Though the story of Blossoms in the Dust was fictionalized, much of it was based on fact. Edna's illegitimacy - known only to Ralph Wheelwright - became the foster sister Charlotte. Her tubal pregnancy was depicted as a son who died young. Tony was based on an actual baby at the Home whom Edna called Sam and wanted to adopt. The tense courtroom scene with the blackmailing birth father was based on an actual case with a birth mother.