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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Paperback - 2006

by Betty Smith


About this book

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is a classic coming-of-age novel set in the early 20th century. It follows the story of Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in the impoverished Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Despite her challenging circumstances, Francie finds solace and inspiration in books and the natural world. The novel explores themes of poverty, family dynamics, resilience, and the power of education. Through Francie's eyes, readers witness her struggles, dreams, and triumphs as she navigates the complexities of adolescence and strives to rise above her circumstances. Smith's poignant storytelling captures the essence of hope, determination, and the indomitable spirit of a young girl yearning for a brighter future.


An instant best-seller, 300,000 copies were sold just in the first six weeks after publication. In 1945 was adapted into a film directed by Elia Kazan starring James Dunn, Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner, who won a Special Academy Award for Outstanding Child Actress of 1945.


From the publisher

A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of the beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century.

From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family's erratic and eccentric behavior--such as her father Johnny's taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy's habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce--no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans' life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans' daily experiences are raw with honestly and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Betty Smith has captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life--from "junk day" on Saturdays, when the children traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience. Here is an American classic that "cuts right to the heart of life," hails the New York Times. "If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will deny yourself a rich experience."

The special edition includes French flaps, special cover effects, and deckle-edged paper.

First line

Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York.

From the rear cover

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

First Edition Identification

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published by Harper and Brothers in 1943. Binding in green cloth with printed paper spine label. It was 443 pages. First edition is stated on the copyright page above "D-S" and below "8-43". Pictorial dust jacket has the price of $2.75 printed on the upper corner of the first flap and "5338" is on the bottom.

Details

  • Title A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  • Author Betty Smith
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition LATER PRINTING
  • Pages 528
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Harper Perennial, New York
  • Date 2006-05-30
  • ISBN 9780061120077 / 0061120073
  • Weight 1.04 lbs (0.47 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.29 x 5.51 x 1.49 in (21.06 x 14.00 x 3.78 cm)
  • Reading level 810
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Chronological Period: 1900-1919
    • Cultural Region: Mid-Atlantic
    • Cultural Region: Northeast U.S.
    • Geographic Orientation: New York
    • Topical: Coming of Age
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Domestic fiction, Bildungsromans
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 08/01/2007, Page 37
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

by Smith, Betty

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

by Smith, Betty

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

by Smith, Betty

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)

by Smith, Betty

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