Belva Plain
Encyclopedia
Belva Plain née Offenberg, was a best-selling American
author
of mainstream fiction. She was born in New York City
.
. She graduated from Barnard College
in 1939 with a degree in history
. Plain lived in the Short Hills
section of Millburn, New Jersey
.
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." 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. 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.".
The New York Times summed up her career
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of mainstream fiction. She was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Biography
Belva Offenberg was a third-generation Jewish American who was raised in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She graduated from Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
in 1939 with a degree in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. Plain lived in the Short Hills
Short Hills, New Jersey
Short Hills is an unincorporated area located within the township of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City...
section of Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
.
Before breaking into publishing, Belva Plain wrote short stories for magazines while raising her three children. She sold her first story to Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
at age 25 and "contributed several dozen to various women's magazines until she had three children in rapid succession." 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. 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.".
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.At her death, there were over 30 million copies of her twenty-plus novels in print in 22 languages. Twenty-one of her novels appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Plain did not own a computer, and wrote all of her novels long-hand on a yellow pad. "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."
Personal life
Plain was married to her husband, Irving Plain, for more than forty years. He died in 1982.Werner Family Saga
- Evergreen (1978)
- Golden Cup (1986)
- Tapestry (1988)
- Harvest (1990)
- Heartwood (2011)
Novels
- 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)