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{{Infobox person
[[File:Belva Plain.jpg|thumb|right|Belva Plain]]
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| name = Belva Plain
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'''Belva Plain''' (October 9, 1915 – October 12, 2010), '''née Offenberg'''<ref name=NYT-20101017>{{cite news|newspaper=New York Times|title=Belva Plain, Novelist of Jewish-American Life, Dies at 95|first=Elsa|last=Dixler|date=October 17, 2010|accessdate=October 18, 2010|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/books/18plain.html}}</ref>, was a [[best-seller|best-selling]] [[United States|American]] [[author]] of mainstream fiction. She was born in [[New York City]].<ref>[http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/10/belva_plain_acclaimed_nj_autho.html www.nj.com]</ref>
| image =
| image_caption =
| birth_name = Belva Offenberg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1915|10|09}}
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| birth_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=y|2010|10|12|1915|10|09}}
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| death_place = [[Short Hills, New Jersey]]
| education = [[Barnard College]]
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Writer
| known_for =
| notable_works = ''[[Whispers (Plain novel)|Whispers]]'' and ''[[Secrecy (book)|Secrecy]]''
| networth =
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives =
| awards =
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}}
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'''Belva Plain''' (October 9, 1915 – October 12, 2010), '''née Offenberg''',<ref name=NYT-20101017>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Belva Plain, Novelist of Jewish-American Life, Dies at 95|first=Elsa|last=Dixler|date=October 17, 2010|accessdate=October 18, 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/books/18plain.html| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20101018232301/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/books/18plain.html| archivedate= 18 October 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> was a [[best-seller|best-selling]] [[United States|American]] [[author]] of mainstream fiction.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Belva Offenberg was a third-generation Jewish American who was raised in [[New York City]].<ref name=conversation>{{cite web|title=A Conversation With Belva Plain|publisher=Belva Plain Official Website|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/author.html|accessdate=2007-01-30}}
Belva Offenberg was a third-generation Jewish American who was raised in [[New York City]].<ref name=conversation>{{cite web|title=A Conversation With Belva Plain|publisher=Belva Plain Official Website|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/author.html|accessdate=2007-01-30| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061230161558/http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/author.html| archivedate= 30 December 2006 | url-status= live}}
</ref> She graduated from [[Barnard College]] in 1939 with a degree in [[history]].<ref name="conversation" /> Plain lived in the [[Short Hills, New Jersey|Short Hills]] section of [[Millburn, New Jersey]].<ref>Horner, Shirley. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1031F930A35753C1A965958260 "ABOUT BOOKS"], ''[[The New York Times]]'' (October 3, 1993) "Previous recipients of the award, which has come to be known as the Michael, include [[Mary Higgins Clark]] of Saddle River, [[Belva Plain]] of Short Hills, Wende and Harry Devlin of Mountainside, the Nobel laureate Dr. [[Arno Penzias]] of Highland Park, and [[Gay Talese]] of Ocean City."</ref>
</ref> She graduated from [[Barnard College]] in 1939 with a degree in [[history]].<ref name="conversation" /> Plain lived in the [[Short Hills, New Jersey|Short Hills]] section of [[Millburn, New Jersey]].<ref>Horner, Shirley. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1031F930A35753C1A965958260 "ABOUT BOOKS"], ''[[The New York Times]]'' (October 3, 1993) "Previous recipients of the award, which has come to be known as the Michael, include [[Mary Higgins Clark]] of Saddle River, Belva Plain of Short Hills, Wende and Harry Devlin of Mountainside, the Nobel laureate Dr. [[Arno Penzias]] of Highland Park, and [[Gay Talese]] of Ocean City."</ref>


Before breaking into publishing, Belva Plain wrote short stories for magazines while raising her three children. She sold her first story to ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'' at age 25 and "contributed several dozen to various women's magazines until she had three children in rapid succession."<ref name=NYT-20101017/> Her first novel, ''Evergreen'', was published in [[1978]]. It topped the ''New York Times'' bestseller list for 41 weeks and was made into a TV miniseries.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|title=Author Bio|publisher=Belva Plain Official Website|date=2004|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/author.html|accessdate=2007-01-30}} </ref> ''Evergreen'' followed the character Anna, "a feisty, redheaded Jewish immigrant girl from Poland in turn-of-the-century New York, whose family story continues through several decades and three more books.".<ref name=NYT-20101017/>
Before breaking into publishing, Belva Plain wrote short stories for magazines while raising her three children. She sold her first story to ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'' at age 25 and "contributed several dozen to various women's magazines until she had three children in rapid succession."<ref name=NYT-20101017/> Her first novel, ''Evergreen'', was published in 1978. It topped the ''[[The New York Times Bestseller List|New York Times Bestseller List]]'' for 41 weeks and was made into a TV miniseries.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|title=Author Bio|publisher=Belva Plain Official Website|year=2004|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/author.html|accessdate=2007-01-30| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061230161558/http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/author.html| archivedate= 30 December 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> ''Evergreen'' followed the character Anna, "a feisty, redheaded Jewish immigrant girl from Poland in turn-of-the-century New York, whose family story continues through several decades and four more books.".<ref name=NYT-20101017/>


The ''[[New York Times]]'' summed up her career <blockquote>Strong-willed women, many of them Jewish and red-haired as well, appear again and again in Ms. Plain’s fiction. Some of her novels use historical settings — “Crescent City,” published in 1984, was set in the Jewish community of Civil War-era New Orleans. Other books tell stories about contemporary issues, sometimes inspired by the headlines — divorce (“Promises”), adoption (“Blessings”), child sexual abuse (“The Carousel”) or babies accidentally switched at birth (“Daybreak”). All of them are full of passion, but there is very little explicit sex.<ref name=NYT-20101017/></blockquote> At her death, there were over 30 million copies of her twenty-plus novels in print in 22 languages.<ref name=NYT-20101017/> Twenty-one of her novels appeared on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.<ref name=NYT-20101017/> Plain did not own a computer, and wrote all of her novels long-hand on a yellow pad.<ref name="conversation" /> "A disciplined worker, she wrote for several hours in the morning five days a week. She produced a 500- or 600-page novel every year or so." <ref name=NYT-20101017/>
''[[The New York Times]]'' summed up her career <blockquote>Strong-willed women, many of them Jewish and red-haired as well, appear again and again in Ms. Plain’s fiction. Some of her novels use historical settings — “Crescent City,” published in 1984, was set in the Jewish community of Civil War-era New Orleans. Other books tell stories about contemporary issues, sometimes inspired by the headlines — divorce (“Promises”), adoption (“Blessings”), child sexual abuse (“The Carousel”) or babies accidentally switched at birth (“Daybreak”). All of them are full of passion, but there is very little explicit sex.<ref name=NYT-20101017/></blockquote> At her death, there were over 30 million copies of her twenty-plus novels in print in 22 languages.<ref name=NYT-20101017/> Twenty-one of her novels appeared on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.<ref name=NYT-20101017/> Plain did not own a computer, and wrote all of her novels long-hand on a yellow pad.<ref name="conversation" /> "A disciplined worker, she wrote for several hours in the morning five days a week. She produced a 500- or 600-page novel every year or so."<ref name=NYT-20101017/>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Plain was married to her husband, Irving Plain, for more than forty years. He died in 1982.
Plain was married to her husband, Irving Plain, for more than forty years. He died in 1982. She died on October 12, 2010, at her home in [[Short Hills, New Jersey]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dixler |first=Elsa |date=2010-10-17 |title=Belva Plain, Novelist of Jewish-American Life, Dies at 95 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/books/18plain.html |access-date=2022-07-14 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==

===Werner Family Saga===
===Werner Family Saga===
* ''Evergreen'' (1978)
* ''Evergreen'' (1978)
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* ''Blessings'' (1989)
* ''Blessings'' (1989)
* ''Treasures'' (1992)
* ''Treasures'' (1992)
* ''Whispers'' (1993)
* ''[[Whispers (1993)|Whispers]]'' (1993)
* ''Daybreak'' (1994)
* ''Daybreak'' (1994)
* ''The Carousel'' (1995)
* ''The Carousel'' (1995)
* ''Promises'' (1996)
* ''Promises'' (1996)
* ''[[Secrecy]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Secrecy (book)|Secrecy]]'' (1997)
* ''Homecoming'' (1997)
* ''Homecoming'' (1997)
* ''Legacy of Silence'' (1998)
* ''Legacy of Silence'' (1998)
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* ''After the Fire'' (2000)
* ''After the Fire'' (2000)
* ''Looking Back'' (2001)
* ''Looking Back'' (2001)
* ''[[Her Father's House]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Her Father's House (Belva Plain novel)|Her Father's House]]'' (2002)
* ''The Sight of the Stars'' (2003)
* ''The Sight of the Stars'' (2003)
* ''Crossroads'' (2004)
* ''Crossroads'' (2004)
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== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/ Belva Plain Official Website]
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/belvaplain/ Belva Plain Official Website]
* {{imdb name|id=0686414}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0686414}}
<!-- [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0686414/]-->
<!-- [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0686414/]-->


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
⚫
| NAME = Plain, Belva
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Offenberg, Belva
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American writer
| DATE OF BIRTH = October 9, 1915
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[New York City]], [[New York]], U.S.
| DATE OF DEATH = October 12, 2010
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| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Millburn, New Jersey]], U.S.
⚫
}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Plain, Belva}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plain, Belva}}
[[Category:American writers]]
[[Category:American women writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American writers]]
[[Category:Writers from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Writers from New Jersey]]
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[[Category:People from Millburn, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Millburn, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Barnard College alumni]]
[[Category:Barnard College alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[cs:Belva Plain]]
[[fr:Belva Plain]]
[[hi:बेलवा पालिन]]
[[he:בלווה פליין]]
[[pl:Belva Plain]]
[[pt:Belva Plain]]
[[fi:Belva Plain]]
[[sv:Belva Plain]]
[[zh:碧娃·普蘭]]

Latest revision as of 19:57, 14 July 2022

Belva Plain
Born
Belva Offenberg

(1915-10-09)October 9, 1915
New York City, New York
DiedOctober 12, 2010(2010-10-12) (aged 95)
Short Hills, New Jersey
EducationBarnard College
OccupationWriter
Notable workWhispers and Secrecy

Belva Plain (October 9, 1915 – October 12, 2010), née Offenberg,[1] was a best-selling American author of mainstream fiction.

Biography[edit]

Belva Offenberg was a third-generation Jewish American who was raised in New York City.[2] She graduated from Barnard College in 1939 with a degree in history.[2] Plain lived in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey.[3]

Before breaking into publishing, Belva Plain wrote short stories for magazines while raising her three children. She sold her first story to Cosmopolitan at age 25 and "contributed several dozen to various women's magazines until she had three children in rapid succession."[1] Her first novel, Evergreen, was published in 1978. It topped the New York Times Bestseller List for 41 weeks and was made into a TV miniseries.[4] Evergreen followed the character Anna, "a feisty, redheaded Jewish immigrant girl from Poland in turn-of-the-century New York, whose family story continues through several decades and four more books.".[1]

The New York Times summed up her career

Strong-willed women, many of them Jewish and red-haired as well, appear again and again in Ms. Plain’s fiction. Some of her novels use historical settings — “Crescent City,” published in 1984, was set in the Jewish community of Civil War-era New Orleans. Other books tell stories about contemporary issues, sometimes inspired by the headlines — divorce (“Promises”), adoption (“Blessings”), child sexual abuse (“The Carousel”) or babies accidentally switched at birth (“Daybreak”). All of them are full of passion, but there is very little explicit sex.[1]

At her death, there were over 30 million copies of her twenty-plus novels in print in 22 languages.[1] Twenty-one of her novels appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.[1] Plain did not own a computer, and wrote all of her novels long-hand on a yellow pad.[2] "A disciplined worker, she wrote for several hours in the morning five days a week. She produced a 500- or 600-page novel every year or so."[1]

Personal life[edit]

Plain was married to her husband, Irving Plain, for more than forty years. He died in 1982. She died on October 12, 2010, at her home in Short Hills, New Jersey.[5]

Bibliography[edit]

Werner Family Saga[edit]

  • Evergreen (1978)
  • Golden Cup (1986)
  • Tapestry (1988)
  • Harvest (1990)
  • Heartwood (2011)

Novels[edit]

  • Random Winds (1980)
  • Eden Burning (1982)
  • Crescent City (1984)
  • Blessings (1989)
  • Treasures (1992)
  • Whispers (1993)
  • Daybreak (1994)
  • The Carousel (1995)
  • Promises (1996)
  • Secrecy (1997)
  • Homecoming (1997)
  • Legacy of Silence (1998)
  • Fortune's Hand (1999)
  • After the Fire (2000)
  • Looking Back (2001)
  • Her Father's House (2002)
  • The Sight of the Stars (2003)
  • Crossroads (2004)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Dixler, Elsa (October 17, 2010). "Belva Plain, Novelist of Jewish-American Life, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "A Conversation With Belva Plain". Belva Plain Official Website. Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  3. ^ Horner, Shirley. "ABOUT BOOKS", The New York Times (October 3, 1993) "Previous recipients of the award, which has come to be known as the Michael, include Mary Higgins Clark of Saddle River, Belva Plain of Short Hills, Wende and Harry Devlin of Mountainside, the Nobel laureate Dr. Arno Penzias of Highland Park, and Gay Talese of Ocean City."
  4. ^ "Author Bio". Belva Plain Official Website. 2004. Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  5. ^ Dixler, Elsa (2010-10-17). "Belva Plain, Novelist of Jewish-American Life, Dies at 95". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-14.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belva_Plain&oldid=1098216465"