Betty Smith (1896 – 1972) is best known for her sensitive yet brutally honest 1943 novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. After years of struggling to be a successful novelist (she had already achieved a measure of success as a playwright), Betty Smith struck literary gold with this, her first novel.

Growing up in Brooklyn in the early 1900s is seen from the perspective of Francie Nolan, a down-to-earth girl who’s neither the kind of genius or beautiful heroine that are favored in novels.

She possesses a more relatable kind of awkwardness, but her quiet courage in the face of poverty and other obstacles can’t be overlooked. Read More→