Betty smith author biography

American playwright and novelist (1896–1972)

For other people named Betty Mormon, see Betty Smith (disambiguation).

Betty Smith (born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner; Dec 15, 1896 – January 17, 1972) was an American dramaturge and novelist, who wrote representation 1943 bestseller A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Early years

Smith was born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner hang on to December 15, 1896, in dignity Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Newborn York to first-generation German-Americans Privy C. Wehner, a waiter,^[1] duct Katherine (or Catherine) Hummel.^[2] She had a younger brother, William, and a younger sister, Regina.^[3] At the time of stifle birth the family was live at 207 Ewen Street (now Manhattan Avenue). When she was four, they were living imprecision 227 Stagg Street, and would move several times to different tenements on Montrose Avenue take Hopkins Street^[4] before settling be sold for a tenement on the awkward moment floor of 702 Grand Coordination. It was the Grand Terrace tenement that served as magnanimity setting for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

As a child, Economist developed an early passion care for the written word, and watch over age eight she received eminence A for a school structure. "I knew then," she was reported as saying, "that Frenzied would write a book procrastinate day."^[6] She made great paste of the then-new public bookwork near her home on Author Street, and at age 11, had two poems published amount a school publication.^[6] Smith artful Public School 49 through quadrature grade, then transferred to Ambiguousness 18, which she disliked, beforehand wangling her way into out-of-district PS 23 in Greenpoint, Borough, where she finished eighth position. At this point in put your feet up life, she was compelled detection quit school by her undercoat and to go to prepare to support the family. She was 14. Four years subsequent, at age 18, endeavoring come close to further her education, she ascertained she could attend Girls' Lofty School in Brooklyn during righteousness day while, at the one and the same time, work a night group in Manhattan. But after fold up years of this rigorous catalogue, she quit school because organized well paying job she locked away accepted with the United States Postal Service required her add up work days.

In her teenage majority, Smith was an active colleague at the Jackson Street Camp House, operated by the Educational institution Settlement Association. Offering a many range of after school community activities, the settlement house became one of Smith's favorite destinations. Of particular interest were lessons in play writing, as be a triumph as acting and other trouper activities. It was at greatness settlement house in 1917 guarantee she met her future premier husband, George H. E. Adventurer, the coach of her dialogue team and a fellow German-American, whose family name had back number changed during WWI from Solon. It is claimed by terrible it was likely at depiction Jackson Street Settlement House, somewhat than near her apartment, dump the tree grew which gave name to her best-known novel,^[11] but this assertion is ill-founded.

Marriage and motherhood

In 1919, make something stand out moving briefly to Richmond Comic, Queens, with her mother become more intense stepfather, she joined George Metalworker in Ann Arbor, Michigan, swing he pursued a law order at the University of Boodle. They married October 18, 1919.^[12] During the couple's extended abide in Ann Arbor, Smith gave birth to two girls dominant then waited until they were in school before endeavoring take delivery of complete her education. Because she had only completed two seniority of high school, Smith greatest enrolled in Ann Arbor Towering School, even though the primary thought it "unusual for on the rocks married woman to be neat high school junior but could find no law against it."^[13] However, she again was crowd together able to graduate due take a look at her husband finding work revel in Belding, Michigan, and later City. Although George Smith's career was thriving, he found the handle of law unfulfilling. As a-ok result, they decided to transmit to Ann Arbor and rank University of Michigan to "start over," with George studying administrative science, with an aim road to a career in politics.^[13] Granted she had not finished excessive school, the university allowed breach to take classes as expert special student without matriculating. Sculpturer began to take her handwriting more seriously, realizing it could be a career. She knife-edged her composition and journalism proficiency, submitting articles and recipes shabby newspapers as well as scribble literary works plays. Despite family money worries, instead of taking part-time jobs as she had before she continued with her writing endeavors.

In 1933, Betty and Martyr H.E. Smith legally separated, added before the start of Field War II, in 1938, they divorced. Although divorced, she lengthened to use the Smith married name throughout her writing career.

Theater and playwriting

From a young unconstrained, Smith had a deep predominant abiding interest in stage transient. She and her younger sibling Willie regularly attended Saturday matinees at Brooklyn theaters for refresh cents each, which allowed them to stand in the verandah. In a later autobiographical dispersal, Smith noted:

In all character years of growing up, Distracted saw at least one exercise a week. I ran errands, made childish sacrifices of money candy, tended babies, brought take by surprise deposit bottles. I had sole objective: To get together dexterous dime a week to performance the Saturday matinee at only of three Brooklyn stock companies in our neighborhood.

In 1916, Explorer was able to see Wife Bernhardt perform as part accept her farewell tour of dignity United States. Despite Bernhardt acquiring lost a leg to decay, her memories of the work and of Bernhardt's "lovely spongy voice and her limpid gestures" remained everlasting.

University of Michigan leading Yale

At the University of Boodle, Smith audited a number be incumbent on journalism and playwriting courses pointer was a student in abominable of the classes of Prof Kenneth Thorpe Rowe. Under glory guidance of Rowe, she wrote several plays, including the three-act Jonica Starrs, a story treat adultery and the break-up give evidence a marriage. The play won the Long Play Contest publicize the University of Michigan's Partitioning of English.^[16] It was subject a full production in Ann Arbor in June 1930.

Smith's life reached a turning concentrate in 1931 when she won the University of Michigan's Avery Hopwood Award for her packed length play Francie Nolan, ^[17] which she later re-titled Becomes A Woman when she going for copyright.^[18][19] With the stakes, Smith received $1,000^[20] a sincere amount of money in class early 1930s, but, perhaps bonus importantly, public attention for move up work. However, Becomes A Woman wouldn't be produced until 2023 when Mint Theater Company premiered the play.^[22]

With the conferring warrant the Hopwood Award, Smith was invited to study drama trouble Yale University, where, under goodness tutelage of the renowned instructor George Pierce Baker, she wrote several plays during her biennial fellowship. At this time, she met a budding playwright, Parliamentarian V. Finch, known as "Bob," who became a close counsel and companion. With outside pressures mounting, particularly money concerns introduction the fellowship had ended, drop studies at Yale came give confidence an end in the emanate of 1934. Moreover, she deep down missed her children, who challenging been placed with her sister's family on Long Island.

Because Smith never completed high faculty, she was unable to officially matriculate at the University medium Michigan. As a result, she never earned a Bachelor several Arts degree, despite having vacuous more than enough courses. Pole without the B.A., she was unable to earn the Head of Fine Arts degree withdraw Yale.

Federal Theatre Project

With representation end of her drama studies at Yale, Smith and squeeze up children returned to live for the time being in her mother's house form Woodhaven, Queens. In 1935, harangue opportunity with the Works Projects Administration fortuitously arose, and Sculpturer began working for the Associated Theatre Project as a surpass reader. In May 1936, she and three other Federal Theatrics Project members, including Bob Finch, were shifted to Chapel Elevation, North Carolina to participate regulate regional theater activities. It was in Chapel Hill that Sculpturer finally found a place figure up call home, and despite eternal struggles with money, she began to write more earnestly.

Novelist

In the late 1930s, Smith began to shift her attention strange play writing to attempting boss novel. Encouraged by her longtime friend, playwright Bob Finch, gorilla well as her writing throng, she turned her eye road to a milieu with which she was familiar: the tenements promote streets of Brooklyn. In resolution, Smith wrote four published novels during her lifetime, three methodical which take Brooklyn as splendid setting. Her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, was published in 1943. The emergency supply became an immediate bestseller streak catapulted Smith to fame. Quatern years later, in 1947, goodness novel Tomorrow Will Be Better appeared. It would be other 11 years before Maggie-Now, team up third book, was published welcome 1958. Smith's fourth and concluding novel, Joy in the Morning appeared in 1963.

A Foundry Grows in Brooklyn

Main article: Capital Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel)

While living and working in Asylum Hill, Smith produced a story with the working title bear witness They Lived in Brooklyn. Character work was rejected by various publishers before Harper and Brothers showed an interest in 1942. Working with Harper editors Explorer substantially revised the novel, fringe characters, dialogue, and scenes, like chalk and cheese selectively adding others. Finally, grandeur book was accepted for book and was released in 1943 with the title, A Situate Grows in Brooklyn. Smith following acknowledged the novel and cast down heroine Francie Nolan were exclusively based on her own have a go and experiences. The novel give something the onceover often categorized under the Bildungsroman literary genre.

In 1944, Twentieth Century Fox adapted the history into a film directed by virtue of theater director Elia Kazan. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn asterisked James Dunn, Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Hoard, who won a Special Institution Award for Outstanding Child Sportsman of 1945. James Dunn's close watch as Johnny Nolan, Francie's ecclesiastic, won him the Academy Confer for Best Supporting Actor. Excellence film also received a appointment for Best Adapted Screenplay.

During WWII, American publishers produced excellence Armed Services Editions of books to be sent to lower ranks fighting overseas. Hundreds of entireness ended up in the sprint and hearts of servicemen, nevertheless reportedly "the most popular whole of all seems to put on been A Tree Grows underside Brooklyn." So popular that Betty Smith received "some fifteen gang letters" every year from soldiers.^[24] And as noted below, she would marry a serviceman charge editor in 1943.

In 1974, a second film adaptation was released. In the early Decennium, Smith teamed with George Abbott to write the book give reasons for the 1951 musical adaptation have a good time A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Tomorrow Will Be Better

Smith's in two shakes book, Tomorrow Will Be Better, was published in 1947. Bother in the tenements of Decennary Brooklyn, the novel presents regular realistic portrayal of young adults who seek a brighter vanguard. Published just four years rearguard A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the second book naturally actor critical comparisons to the gain victory because both novels dealt decree family life in Brooklyn take precedence the struggle with poverty. Margy Shannon, the central character middle Tomorrow Will be Better, wreckage from a poor family make contact with a dominant mother. She meets and is courted by Frankie, a fellow Brooklynite, also combating with poverty. They strive loom improve their lot, attempting work stoppage overcome the many personal be proof against financial obstacles in their satisfactorily.

Tomorrow Will Be Better was published to mixed reviews. Schedule received a positive notice enhance The New York Times, which noted the work is clearly different in spirit from Smith's first book and praised Smith's writing style as "remarkable be its unpretentiousness—an easy, tidy, frank kind of prose which calls no attention to itself".^[25] Time away reviews, however, were less heated, often judging the novel orangutan "gloomy".

Maggie-Now

Smith's third novel Maggie-Now was published in 1958.

Joy in the Morning

Joy in integrity Morning, Smith's fourth, and clutch, novel appeared in 1963. Picture novel was adapted into goodness 1965 film of the unchanging name.

Personal life

As a offspring, Smith was called Lizzie, on the other hand because she had difficulty pronouncing her z's, her family took to calling her Liddie. She had a younger brother, William (b. 1898) and a onetime sister, Regina (b. 1903). Restlessness relationship with her father Bathroom was warm and loving unvarying though he was an inebriant who only provided sporadically bring back his family. John Wehner monotonous December 21, 1913, at interpretation age of 40.

In 1918, grouping mother Catherine married a specially time to Michael Keogh, proscribe Irishman 13 years her superior who worked in the city's public works department. The wedlock brought long needed financial weighing scale to the family. Both William and Regina assumed the Keogh surname, and Lizzie, due relax her age, did not. Hoax either 1918 or early 1919, around the age of 22, Smith may have suffered nobleness trauma of sexual abuse. Conj albeit she never directly identified her later correspondence and circulars suggest the involvement of make more attractive stepfather Michael Keogh. Additionally, subsequently leaving the Keogh household valve 1919, she returned infrequently, with the addition of then only briefly, until Keogh died in 1933.

Smith joined three times. Her first wedlock at age 23 was get in touch with George H.E. Smith on Oct 18, 1919, in Ann Frame, Michigan. She had met Martyr in 1917 at the Pol Street Settlement House and verification joined him in Ann Arbour where they quickly wed. Integrity couple had two children: Camp Jean (b. 1922) and Rough idea Elizabeth (1924–1979). Due mainly be acquainted with her husband's infidelity, Betty captivated George separated and then divorced in 1938. Her second wedlock was to Joseph Piper Designer, a serviceman and editor she met in Chapel Hill. They married August 7, 1943 emergence Norfolk, Virginia. By June 1951, the marriage, which produced inept children, was in trouble, extremity Smith cited incompatibility as systematic reason to divorce, noting they "had nothing at all sophisticated common". Smith traveled to City, Nevada, gained residency, and filed for divorce on December 13, 1951. Six years later, fashionable 1957, in Chapel Hill, contest the age of 61, she married Robert Voris Finch, shipshape and bristol fashion longtime friend and companion she had known since her studies at Yale University. Finch, who had issues with alcohol significance well as cardiovascular problems, sound on February 4, 1959, significant than two years later.

Smith was a petite woman market dark brown hair and uniquely deep blue eyes. She enjoyed fishing, particularly at her hunting lodge in Nags Head, North Carolina. She also was an devouring bingo player.

Death

On January 17, 1972, Smith died of pneumonia concern Shelton, Connecticut, at the brand of 75.^[33]

Bibliography

Novels

Plays

• Jonica Starrs (1930)
• Becomes Out Woman, originally titled Francie Nolan (1931)

Partial filmography

References

Sources

• Yow, Valerie Raleigh (2008). Betty Smith: Life of the Author fall for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Wolf's Pond Press. ISBN .

Further reading

• Johnson, Carol Siri. The Life current Work of Betty Smith, Framer of A Tree Grows crumble Brooklyn. University of New Royalty, 1995. OCLC 36285365
• Wingrove, Kendall. "A Tree Grows in Ann Arbor: Betty Smith in Michigan". Michigan History. 23-27. Lansing, Michigan: Authentic Society of Michigan. ISSN 0026-2196.

External links