The Planter of Modern Life

December 9, 2019
Louis Bromfield (1896–1956), an all-but-forgotten Lost Generation writer, gets a reassessment, more for his agricultural than his artistic legacy, from first-time author Heyman in this diverting, though at times superficial, biography. The book traces Bromfield’s unlikely career arc, showing how he parlayed his success as a bestselling and award-winning novelist who happened to have a knack for gardening into a full-throated agricultural innovator and reformer by the early 1940s, raising early alarms about the use of chemical pesticides and the environmental sustainability of farming practices. Heyman gives generous coverage to Bromfield’s reputation as a bon vivant, bolstered by his friendships with a diverse array of cultural heavyweights, from Edith Wharton, who exchanged gardening tips with him, to Humphrey Bogart, whose wedding to Lauren Bacall was held on Bromfield’s farm in Ohio. Finding much greater value in Bromfield’s agricultural writing than in his fiction (“Yes, it was overdone. Yes, it was overly romantic. It was, after all, a Louis Bromfield novel”), Heyman suggests that the former significantly influenced such modern environmental activists as Wendell Berry, but his discussion of Bromfield’s specific ideas are lacking. As a result, personality outweighs analysis in this portrait of Bromfield, but his colorful life makes for diverting reading.

January 1, 2020
In his first book, former New York Times editor Heyman recaptures the fascinating life of a man rife with paradoxes. In this exploration of the life of Louis Bromfield (1896-1956), the author chronicles his journey from the darling of American expatriate writers in Paris in the 1920s--and later an agricultural visionary--to the dissipation of his fame and influence. But this is not just a standard biography; Heyman turns the story of this novelist, screenwriter, nonfiction author, and pioneering farmer into an utterly engrossing account of both his life and his times. For years, everything Bromfield touched turned golden, his reputation and robust book sales easily surpassing those of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. His contacts and friends were a who's who of international literary lions, Hollywood royalty, potentates, and politicians. His horticultural ideas, embodied with varying success in his Malabar Farm in Ohio, were indispensable for early organic farming in the United States. Yet lavish spending, chronic overextension, and arrogance served to undermine Bromfield's notable accomplishments and even overshadow his considerable humanitarian efforts during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. He died in 1956, his prestige in tatters. Heyman marshals meticulous detail, unflinching appraisal, indelible personalities, and rich character study in a narrative that straddles worlds and eras and never flags. These elements coalesce within a fluid, remarkably propulsive writing style that keeps the pages turning. This is a biography of dual landscapes--literary and pastoral--as much as a chronicle of a man. The narrative succeeds on every level, not least in Heyman's evocation of time, place, and the origins of American agricultural blunders that plague us still. The first third of the book, dealing chiefly with the Bromfield family's years in France, will be irresistible to those unaware of Bromfield's early eminence in letters or his relationships with such intimates as Gertrude Stein and Edith Wharton. Bromfield's story clarifies a period cloaked in romanticism and a movement buttressed by conservationist ideals. An outstanding debut.

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February 1, 2020

Heyman, former editor at T: The New York Times Style Magazine, delves into the life of Louis Bromfield, an early 20th-century, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist in Europe and the United States, who was among the most successful writers of his generation but eventually faded into obscurity, becoming arguably more well-known for his abilities as a farmer than his literary achievements. Bromfield ultimately devoted his life to protecting and cultivating land as a precious resource, an early champion of conservationism. Inspired by the simple yet rich life of farmers in France, Bromfield cultivated gardens there and eventually moved to Ohio to establish Malbar Farm. There, he signaled the alarm about the harmful impacts of chemicals and advocated for the humane treatment of livestock, igniting a movement that has been influential to the current organic focus on farming and food. VERDICT An inspiring read for anyone interested in the historical roots of organic farming as told through a biographical narrative.--Gary Medina, El Camino Coll., Torrance, CA

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Starred review from March 1, 2020
Louis Bromfield was a literary star while living in France during the 1920s, where he was close friends with Fitzgerald, Stein, and Wharton; Hemingway, unsurprisingly, was not impressed. A Pulitzer Prize-winner, Bromfield wrote 30 books, and all were best-sellers, yet he has been criminally overlooked since his death in 1956. Heyman now captures all of the flair and drama of Bromfield's productive life, which included a successful stint in Hollywood and a deep commitment to gardening that blossomed into a passion for conservation and ecology. In this delightful and exhilarating page-turner, which takes readers from Bromfield's native ground in Ohio to Paris and back again, Heyman does an impressive job of combining all of Bromfield's interests into a cohesive narrative that captivates as both intriguing history and a significant look at early environmentalism. Bromfield is finally the subject of a bit of a renaissance. His Ohio farm (where his friends Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall married with Bromfield serving as best man) is a state park, and he is now rightfully regarded as a visionary on sustainability. Heyman's biography has huge crossover appeal and it is a sure-bet for book groups.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)