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Back Street
When “fly girl” and gorgeous socialite Ray Schmidt first meets Walter Saxel in Cincinnati, their attraction is instant and everlasting. As their bond deepens, Ray finds herself envisioning a future with Walter, until one fateful day when the settling of her family affairs interferes with their plans to meet, and his relationship with another woman forms. Though years pass and Ray manages to carve out a life for herself in New York City, Walter remains in her memory, and a chance run-in with him leads them both to fall into their former ways. What unfolds is the fascinating tale of what life was for selfless, devoted Ray, a prisoner to a cycle of neglect and her love for the one man who could never value her for who she was.
Originally published in 1931, this classic American novel about the heart-wrenching downfalls of living along the back streets of a man’s life was adapted into film three times.
With a new introduction.
Vintage Movie Classics spotlights classic films that have stood the test of time, now rediscovered through the publication of the novels on which they were based.
Originally published in 1931, this classic American novel about the heart-wrenching downfalls of living along the back streets of a man’s life was adapted into film three times.
With a new introduction.
Vintage Movie Classics spotlights classic films that have stood the test of time, now rediscovered through the publication of the novels on which they were based.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1931
80 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Fannie Hurst
91 books29 followersFannie Hurst was born in Ohio, grew up in St. Louis and spent her adult life in New York City. She is the author of 17 novels and more than 250 short stories, as well as plays, screenplays, memoirs, essays and articles. Her best-remembered works are those turned into films, including: Imitation of Life, Back Street, Humoresque, The Younger Generation, and Young at Heart. She was active in a variety of progressive Jewish, social justice, labor, peace and women’s organizations. A lifelong philanthropist, Hurst willed her considerable estate to her alma mater Washington University and to Brandeis University.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 28, 2017
The only thing that this stellar novel has in common with the old Susan Hayward movie was the title and that the main character was a mistress to a married man. I remember the movie being a sappy tearjerker. The novel is well written with an incredible view of the world in old NYC, especially for women. I felt like I was back in 1930 when the book was published. So good!
March 13, 2012
A train-wreck of a book. I'm actually surprised to see a fair amount of recent readers who are enthusiastic about it, because I would think its premise, about a woman who puts her entire life on-hold to be available as mistress to a married man, would be unacceptable today, especially a married man who'd be recognized today as a control freak (his favorite word is "I").
F. Scott Fitzgerald considered Fannie Hurst to be one of several authors "not producing among 'em one story or novel that will last 10 years." He actually had it wrong by a couple of decades, at least. Today Hurst is best-known for providing the novels upon which some of Hollywood's soapiest films were based: BACK STREET, IMITATION OF LIFE, and HUMORESQUE, though the books themselves have been long out-of-print. Although there were three film versions of BACK STREET (1932, 1941 and 1961) Hollywood has left it alone for 50 years, understandably.
This is a very over-written book that ultimately becomes somewhat redundant - the story really loses momentum after Walter's death and we are treated to a seemingly-endless catalog of the misfortunes that befall Ray Schmidt (personally, I found her fate somewhat harsh and even judgmental - although she is a willing participant in an adulterous relationship, she envies Walter's wife while never expecting him to leave her or ever thinking malicious thoughts of her).
An interesting aspect of the story that was, as far as I know, omitted from all three film versions (I've only seen the 2nd and 3rd - the 1st doesn't surface very often) is that Walter Saxel is Jewish, which allows for observation of how Jews were regarded in New York, the mid-west, and Europe during the latter part of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th (Hurst herself was Jewish).
F. Scott Fitzgerald considered Fannie Hurst to be one of several authors "not producing among 'em one story or novel that will last 10 years." He actually had it wrong by a couple of decades, at least. Today Hurst is best-known for providing the novels upon which some of Hollywood's soapiest films were based: BACK STREET, IMITATION OF LIFE, and HUMORESQUE, though the books themselves have been long out-of-print. Although there were three film versions of BACK STREET (1932, 1941 and 1961) Hollywood has left it alone for 50 years, understandably.
This is a very over-written book that ultimately becomes somewhat redundant - the story really loses momentum after Walter's death and we are treated to a seemingly-endless catalog of the misfortunes that befall Ray Schmidt (personally, I found her fate somewhat harsh and even judgmental - although she is a willing participant in an adulterous relationship, she envies Walter's wife while never expecting him to leave her or ever thinking malicious thoughts of her).
An interesting aspect of the story that was, as far as I know, omitted from all three film versions (I've only seen the 2nd and 3rd - the 1st doesn't surface very often) is that Walter Saxel is Jewish, which allows for observation of how Jews were regarded in New York, the mid-west, and Europe during the latter part of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th (Hurst herself was Jewish).
October 17, 2011
This is an interesting book about a woman who is the mistress of a Jewish man. It is filled with odd old expressions. More on http://bookwinked.wordpress.com
June 11, 2019
Fannie Hurst is completely forgotten today, but in the 1920s and 30s, she was one of America's most popular writers, penning stories for The Saturday Evening Post and Cosmopolitan, bestselling novels, and screen stories for Hollywood; her two most famous novels are Back Street (1931) and Imitation of Life (1933), primarily due to the fact that the former was filmed 3 times ('32, '41, '61) and the latter was filmed twice ('34, '59). According to what I read online, Hurst enjoyed critical acclaim in the 20s and early 30s, but had fallen out of favor by the 40s, with her books becoming increasingly schmaltzy and ripe for parody; further, after her death in 1968, she was seen as the precursor to trashy novelists like Jacqueline Susann (Valley of the Dolls), Jackie Collins (Hollywood Wives), and Judith Krantz (Scruples).
Thus, it was with some trepidation that approached Back Street, especially since the story struck me as romantic folderol: a woman lives on the margins as the kept mistress of a wealthy man. Well, that's the basic outline of the story, but I honestly was not prepared for the book to be as good as it was. While there is a touch of sentimentality to the tale, Hurst uses the sentiment to comment on the pathetic quality of the situation: Ray Schmidt, the heroine, traces a downward trajectory from bright, determined working-class career gal to acquiescent mistress living in the shadows, loved by a man whose interest in Ray is only measured in how she can satisfy and help him. Using a very atmospheric style -- indeed, this is one of the few books set between the 1890s to the 1920s that really captured the sights and sounds of the era, making you feel like you are there, in specific places (Cincinnati, New York, Aix-les-Bains) at specific times -- to get the reader to first admire Ray, then hope she can get her act together, then observe her inevitable descent to a tragic climax.
Perhaps Hurst isn't in the same league as Edith Wharton or Willa Cather, but there's definite quality here and it's a shame she's not more widely known and read.
Thus, it was with some trepidation that approached Back Street, especially since the story struck me as romantic folderol: a woman lives on the margins as the kept mistress of a wealthy man. Well, that's the basic outline of the story, but I honestly was not prepared for the book to be as good as it was. While there is a touch of sentimentality to the tale, Hurst uses the sentiment to comment on the pathetic quality of the situation: Ray Schmidt, the heroine, traces a downward trajectory from bright, determined working-class career gal to acquiescent mistress living in the shadows, loved by a man whose interest in Ray is only measured in how she can satisfy and help him. Using a very atmospheric style -- indeed, this is one of the few books set between the 1890s to the 1920s that really captured the sights and sounds of the era, making you feel like you are there, in specific places (Cincinnati, New York, Aix-les-Bains) at specific times -- to get the reader to first admire Ray, then hope she can get her act together, then observe her inevitable descent to a tragic climax.
Perhaps Hurst isn't in the same league as Edith Wharton or Willa Cather, but there's definite quality here and it's a shame she's not more widely known and read.
July 3, 2015
By the end of this soap opera, I was fairly impressed with how the author depicted the downfall of a woman whose affair with a married wealthy banker is chronicled over the course of 500+ pages. Even though the language and tenor of the novel is dated for a post-millennial readership, the author has a very special way of extracting intricacies in personality through very specific language.
Took a long time to finish! Whew!
Took a long time to finish! Whew!
April 19, 2011
I have yet to see the film, I am not sure if I want to (I do). The book is a fab. melodrama set in the years of America and Europe 1849-1930 a "Fly Girl" Ray Schmidt falls for a Jewish Man she meets at a rail station. Impossible for any chance to marry; Ray become his lover, a lifetime follows these two. His Jewish wife and children, his success. All this time, Ray is kept, with no income other than the dollars he leaves in the Bisque figurine on the table. His sudden death leaves Ray elderly and alone with no way to support her self; she had always used her impeccable style to get by. Ray was a virgin until her affair, It was always assumed she was loose because she had "Style". Torrid writing for a 1930-31 novel, Fannie Hurst, a classic. I read it last week, and am now reading it again.
November 24, 2008
Few of the films made from Miss Hurst's novels are really true to them, especially the later ones like 1961's Back Street, but the source novel is quite captivating. Perhaps it's because I'm from Cincinnati and that 's where the story is set (at first, anyway), but the reader is drawn into the mindset of the heroine and, despite what would now seem to be ridiculous behavior, endures endless stress and torment right along with her. A fascinating glimpse into the past, thanks to the details of the surroundings and attitudes.
September 4, 2014
Pot-boiler? Yes. Soap opera? Yes. But Back Street is so well-written and emotionally gripping that it rises above its genre. The main character, a Miss Ray Schmidt, makes many bad decisions in this story, yet she remains a sympathetic and human character to the end. (Warning: There is a gratuitous violent and gory scene toward the end which should have been left out, or done quite differently. Shockingly crueler than the rest of the story.) I want to see all three movie versions of it to compare and contrast!
September 24, 2011
Interesting, surprising story of a nice, Midwestern girl who becomes a kept woman. Her lover, a respectable public figure with a wife and family, remains the one love of her life. She is depicted as a good, loyal person who tragically gives up her life to someone who doesn't appreciate her. She was a doormat, but it was still a sympathetic portrayal and very modern moral sensibilities considering this book is from 1931 and set even earlier.
November 4, 2016
Devoted, underappreciated girl abandons her life and talents to be the mistress of her true love, nearly driving herself mad....and the reader, for want of her to snap out of it! It blends the scandal of "Camille," with hints of "Now Voyager." I kept picturing Cate Blanchette in Blue Jasmine at the end, too. Cinematic, tragic, dramatic...and she has some amazing metaphors..want to read more of her work, she was a best seller and highest paid female writer of her time.. I'm intrigued..
January 11, 2021
'Back Street' o 'La Usurpadora' en español, es la apasionante historia de una mujer que siempre está relegada a las calles secundarias de la vida de un hombre. Ambientado en Norteamérica y Europa del s. XIX hacia el s. XX, el personaje de Ray Schmidt es una mujer que constantemente debe hacer elecciones entre lo moralmente superior y lo necesario e inmediato para su propia subsistencia. Una lección sobre la idealización del amor romántico y el deber del proveedor del hombre en la pareja.
December 2, 2011
Another book that was better than the movie...much better. A fascinating study of two people in love who could not marry.
July 26, 2012
such a very sad life!
September 14, 2019
To me, this was a great story of a generous, resilient, imperfect woman in the 20s.
February 24, 2021
WARNING: a dog dies. Happens near the end.
Grippingly written, in the elaborate style of the 20s and 30s. Don’t assign this book to your book club unless everybody has a taste for horrific escalating tragedy. In a way, the literary beats follow the pattern of the classic horror novel; just when you think things may take a turn for the better... they don’t. Blandly mundane disaster piles upon disaster , each worse than the last, until the inevitable devastating end.
If you can tolerate medicine this strong, one thing I can say for this book is that it presents a very clear depiction of male entitlement as opposed to female obligation. I’ve never seen it laid out as plainly or compellingly in any more modern feminist work as it is in Back Street. If you have a friend in this situation, and you can’t make her understand what is happening to her, give her this book. It will explain things to her better than anything I can think of. (But don’t let her read the last couple of chapters. I’m old and cynical, and I think I’m scarred for life.)
Grippingly written, in the elaborate style of the 20s and 30s. Don’t assign this book to your book club unless everybody has a taste for horrific escalating tragedy. In a way, the literary beats follow the pattern of the classic horror novel; just when you think things may take a turn for the better... they don’t. Blandly mundane disaster piles upon disaster , each worse than the last, until the inevitable devastating end.
If you can tolerate medicine this strong, one thing I can say for this book is that it presents a very clear depiction of male entitlement as opposed to female obligation. I’ve never seen it laid out as plainly or compellingly in any more modern feminist work as it is in Back Street. If you have a friend in this situation, and you can’t make her understand what is happening to her, give her this book. It will explain things to her better than anything I can think of. (But don’t let her read the last couple of chapters. I’m old and cynical, and I think I’m scarred for life.)
March 11, 2020
I had seen the 1961 movie version with Susan Hayward and John Gavin and so was shocked at the huge difference between the book and that version. Glad I saw the movie first (which I loved) and then read the book (which I didn't love) instead of the other way around. The main male character in the book is, in my opinion, a selfish, obtuse cad and I can't imagine any woman ever staying with such an oblivious, arrogant, insensitive guy. The downtrodden woman should have given up on this relationship before it got as serious as it did. I now see why the book was labeled a "melodrama" in one of the reviews I'd read - it's largely tragedy followed by tragedy followed by tragedy. All that aside, the writing was really well done. Character development was amazing, and the motives for each character's behavior was well established and crystal clear. I did enjoy the book (sort of) but glad I can now move on to something a little more upbeat!
May 2, 2020
Once I got used to the gee-whillikers-gee-whiz dialogue of the characters of the turn-of-the century midwest, it was an engaging book, and characters are either likable or ones you love to hate. Can flirty girl Ray Schmidt (we never find out why she is called Ray) win the man of her dreams, even though he is wrong for her in many ways? And how long can she hold at arm's length the other man who really adores her? This reader wants to shake Ray and say, "girl, don't do it!" so many times. "Look at the way he treats you!" I'd better not say any more for fear of spoilers. Needless to say, there is a moral to this story, but I think most modern women know it already.
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December 10, 2023Wow, what a saga. I really enjoyed this, as both a piece of 1930s popular fiction and as a character study. Ray is such an interesting protagonist, and even though this is a pretty sentimental novel, I thought she was fully three-dimensional. The ending is pretty grim; the last 80 or so pages are just an agonizing spiral into poverty and despair.
July 11, 2022
People say this is a story of a bygone era but there are still women out there that put their trust in a man to determine there future livelihood. Such a sad story.
April 6, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews