Lulu Bett lives in a small town with her sister Ina and Ina’s husband Dwight–a dentist who rules his household with self-righteous smugness. The unmarried Lulu has learned that she cannot question her role as chief cook, housekeeper, and gracious presence. But when Dwight’s sophisticated brother Ninian comes to visit, Lulu finds in herself a surprising wit–and the boldness to accept his playful proposal of marriage. Through her appealing, determined heroine, Zona Gale satirically dispatches a sheaf of the social assumptions of her day, from male supremacy to the security of marriage. First published in 1920, Miss Lulu Bett was immediately acclaimed, and went on to become one of two bestselling novels of the year. Together with four of Gale’s short stories–including the O. Henry award-winning “Bridal Pond”–Miss Lulu Bett reflects Gale’s broad progressive interests and the fast-paced, affecting prose which made her one of the most popular writers of her time and a classic American storteller. “A great book . . . the telling is almost incomparable” —Robert Benchley, The World “Eloquent. . . . Miss Lulu Bett is without flaw” —The Atlantic Monthly “It has a narrowly limned beauty. . . . The book stands as a signal accomplishment in American letters” —The New Republic

"Miss Lulu Bett - novel" from Zona Gale. Author of novels, poetry, short stories, essays, and plays (1874-1938).

"Miss Lulu Bett - play" from Zona Gale. Author of novels, poetry, short stories, essays, and plays (1874-1938).

An excerpt from Topics, Volume 1-2 [1920]: THE story of "Miss Lulu Bett" is a very real — sometimes pathetically real — sketch of the life of an ordinary middle western family, composed of Mr. and Mrs. Deacon, their two daughters, and Mother Bett and Sister Lulu, who are “making their home" with the Deacons. In return for her home, Lulu fills the role of family drudge; accepts the jibes and elephantine witticisms directed at her by her pompously humorous brother-in-law; pampers the child Monona; endures the superior airs of her married sister; and in general makes the family comfortable, not because of any love or gratitude which she feels for them, but rather from habit, colorless passivity, and failure to realize the possibility of a condition of affairs other than as they are. But into the story strolls stodgy Ninian Deacon, to whom years of travel in South America and the Islands have failed to impart more than a one-candle-power glamour; and Ninian is the instrument whom fate and Zona Gale select to rescue Lulu from the rut of passive acceptance of her lot. It is not a large story, and — it does not pretend to be. It does not force large emotions and grand passions upon people too small to contain them. Lulu Bett does not develop from the family drudge into the butterfly of the emancipated woman; but in very realistic fashion, she is shoved out of an old habit of living and thinking, by chance and trivial circumstance. She is not a pretty woman even though she may have her pretty moments; she is not even always pathetic in an appealing way — she is at times rather a sorry figure of the type that makes you feel rather pained and ashamed; but she is interesting because she is a real person in the process of developing a backbone. And the happy culmination of the story for Lulu, in spite of her goodness rather than because of it, is a satisfying ending. Aside from the interest in Lulu's story, the most notable feature of the book is the cool analysis of the motives for everyday actions; old Mrs. Bett's tantrums are indulged in at great personal inconvenience for the sheer bliss of making the rest of the family uncomfortable; Monona refuses the food offered her at meal time for the pleasure of being in the limelight. It is an interesting study in compelling motives, not flattering to the human race, but quite convincing. "Miss Lulu Bett" is a good story for those who like “that sort of thing", and even for those who don't.

Miss Lulu Bett by Zona Gale Miss Lulu Bett is a 1920 novel by American writer Zona Gale, and later adapted for the stage. It was a bestseller at the time of its initial publication, but gradually fell out of favor with changing tastes and social conditions.The story concerns a woman, Lulu, who lives with her sister's family, essentially acting as a servant. She does not complain about her position, but is not happy. When her brother-in-law's brother, Ninian, comes to visit, there is a certain attraction between them. While joking around one evening they find themselves accidentally married, due to the laws of the state requiring little more than wedding vows to be recited while a magistrate is in the room for a marriage to count as legal We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

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