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Tomorrow is Forever
His eyes were dark with pain and as Elizabeth Herlong looked at the guest her husband had brought to dinner, she felt a tremor of recognition. But how could she have known this bearded stranger, able to walk only with the aid of a cane?
Where in her sheltered existence as the wife of a Hollywood producer and the mother three children, could she have met this refugee writer from Germany? And why was she so sure that he, more than anyone else, could understand the uncertainties that racked her soul?
Where in her sheltered existence as the wife of a Hollywood producer and the mother three children, could she have met this refugee writer from Germany? And why was she so sure that he, more than anyone else, could understand the uncertainties that racked her soul?
218 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1945
184 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
About the author
Gwen Bristow
44 books181 followersGwen Bristow (September 16, 1903 - August 17, 1980) was an American author and journalist. She studied at Columbia University and afterwards wrote for a number of literary magazines and journals. Eventually she moved to New Orleans, and worked at the Times-Picayune. She became interested in longer forms of writing—novels and short stories—through her husband, screenwriter Bruce Manning, and published her first novel in 1929.
Bristow reached the pinnacle of her career with the western romance Jubilee Trail, which became a bestseller in 1950, and was adapted to a moderately successful film in 1954.
Bristow reached the pinnacle of her career with the western romance Jubilee Trail, which became a bestseller in 1950, and was adapted to a moderately successful film in 1954.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
did-not-finish
June 13, 2014Sorry, but I just can't bring myself to finish this, I yield at 65%. I love Bristow's other stories, but there just isn't a story here - just endless anti-war propaganda. Bristow clearly has an agenda, but as much as I am opposed to war (any war), I can't bear to be clubbed over the head with her rhetoric. Moving on...
June 21, 2016
This is very unlike other Bristow books. It was written in 1943 during the final years of World War II. The story focuses on a prestigious Hollywood family who was somewhat isolated from the war until it was time for their oldest child to enlist. Then they are faced with the prospect of their son dying for a cause that they aren't sure they can support. Because they lived such an insulated life far from the death, sacrifice, and horror or war, they really had to struggle to understand the need for it. The pros and cons of war, immigration, and political might become the main themes of the book. It seems like Bristow used the story of this family to explore and justify WWII to a public who were questioning the US involvement. It explores when a philosophy of life is worth defending and at what expense. I bought this book and found myself highlighting and annotating nearly every page.
August 31, 2012
A book that I will always remember. This is one of the first romance novels that I've ever read and it was so beautiful of a story. I had to recommend it to my mom and even she, who is not a big reader, loved it.
September 29, 2020
Language is a bit dated, but could be overcome if the plot was stronger. A good central idea, but not developed in ways it could have been.
March 16, 2016
I liked the concept of the book when i read what it was about and the book grabbed me the first couple pages but it soon lost me after that. It was a bit of a chore to get through.
May 15, 2022
I couldn’t find an option for started but could not finish. I read the first 30 percent of the book and enjoyed it very much: plot characters and themes of living with grief, war, propaganda, and generational perception all grabbed my interest. The introduction of a German refugee screenwriter and his daughter coming for dinner raised my hopes as I was looking forward to learning his story and how this would impact the Hollywood family especially the cynical teenagers of the household. But then Bristow throws in an unbelievable plot twist about who the refugee is and I just lost all interest in reading this book any further as the twist undermined the credibility of the story up to that point. I couldn’t go on any further. A shame.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2024
Interesting book with a strange twist. Would like to see the movie
July 31, 2009
My feelings on this book are mixed. I liked some of the concepts and ideas presented and I cared enough about the characters to find out what happens, but I found myself having to force my way through the book. I found the same thing with Deep Summer by Gwen Bristow and I'm wondering if I'll have the same problems with Calico Palace that I have checked out from the Rio Rancho Library and Celia Garth that I'll be reading for our book club. Only time will tell.
I think the concept I found most interesting was the idea that World War II wasn't fought just to stop Hitler and the fascists. The reason was that Hitler and the fascists wanted to return us to a time of barbarianism and we fought to restore the natural order of progression. I also liked how Gwen was able to take this world-wide conflict and show that it's an internal conflict that people face on a daily basis.
I think the concept I found most interesting was the idea that World War II wasn't fought just to stop Hitler and the fascists. The reason was that Hitler and the fascists wanted to return us to a time of barbarianism and we fought to restore the natural order of progression. I also liked how Gwen was able to take this world-wide conflict and show that it's an internal conflict that people face on a daily basis.
November 16, 2016
While I liked the premise, it fell a little short.
This book ended up feeling like an treatise on war, marriage, and how people ruin their own lives without intending to because of the fear of moving on. I enjoyed the thoughts and theories. They certainly were thought provoking. I also love the time period. The story was heartfelt and brought up many ideas to consider.
While I liked the book, I did think it was a bit preachy. Good thing I found the ideas fascinating. And I think I ended up being disappointed in how the story played out. Some things happened too abruptly, others dragged on.
With a little effort, this story could have been gripping while still expounding on the themes of war, love, marriage and self defeating behaviors. Even as I write that, I think it was a lot to take on in a 250 page book.
Good, but not great.
This book ended up feeling like an treatise on war, marriage, and how people ruin their own lives without intending to because of the fear of moving on. I enjoyed the thoughts and theories. They certainly were thought provoking. I also love the time period. The story was heartfelt and brought up many ideas to consider.
While I liked the book, I did think it was a bit preachy. Good thing I found the ideas fascinating. And I think I ended up being disappointed in how the story played out. Some things happened too abruptly, others dragged on.
With a little effort, this story could have been gripping while still expounding on the themes of war, love, marriage and self defeating behaviors. Even as I write that, I think it was a lot to take on in a 250 page book.
Good, but not great.
June 28, 2023
This book changed my confidence
This book was written in 1943 during WWII. In 1962 I found it at the Decatur High school library. I read it and decided to make my oral book report on it. It was the first time I felt confident in front of my fellow classmates and my teacher.
Recently I mentioned this to a friend, we looked it up and found it in our local library and I decided to read it again, since there was so much I had forgotten in the details. Writing style has definitely changed in 50+ years and some critics would call the book wordy , but it’s a great story with sensitive characters and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it again.
It really took me down memory lane and reminded me that while much has changed, so much is still the same.
This book was written in 1943 during WWII. In 1962 I found it at the Decatur High school library. I read it and decided to make my oral book report on it. It was the first time I felt confident in front of my fellow classmates and my teacher.
Recently I mentioned this to a friend, we looked it up and found it in our local library and I decided to read it again, since there was so much I had forgotten in the details. Writing style has definitely changed in 50+ years and some critics would call the book wordy , but it’s a great story with sensitive characters and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it again.
It really took me down memory lane and reminded me that while much has changed, so much is still the same.
August 2, 2020
A strange book. I knew the subject was WW2 but I didn't realize it was written DURING the war, published in 1943. The story turns on a very unlikely situation, which she did make as believable as possible but it still was pretty contrived. It really just sets the scene for a treatise about the situation at hand and war in general, which another person might have gotten more out of but I was just not in a philosophical mood, I guess.
August 24, 2022
Jubilee Trail and Celia Garth are definitely still my favorite Gwen Bristow books. I like the plot of this book and the lessons learned. However, there are many many historical details that didn’t hold my attention.
April 18, 2018
Ancient conversations of war are still so current, from WWI – WWII and beyond.This clever book had an interesting twist which made me daydream about how I could possibly handle such a dilemma.
November 11, 2019
Philosophy
Not often do you feel wiser after reading a book but you will after reading this one. I loved it.
Not often do you feel wiser after reading a book but you will after reading this one. I loved it.
October 10, 2025
🖊️ An excellent story with intelligence and believability for the era.
📕Published — 1943. In the public domain.
જ⁀🫐 Read on Internet Archive.
🎥 1946 movie version with Orson Welles, Claudette Colbert, George Brent, Lucille Watson, Natalie Wood, et al.
༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻
📕Published — 1943. In the public domain.
જ⁀🫐 Read on Internet Archive.
🎥 1946 movie version with Orson Welles, Claudette Colbert, George Brent, Lucille Watson, Natalie Wood, et al.
༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻
Read
January 21, 2024Love this author but struggled with this book. And the movie sucked!
October 10, 2015
Tomorrow is Forever is a novel written by Gwen Bristow. Although it was actually written in 1950, it resounds with today. In fact, I was totally surprised to learn that it was first published in 1950 and that Gwen Bristow died in 1980. I definitely thought she was a contemporary writer. Her work is extremely well-written with a very well developed plot. The characters are well developed and quite realistic. Her realism comes through in her work.
Elizabeth Herlong was the wife of Spratt Herlong, a movie producer. She was the mother of three lovely children and spent her time making sure life was pleasant for all of them. Her husband was very proud of her as were her children. It seemed that she lived a golden life; but looks could be deceiving. For Elizabeth Herlong was still, at times, mourning the death of her first husband, Arthur.
Elizabeth and Arthur Kittredge were married when they were quite young. The world was golden for them in their marriage. They were totally in love with each other and seemed to be able to live only for themselves. Arthur was extremely smart and was a research chemist for an oil company in Oklahoma. He made everything as perfect as possible for her which made her love him even more. Then he went to war and never came home. Her devastation was complete. When she finally began to live again, she left Oklahoma for California leaving her previous life behind. She eventually met and married Spratt Herlong and for twenty-five years lived happily with him. Then life once more interfered- WWII.
When their son turned eighteen, which was soon, he would be old enough to be drafted into the army. He wouldn’t have a choice but to go; but what would that do to Elizabeth. She and Spratt talked about it; but even then, he kept part of his fear from her to protect her. At about the same time, Spratt brought a new writer home to meet his family. Erich Kessler was a German refugee with a young daughter. He was terribly disfigured but it didn’t keep his mind from working away. Learning to walk and survive using only one hand, he had made his way through life in a dignified manner.
What had happened to him in the four years under the Nazis, no one knew. How he became so maimed, no one could know as he wouldn’t talk about it. However, he becomes a very trusted friend of the Herlong family and helps them in ways they have no way of knowing he does.
Elizabeth Herlong was the wife of Spratt Herlong, a movie producer. She was the mother of three lovely children and spent her time making sure life was pleasant for all of them. Her husband was very proud of her as were her children. It seemed that she lived a golden life; but looks could be deceiving. For Elizabeth Herlong was still, at times, mourning the death of her first husband, Arthur.
Elizabeth and Arthur Kittredge were married when they were quite young. The world was golden for them in their marriage. They were totally in love with each other and seemed to be able to live only for themselves. Arthur was extremely smart and was a research chemist for an oil company in Oklahoma. He made everything as perfect as possible for her which made her love him even more. Then he went to war and never came home. Her devastation was complete. When she finally began to live again, she left Oklahoma for California leaving her previous life behind. She eventually met and married Spratt Herlong and for twenty-five years lived happily with him. Then life once more interfered- WWII.
When their son turned eighteen, which was soon, he would be old enough to be drafted into the army. He wouldn’t have a choice but to go; but what would that do to Elizabeth. She and Spratt talked about it; but even then, he kept part of his fear from her to protect her. At about the same time, Spratt brought a new writer home to meet his family. Erich Kessler was a German refugee with a young daughter. He was terribly disfigured but it didn’t keep his mind from working away. Learning to walk and survive using only one hand, he had made his way through life in a dignified manner.
What had happened to him in the four years under the Nazis, no one knew. How he became so maimed, no one could know as he wouldn’t talk about it. However, he becomes a very trusted friend of the Herlong family and helps them in ways they have no way of knowing he does.
June 10, 2020
Set mainly in the pre-WWII era but going back as far as WWI, this book is, in many ways, quite dated. Characters' lives and much of the dialogue seem quaint. And while the main characters seem to be thoughtful and accepting of all kinds of people, there are still a number of terms that we would consider racist today. It also moves very slowly and includes a lot of long discussions about war, its causes, and its effects.
I gave it three stars in spite of these issues because I was struck several times by how relevant those discussions were to our political situation today. If you're looking for a modern story, don't look here, but if you're looking for timeless and universal truths, you will find some of those.
I gave it three stars in spite of these issues because I was struck several times by how relevant those discussions were to our political situation today. If you're looking for a modern story, don't look here, but if you're looking for timeless and universal truths, you will find some of those.
September 28, 2021
I am not sure what to think of this book...The fact that it was written so long ago makes it difficult to relate to. I was struck by the fact that there was so much conversation...and that this stranger, Kessler, was accepted into their home and lives so quickly/easily. Perhaps people were more trusting back then? It also made me very angry that Arthur withheld his identity and that Elizabeth was so gullible as to be talked into believing that the deep love she felt for Arthur simply didn't matter or wasn't relevant because she was young. It was a frustrating book...I don't believe it would have been written the same way in present-day times.
May 14, 2009
Book is good - has some plot holes and is rather preachy, although the philosophy presented is interesting.
But once again, do not bother with the movie (starring Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles). Colbert is good as always, but Welles was totally miscast as her previous husband, and the story comes across as just a WWII weeper instead of what it truly is -- a new look at the reasons behind fighting the war.
But once again, do not bother with the movie (starring Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles). Colbert is good as always, but Welles was totally miscast as her previous husband, and the story comes across as just a WWII weeper instead of what it truly is -- a new look at the reasons behind fighting the war.
November 28, 2009
First published in 1943, this is an historical romance that takes place during and after WWII. A very accurate picture of life in southern California during those days, it brought back memories from a childhood spent near the setting for the story during that time. It's a story of tragedy and sacrifice in wartime with elements of Casablanca.
November 5, 2016
This book is full of the author's views about war and marriage and this book felt like a vehicle for to write those thoughts, using a novel loosely to tell them. 1950s language. It languished for me at times. I have read several books dealing with the subject of about a person presumed dead and then coming back. This one wasn't as good as others I have read.
May 21, 2018
I am reading my way through Gwen Bristow’s books and I found this my least favorite by far. Maybe it was because when she wrote this it was much more contemporary to her time period than her other novels. I found the book very preachy with lots of pages long “conversations.” I didn’t think there was a lot of character development and I found the whole concept rather weird.
February 10, 2020
Taking in consideration the book was published in 1943, with increased concerns about WWII, the overall premise of why the war needed to be fought, being told from various points of view, makes sense. However, the premise dipped into some heavy philosophical pontificating, making it difficult to enjoy the story thread of wanting badly the present to not be affected by the past.
July 18, 2020
I have really grown to love Gwen Bristow's writing, and this is not exception. I honestly was hoping for a different outcome, but I know there was ultimately no other way to end the book. As a mom with two teen boys, I can definitely relate to Elizabeth's anxieties of her son's going to war, though I thankfully have not experienced the great loss as she had.
July 11, 2015
This is an intregueing novel that blends romance, history of American involvement in the world wars & a unique mystery.
Plus, the author uses the novel to present several moral & ethical issues that we all can relate to. Be prepared as the ending may cause tears.
Plus, the author uses the novel to present several moral & ethical issues that we all can relate to. Be prepared as the ending may cause tears.
August 13, 2016
There is something about Bristow's writing that I just don't like. Her dialogs seem so basic and elementary. I did like Mr Kesslers take on war and his conversation with Dick and Elizabeth. I have only read one other book by her (Handsome Road) and I think this one will be my last.
July 9, 2009
I read this book many many years ago and always wanted to find it again. It had a lot of significance to me when I first read it and so was interesting to read again.
June 15, 2015
Erich Kessler is the man-splainer of all man-splainers.
December 30, 2015
Wonderful book
This book set in WWII is revel ant for today's world. I lovely look at family life and refugees in the 1940's
This book set in WWII is revel ant for today's world. I lovely look at family life and refugees in the 1940's
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews