A Bromfield Galaxy [antikvár]

foreword By general consent The Green Bay Tree, Early Autumn and A Good Woman are among the finest novels by the late Louis Bromfield. Published in the 1920's these three panels of American life immediately aroused the enthusiasm of the critics and achieved very wide readership both here and abroad. Early Autumn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. An author's work expresses the man, an observation which applies particularly to Bromfield. So it seems fitting that, as his publisher and friend for over twenty-five years, I should comment on some of his characteristics. His vitality was that of ten men. It expressed itself in ceaseless activity and an avid interest in many things. He was both a manager and a person who loved to do things himself with his hands. The large farms he operated in Ohio and Brazil were world famous owing to his restless, imaginative, innovating spirit. At the same time he enjoyed the gift of the green thumb and could make flowers grow as no one else. He was a brilliant cook, and after he had produced a magnificent meal, his conversation would roam over every conceivable subject. The man had a genius for people. Every type, from political and social moguls to the farmhands, would gather around his table and feel at home. And while he talked, as he did both entertainingly and incessantly, Bromfield would instinctively absorb the salient characteristics of those around him. What distinguished him above all else was his huge appetite for life, which is reflected in his writing. He used broad strokes in his delineation of characters; they emerge sharp and clear, sometimes larger than life. In these three novels are found the qualities of an unforgettable personality who never lost his deep American roots in the course of his travels and long sojourns in foreign lands. They are also examples of storytelling at its finest, an art that has seldom been practiced so successfully in our time. March, 1957 Cass Canfield