Edna Ferber's narrative ease and flair for character portrayal made her for many years one of the most widely read novelists in America. Typically, her stories celebrated the American experience and often spanned several generations. Among her best known books were So Big, which earned her a Pulitzer Prize in 1925, and Show Boat, which became the basis for a hugely successful musical. In collaboration with George Kaufman, Ferber also coauthored a number of hit plays, including Royal Family and Dinner at Eight.

When Ferber posed for this picture in 1944, she was awaiting the publication of her novel Great Son, a tale set in the Northwest. According to one critic, the book was more thinly plotted than her previous novels. Still, like all of Ferber's work, it was eminently readable, and with the Literary Guild ordering 450,000 copies, it seemed to be a sure success even before it reached the bookstores.