Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth Online

Pearl S. Buck was an influential humanitarian and writer. Over the span of her eighty-year life, she touched the minds and souls of many people internationally. Born in Hillsboro, West Virginia in 1892, Pearl was swiftly moved to China with her missionary parents. Growing up with this lifestyle gave a unique perspective to Pearl that would play a part in her role as a writer and humanitarian her entire life. After moving back to the United States, she attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, VA. Buck returned to China after graduation due to strong feelings towards the country and for the benefit of her ailing mother.

In 1917, Pearl married John Lossing Buck and had one child in 1921 named Carol who Buck later realized was mentally disabled. In 1925, the couple adopted a daughter and named her Janice. John and Pearl remained together until 1935 when a large number of emotional factors caused a divorce. That same year she married Richard J. Walsh, who was then the publisher of John Day Walsh, the company responsible for the publication of her first novel, East Wind, West Wind in 1930. In 1931, The Good Earth was published and became a best-selling novel for the next two years. It won a Pulitzer Prize and the Howells Medal. A few years later she was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. The two sequels to The Good Earth (Sons, A House Divided) were published later, but were not received with nearly as much fervor as the first book.

In 1934, Pearl once again relocated to the United States to be with her husband and daughter, Carol. She adopted six more children over a period of years and then began the humanitarian and activist period of her life. Pearl pushed for civil rights and even established an adoption agency for Asian-American children. She created a foundation in her name, The Pearl S. Buck Foundation which continues to support Asian children around the world.

In 1973 Pearl died. She had lived an extremely full life and had contributed to the betterment of the world.




	About the Author: Pearl S. Buck




		Pearl S. Buck was an influential humanitarian and writer. Over the span of her eighty-year life, she touched the minds and souls of many people internationally. Born in Hillsboro, West Virginia in 1892, Pearl was swiftly moved to China with her missionary parents. Growing up with this lifestyle gave a unique perspective to Pearl that would play a part in her role as a writer and humanitarian her entire life. After moving back to the United States, she attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, VA. Buck returned to China after graduation due to strong feelings towards the country and for the benefit of her ailing mother. In 1917, Pearl married John Lossing Buck and had one child in 1921 named Carol who Buck later realized was mentally disabled. In 1925, the couple adopted a daughter and named her Janice. John and Pearl remained together until 1935 when a large number of emotional factors caused a divorce. That same year she married Richard J. Walsh, who was then the publisher of John Day Walsh, the company responsible for the publication of her first novel, East Wind, West Wind in 1930. In 1931, The Good Earth was published and became a best-selling novel for the next two years. It won a Pulitzer Prize and the Howells Medal. A few years later she was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. The two sequels to The Good Earth (Sons, A House Divided) were published later, but were not received with nearly as much fervor as the first book. In 1934, Pearl once again relocated to the United States to be with her husband and daughter, Carol. She adopted six more children over a period of years and then began the humanitarian and activist period of her life. Pearl pushed for civil rights and even established an adoption agency for Asian-American children. She created a foundation in her name, The Pearl S. Buck Foundation which continues to support Asian children around the world. In 1973 Pearl died. She had lived an extremely full life and had contributed to the betterment of the world.

The Good Earth.com © 2004 • See the Oprah Video • Sources