Buttered Side Down (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

This 1912 collection of twelve short stories is notable for its refusal to provide happily-ever-after endings.  Instead, Ferber focuses on the everyday hardships and triumphs of her characters, mainly shopgirls, secretaries, and other working women.  Included are "The Frog and the Puddle," "The Man Who Came Back," and "The Homely Heroine."