Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" was an instant classic with American audiences when it was released in 1943. Drawing on her own life, Smith vividly captures Brooklyn in the 1910s through the eyes of her heroine, Francie Nolan. The novel's poignant depictions of poverty, urbanism, education, immigration, and especially family resonated with wartime America, but does it hold up today? Our hosts ponder whether this book is really for children at all (alcoholism, bigamy, child labor, oh my!) and whether a book so rooted in a historical period can be timeless. We also have a discussion with a local County Councilwoman that unlocked our first ever bonus content!
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
