an insane asylum, Dawn O'Hara has not yet reached 30 and she already fears she will never be happy again.

Set in the USA in the 1910s, Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed is narrated by fiery journalist Dawn. After the doctor sends the New York-based writer back to her hometown in Michigan, she finds herself in the loving charge of her married sister, Norah. Fighting to improve her health, Dawn receives specialist care from Dr Ernst von Gerhard, and the two soon develop a close friendship.

As she returns to full health, she decides to take her career in a new direction and begins working for a newspaper in Milwaukee. As she finds a new lease on life and meets new people, Dawn is haunted by reminders of her husband and struggles to truly embrace these freedoms.

Written by prominent Jazz Age author Edna Ferber, Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed is a darkly comedic novel full of Ferber's famous wit. Originally published in 1911, this volume was Ferber's first published fiction and is an essential read for collectors of Ferber's work.