From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Betty Smith, née Elisabeth
Wehner (December 15, 1896 - January 17, 1972), was an American
author.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants, she grew up poor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These
experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn (1943).
After marrying George H. E. Smith, a fellow Brooklynite, she
moved with him to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he pursued a law degree at the
University of Michigan. At this
time, she gave birth to two girls and waited until they were in
school so she could complete her higher education. Although Smith
had not finished high school, the university allowed her to enroll
in classes. There she honed her skills in journalism, literature,
writing, and drama, winning a prestigious Hopwood Award. She was a student in the
classes of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.
In 1938 she divorced her husband and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
There she married Joseph Jones in 1943, the same year in which
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published. She teamed with George Abbott to
write the book for the 1951 musical adaptation
of the same name. Throughout her life, Smith worked as a
dramatist, receiving many awards and fellowships including the Rockefeller Fellowship and the Dramatists
Guild Fellowship for her work in drama. Her other novels include
Tomorrow Will Be Better (1947), Maggie-Now (1958)
and Joy in the Morning (1963).
Bibliography
Film
credits
External
links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search