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Guests | December 7, 2009

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900's, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens' backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead.

When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.

About the Author

Betty Smith was born Elisabeth Wehner on December 15, 1896, the same date as, although five years earlier than, her fictional heroine Francie Nolan. The daughter of German immigrants, she grew up poor in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, the very world she recreates with such meticulous detail in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Smith also wrote other novels and had a long career as a dramatist, writing one-act and full-length plays for which she received both the Rockefeller Fellowship and the Dramatists Guild Fellowship. She died in 1972.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780061650499
Author:
Smith, Betty
Publisher:
Caedmon
Read:
Burton, Kate
Performed:
Burton, Kate
Author:
by Betty Smith
Subject:
Fantasy - General
Subject:
Classics
Publication Date:
February 2008
Binding:
Compact Disc
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Dimensions:
5.90x5.48x1.56 in. .69 lbs.
Media Run Time:
900

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