From BookJive
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| Born: |
December 15, 1896 |
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1972 |
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University of Michigan |
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[edit] Biography
Betty Smith (b. Elisabeth Wehner on December 15, 1896 - d. 1972), was an American author, born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants. She grew up poor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which was published in 1943.
Having married early George H. E. Smith, a fellow Brooklynite, she moved with him to Ann Arbor, Michigan, while he pursued his law degree at the University of Michigan. At this time, she gave birth to two girls and waited until they were in school so she could complete her higher education. Although Smith had not finished high school, the university allowed her to enroll in classes anyway. There she honed her skills in journalism, literature, writing, and drama, winning a prestigious Hopwood Award. She was a student in the classes of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.
In 1938 she divorced her George Smith and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she married Joseph Jones in 1943. It was at this time that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published. She teamed with George Abbott to write the book for the 1951 musical adaptation of the same name. Throughout her life, Smith worked as a dramatist, receiving many awards and fellowships including the Rockefeller Fellowship, the Dramatists Guild Fellowship, and the Hopwood Award for her work in drama.
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Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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| Author: Betty Smith |
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| Based in early twentieth-century Brooklyn, it tells the story of Francie Nolan and her family’s fight on poverty. Despite their struggles, the characters are still infused with hope and optimism that being poor is not a hindrance for them to dream, to desire, and to work it out from themselves. The book was written in 1943 based on Smith’s own experiences, and her portrayal of New York’s poor was considered controversial at that time. |
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Title: Joy in the Morning
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| Author: Betty Smith |
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| Joy in the Morning is the story of Annie, who leaves Brooklyn just after her 18th birthday to marry Carl, a young law student at a Midwestern university. The first year of their marriage is the stuff of subtle drama as Annie and Carl work out their cultural and educational differences. |
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Title: Maggie-Now
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| Author: Betty Smith |
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| A story of family life of an Irish family in Brooklyn. The story begins in Ireland before Patrick Dennis Moore runs away to America. He’s in love with Margaret 'Maggie' Rose, a lovely and poor girl. Though the book begins with a quickly moving plot, the middle of the book slows, as Maggie waits and the results of her poor choice in a spouse bring her no happiness. |
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Title: Tomorrow Will Be Better
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| Author: Betty Smith |
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| Meet the 17-year old Margy in a recurring nightmare in which she is abandoned by her mother as a child. She finds herself in terror, on a dead-end street with huge iron gates blocking the end. Margy is trapped in her box, so are her parents. They eat same fried eggs and onions for dinner night after night, and have the same fights, night after night. Both parents, like Margy, are locked in a reoccurring nightmare of pain. |
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[edit] Reference
Wikipedia
