Weeds

"Unquestionably a major work of American fiction . . . a book that will astonish and enrich anyone who reads it. And anyone should be everyone." — The New York Times Book Review

Bright and independent-minded, Judith Pippinger Blackford aspires to a life of freedom and self-expression beyond the tobacco fields of Kentucky. But her dreams are crushed by the reality of farm life, an endless cycle of tending children, livestock, and menfolk, while trying to scratch a living out of the unyielding clay soil.
Based on the author's own attempts to raise tobacco, this pioneering naturalistic novel recounts the dire effects of her poverty and thwarted ambition with compassion but without sentimentality. Sinclair Lewis midwifed the 1923 publication of Weeds, but despite critical acclaim the book failed to find an audience. Rediscovered in the 1970s, it has since been reappraised as an American classic.

"It would be a pity for anyone to miss this statuesque book." — The New Yorker

"Should win a place in courses on modern literature and women's studies." — Choice

Canadian-born author Edith Summers Kelly (1884–1956) graduated from the University of Toronto before moving to New York City's Greenwich Village. There she met Upton Sinclair and was invited to work at the author's experimental community, Helicon Home Colony. Weeds was inspired by her experiences on a Kentucky tobacco farm.