A Good Woman

by Louis Bromfield

"A Good Woman" is a poignant and beautifully crafted novel that weaves together the lives of two remarkable women from different eras, bound by a shared struggle for independence and love. Penned by a talented author celebrated for her evocative storytelling, this heartfelt tale takes readers on a mesmerizing journey through time and across continents. At its heart is the story of Grace, a modern-day woman navigating the complexities of her own life and relationships. Drawn to a mysterious inheritance, she uncovers a cache of letters that reveal the life of Eleanor, a courageous woman who lived a century earlier.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Louis Bromfield was an American author and conservationist who gained international recognition winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.

Bromfield studied agriculture at Cornell University from 1914 to 1916,[1] but transferred to Columbia University to study journalism. While at Columbia University, Louis Bromfield was initiated into the fraternal organization Phi Delta Theta. His time at Columbia would be short lived and he left after less than a year to go to war. After serving with the American Field Service in World War I and being awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor, he returned to New York City and found work as a reporter. In 1924, his first novel, The Green Bay Tree, won instant acclaim. He won the 1927 Pulitzer Prize for best novel for Early Autumn. All of his 30 books were best-sellers, and many, such as The Rains Came and Mrs. Parkington, were made into successful motion pictures.

photograph by: Carl Van Vechten

Reviews

[Jeanine Malarsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for stories about the close interaction between a mother and a son. I found it hard to believe what this woman was willing to do to keep control. The author had an interesting relationship with his own mother, and though I do not know details, it is clear from his daughter Ellen Geld, that Bromfield's mother was part of his inspiration for the character.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely write reviews, but I have to for this one. I am vehemently anti-missionary. Earlier this year, I read the Poisonwood Bible. If you enjoyed that book, you'll enjoy this one. Also, being from Ohio, and never having read a book by Louis Bromfield, owner of Malabar Farm, I felt I should finally read one of his books. The old time piousness without empathy reminds me of today's Republications. Apparently, it has been around forever, at least in the United States.

[Rion Myriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je ne connaissais pas l'auteur. Un vieux bouquin échappé d'une fin tragique, une édition de 1948, me le fait découvrir. Une femme de bien, c'est la description d'un état d'esprit, d'une époque, d'un aveuglement, d'une étroitesse d'esprit, d'un étouffement. Louis Bromfield possède une écriture fluide, adroite et pose un regard ironique sur ce monde de bien-pensants.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book description at the top of the page is not from this book. Sounds like something I might like to read, but definitely not this book.

This is a good book. It's not a happy book but if it's not on a list of classics everyone should read, it should be. Set mostly in a mill town somewhere in the eastern United States, it looks at goodness and how it's not the people who think they're good or that the community as a whole perceives as good that are actually the good people. The truly good people can be found among the misfits and outcasts, the immigrants and the working poor. The whole plot turns on just how much trouble one self-righteous woman can make.

There are racial and ethnic slurs in the book. For the most part, they come from the characters you would expect to think and speak that way.

[Cbg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book - Bromfield's style isn't fully developed yet and isn't quite able to shift effectively between perspectives. Takes some odd allegorical turns (like refusing to name the primary location of the action) which seemed unnecessary. Read somewhere that Bromfield's first four novels act as a seasonal quartet - this one would definitely qualify as winter.