Imitation of Life
by Fannie Hurstliterary work· published 1933
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Imitation of Life is a 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst that was adapted into two films for Universal Pictures: a 1934 film, and a 1959 remake. The novel, which deals with issues of race, class and gender, was originally serialized in 1932 in the magazine Pictorial Review under the title "Sugar House". Set in the 1910s at "the Shore" of New Jersey, the novel explores issues of race and class in early 20th-century United States. Bea Chipley is a quiet, mousy Atlantic City teenage girl whose mother dies, leaving her to keep house for her father (Mr. Chipley) and Benjamin Pullman, a boarder who peddles ketchup and relish on the boardwalk and sells maple syrup door-to-door.
Adaptations (2)
Imitation of Life has been adapted into 2 films, from 1934 to 1959.
Imitation of Life1934 · film · 111 min · dir. John M. Stahl · IMDb ↗A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
Imitation of Life1959 · film · 125 min · dir. Douglas Sirk · IMDb ↗In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter with a black single mother, who becomes her maid.
