The Good Earth - Hardcover

Pearl S. Buck lived most of her life in China up until to the time she wrote this book. She was born on June 26, 1892 as Pearl Sydenstricker in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Her parents were religious missionaries with the Southern Presbyterian Church. They had lived in China since 1880. They already had several children who had died in infancy in China. They were fortunate in that they came to America just before giving birth to Pearl. They returned to China with Pearl when she was only three months old. Pearl lived in China for the next 40 years, except to attend college. She was fourth of seven children, but only one of three to survive to adulthood. She attended Randolph Macon Women's College in Lynchburg Virginia for four years. In 1917 she married John Lossing Buck, an agricultural economist living in China. They lived in a rural province which became the inspiration for The Good Earth. The couple had a baby in 1921 which was born with PKU and was profoundly retarded. Pearl had a hysterectomy when a tumor was found during the delivery and thus could not have any more children. They adopted a child and taught at Nanking University. Pearl found she could get paid for writing and began writing for a living. She was published in The Nation, Atlantic Monthly and other publications. Her first novel was East Wind, West Wind. After The Good Earth, she never had another big hit but there was always a market for her books. Pearl Buck died on March 6, 1973 at age 80.

“Bertozzi beautifully distills Buck’s text into poignant snippets... perfectly capturing the story’s timeless subject matter while also underscoring the antiquity of the depicted world. Even within this foreign worldview, Buck and Bertozzi convey rich moral complexity and universal concerns. A finely rendered showcase for a classic tale.”—Kirkus Reviews