Louis Bromfield

Louis Bromfield, November 2, 1933, photographer Carl van Vechten

Louis Bromfield , actually Louis Brumfield , (born December 27, 1896 in Mansfield , Ohio , † March 18, 1956 in Columbus , Ohio) was an American writer .

Life

Bromfield's ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Ohio; his father was Charles Brumfield and his mother was Annette M. Coulter. After finishing school he began studying agriculture at Cornell University ( Ithaca ) in 1914. In 1916 he moved to Columbia University ( New York ) to study journalism, literature and philosophy. There he also joined the Phi Delta Theta student fraternity .

Through this association, Bromfield also made the acquaintance of the American Field Service . As a member of it, he came to France during the First World War . Later he also fought there as a soldier. After the war he returned to the USA and settled in New York. There he worked as a lecturer and dramaturge and as a music and theater critic and began to write his first book.

In 1921, Bromfield married Mary Appleton Wood, a daughter of District Attorney Chalmers Wood and his wife Ellen Apleton Smith, in New York . Bromfield and his wife had three daughters, Ann, Hope and Ellen. In 1924, Bromfield debuted very successfully with The Life of Lily Shane ( The Green Bay Tree ). This first volume of a tetralogy was soon followed - also successful - the volumes Possessed ( Possession ), Early Autumn ( Early Autumn ) and What a woman ... ( A good woman ).

From 1928 on, Bromfield spent several years in France and India. In France he also worked as a journalist, but spent a large part of his time on his own literary work. In 1938 he returned and settled in Richland County, Ohio. There he founded his Malabar Farm (now Malabar Farm State Park).

At the age of almost 60, Louis Bromfield died on March 18, 1956 in Columbus, Ohio, and found his final resting place there.

Honors

• 1927 Pulitzer Prize for Early Autumn
• 1928 elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
• Honorary Doctorate from Columbia University
• Croix de guerre
• Knight of the Legion of Honor

Works

Autobiography

• From my experience. The pleasures and miseries of life on a farm . New edition Wooster Books, Wooster, Ohio 2000, ISBN 1-888683-55-4 .

Letters

• Daniel Bratton (Ed.): “Yrs. ever affly ". The correspondence of Edith Wharton and Louis Bromfield . University Press, East Lansing, Mich. 2000, ISBN 0-87013-516-3 .

stories

• The lonely girl. Two stories . Verlag die Arche, Zurich 1950 (Die kleine Bücher der Arche; 117/118).
• This is how the world is (“The world we live in”). Scherz, Bern 1946.
• Of animals and other people ("Animals and other people"). Franckh, Stuttgart 1958.
• Zenobia. 5 stories ("Up Ferguson Way"). Nymphenburger, Munich 1957.

Novels

• The possessed. Roman ("Possession"). Scherz, Stuttgart 1963.
• Bitter lotus. Roman ("Bitter Lotus"). Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1980, ISBN 3-404-11153-2 (German translation by Elisabeth Rotten).
• So it had to happen (“It had to happen”). Humanitas Verlag, Zurich 1943.
• Colorado. Roman ("Colorado"). Kaiser Verlag, Klagenfurt 1961.
• The Annie Spragg case. Roman ("The strange case of Miss Annie Spragg"). Scherz Verlag, Bern 1951.
• Early autumn. Roman ("Early Autumn"). Goldmann, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-442-03661-5 (former title Olivia Pentland ).
• A hero of our time. Roman ("A modern hero"). Scherz & Goverts, Stuttgart 1953.
• Kenny. Roman ("Kenny"). 2nd edition Goldmann, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-442-03392-6 .
• Mrs. Parkington. Roman ("Mrs. Parkington"). Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1976, ISBN 3-404-00422-1 (German translation by Paola Meister-Calvino).
• The big rain. Roman ("The rains came"). Ullstein, Frankfurt / M. 1976, ISBN 3-548-02262-6 .
• The life of Lily Shane. Novel ("The Green Bay Tree"). Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1975, ISBN 3-404-00215-6 .
• The man who had it all. Roman ("The man who had everything"). Bastei-Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1977, ISBN 3-404-05170-X .
• Mr. Smith. Roman ("Mrs. Smith"). Scherz Verlag, Bern 1951 (German translation by Alexandra Brun).
• Night in Bombay. Roman ("Night of Bombay"). Goldmann, Munich 1979.
• New York legend. Novel ("New York Legend"). Verlag die Arche, Zurich 1981, ISBN 3-7160-1099-5 .
• Valley of my longing. Novel ("Planet Valley"). EVA, Frankfurt / M. 1952.
• Dream in Louisiana. Roman ("Wild is the river"). Bastei-Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1976, ISBN 3-404-00322-5 .
• 24 hours. Roman ("Twenty-four Hours"). Fischer Taschenbuchverlag, Frankfurt / M. 1962 (Fischer-Bücherei; 418).
• The way of Anna Bolton. Roman ("What became of Anne Bolton"). Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1979, ISBN 3-404-01148-1 .
• What a woman ... Roman ("A good woman"). Scherz & Goverts, Stuttgart 1956 (German translation by Maria Wolff).

Non-fiction

• From the mischief of violence. A new concept for a confused world (“A new patten for a tired world”). Econ, Düsseldorf 1955.

Film adaptations

• Marion Gering (Direction): Doom of a Day ( 24 Hours ) 1931 (based on the novel of the same name).
• Georg Wilhelm Pabst (director): A modern hero. 1934 (based on the novel of the same name).
• Clarence Brown (Director): Night Over India ( The Rains Came ). 1939.
• Lewis Seiler (Director): A nightclub for Sarah Jane ( It all came true ). 1940.
• Henry Hathaway (Director): Trek to Utah ( Brigham Young - Frontiersman ). 1940.
• William K. Howard (Director): Johnny Come Lately ( McLeod's Folly ). 1943.
• Tay Garnett (Director): Diary of a Woman ( Mrs. Parkington ). 1944.
• Jean Negulesco (Director): The rains of Ranchipur . 1955 (based on the novel of the same name).

literature

• David D. Anderson: Louis Bromfield . Twayne, New York 1964 (Twayne's US Authors series; 55).
• Morrison Brown: Louis Bromfield and his books. An evaluation . Cassell, London 1956.
• John T. Carter: Louis Bromfield and the Malabar Farm Experience . Amereon Huse, Mattituck, NY 1995.
• Ellen B. Money: The heritage. A daughter's memories of Louis Bromfield . University Press, Athens, Ohio 1999, ISBN 0-8214-1288-4 .
• Charles E. Little: Louis Bromfield at Malabar. Writings on farming and country life . University Press, Baltimore 1988, ISBN 0-8018-3674-3 .
• Ivan Scott: Louis Bromfield, novelist and agrarian reformer. The forgotten author . Mellen Books, Lewiston 1998, ISBN 0-7734-8503-1 .
• Pamela Cleaver: Louis Bromfield . In: Lesley Henderson: Twentieth century romance and historical writers . St. James Press, Chicago, Ill. 1990, ISBN 0-912289-97-X .

Web links

• Literature by and about Louis Bromfield in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ Walther von Hollander: The small manual for book lovers. Guide through the wide world of entertainment and knowledge . Verlag Buch und Wissen, Rheda 1964, p. 11.
2. ↑ the most famous guests there were Laureen Bacall and Humphrey Bogart on their honeymoon
3. ^ Members: Louis Bromfield. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed February 18, 2019 .