A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The novel introduces Francie Nolan at age eleven, the Williamsburg neighborhood, Saturday junk collection rituals, the public library, and the Tree of Heaven that grows in every Brooklyn yard.

The Rommely family history is told — Grandma Mary's immigration, the four Rommely sisters' different strategies for survival. Johnny and Katie's courtship and marriage. Johnny's alcoholism deepens.

Francie starts school and encounters class prejudice from teachers. The family's poverty deepens — scenes of genuine hunger. Francie discovers that imagination can transform reality, but not replace it.

Johnny's alcoholism reaches crisis. The family's survival depends entirely on Katie. Seasonal rhythms of Brooklyn — holidays, heat waves, street life — provide both beauty and brutality.

Johnny spirals into his final bender. On New Year's Eve he goes out into the freezing cold, contracts pneumonia, and dies at thirty-four. Katie faces widowhood with a baby on the way.

Katie makes the devastating choice: Neeley stays in school, Francie must work. Francie gets her working papers at fourteen, takes factory and office jobs, and begins her real-world education.

Francie enrolls in summer college courses, falls for a soldier named Lee Rhynor who proposes then confesses he's already married, and discovers that heartbreak is survivable.

World War I transforms Brooklyn. Francie works at a wartime communications center. Sergeant McShane courts Katie. The family's economic situation begins to shift toward stability.

Francie meets Ben Blake, a serious young pre-law student who becomes her intellectual equal and romantic interest. Their relationship is built on conversation, mutual respect, and shared ambition.

Katie marries McShane. Francie prepares to leave for the University of Michigan. On her last day in Brooklyn, she sees a young girl reading on a fire escape — a new Francie. The Tree of Heaven grows on.