A Tree Grows in Brooklyn cover
Literary Fiction · Historical Fiction

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Mood
Tender, Nostalgic
Protagonist
Female, close third-person
Parental Rating
PG
Pace
Slow, episodic
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Francie Nolan grows up poor and dreaming in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 1900s, with a beloved drunkard father, a steel-spined mother, and a quiet determination to make something of her life.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is fiction but heavily autobiographical. Betty Smith drew extensively on her own childhood in early 20th-century Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the setting, characters, and family dynamics.

Published in 1943, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is considered one of the great American coming-of-age novels. Its portrait of a poor Irish-American family and the resilient girl at its center has resonated with generations of readers.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was written by Betty Smith, published in 1943 by Pan.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is 443 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.

At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn takes most readers 7 to 10 hours to finish.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a standalone novel by Betty Smith, not part of a series.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.

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