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The Conversation USA

Betty Smith enchanted a generation of readers with ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ − even as she groused that she hoped Williamsburg would be flattened

  • Written by Rachel Gordan, Assistant Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies, University of Florida
imageBetty Smith's novel sold millions of copies in the 1940s.Weegee/International Center of Photography via Getty Images

Eighty years ago, in the winter and spring of 1944, Brooklyn-born author Betty Smith was entering a new chapter of life.

A year earlier, she was an unknown writer, negotiating with her publisher about manuscript edits and the date of...

Read more: Betty Smith enchanted a generation of readers with ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ − even as she...

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