"The Homely Heroine" is a short story by American author Edna Ferber. It features a writer whose heroines are generally extremely beautiful. But one day, whilst she is out shopping, a shop-keeper asks her why she doesn’t write stories about a homelier heroine.

"The Homely Heroine" is followed by "A Bush League Hero," "What she Wore," and "The Man Who Came Back."

Edna Ferber (1885-1968) was an American author. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and of Jewish descent, she suffered a lot from antisemitism, especially as a child, and was riddled with fear as she witness the Nazi Party party rise in Germany and gain followers across the Western world. Ferber won the Pulitzer Prize twice, in 1924 with her novel "So Big" and in 1926 with "Show Boat". Furthermore, her novels "Cimarron" (1930), "Giant" (1952), "Ice Palace" (1958) were each adapted to film. Her novels are remembered and celebrated for their strong female characters and their unique rendering of their American setting.