Joy in the Morning is a novel by Betty Smith

Betty Smith

Betty Smith, née Elisabeth Wehner , was an American author.-Biography:Born on December 15, 1896 in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrants, she grew up poor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and attended Girl's High School. These experiences served as the framework to her first novel, A Tree Grows in...

, first published in 1963. It was made into a film

Joy in the Morning (film)

Joy in the Morning is a 1965 American film directed by Alex Segal and starring Richard Chamberlain, Yvette Mimieux and Oskar Homolka. It was adapted from the 1963 novel by Betty Smith. The musical score for the film is by Bernard Herrmann....

, starring Richard Chamberlain, in 1965. The book follows the 1927 marriage of Brooklynites Annie McGairy and Carl Brown, sticking mainly to Annie's perspective.

Plot

She is only eighteen and he is twenty.
Annie's family is against the marriage but they do it anyway. They move to Carl's college campus to start their life as a married couple. Soon, they discover that it is hard to keep up school while trying to entertain a spouse.

Annie is able to make friends with anyone, even the grumpiest people. However, she is naive and full of childlike spirit. She tries to fit in with the college girls, and even is offered a free class because of her talent as a playwright.

Life seems to be going perfectly, then Annie learns that she is pregnant. She is scared of what Carl will say and what her mother-in-law and mother will think. Eventually, this couple proves that love endures forever and are able to have a beautiful life, despite all of their hardships.

Editing

Smith's editors felt the book was much too long and cut nearly a quarter of the book during their final edit. This displeased Smith, and can be seen in the book as most of the cutting came after the birth of Annie's child. It merely states, "Nearly a year has passed," and then Annie and her baby are at her husband's graduation. This abrupt ending is noticeable to the reader.