Book Review
The Title: Pleasant Valley
The Author: Louis Bromfield
The Publisher: Pocket Books Inc, New York, N.Y.
The Year of the Publication: 1954
The ammount of the pages: 336
________________________________________________________
SOIL CONSERVATION IN PLEASANT VALLEY
In his book entitled "Pleasant Valley", Louis Bromfield talks about soil: he exposes its great importance, its effect of the destruction to human's life, agriculture, stock breeding and soil conservation.
The condition of the soil and the farming in America in 1930s when American people were not aware of the nature of the land, had brought Louis to write the book. At that time many American farmers had destructed the soil: they mined greedily, made bad farming so that the earth could not provide great production as it did before. The fertility of the earth decreased and it influenced the national economy and health and security of American people. He saw that he never let the condition go on.
At the beginning of the book he tells the readers his return to his county Pleasant Valley after staying in France for more than thirty years. He describes his homesickness, great love and his pride of his come country.
In the next chapters he describes some places and stories and legends which happed there, that he uses many flash-back descriptions in the stories: John Ferguson, Johnny Applessed, Aunt Mattie, Ceely Rose, Anson and many others.
He also tells his imagination, plan, intention to restore the earth which at the end it really succeeded. In the book he also does not forget describing his great love for his animals: it takes a chapter which consists of 33 pages.
The readers get many things out of the book: the storiest give pleasure and enjoyment, whereas the message makes people aware of the destruction of the soil. Besides, of course the readers will get broader knowledge on agriculture and the nature of the earth.
The book which was read and loved by more than 100,000 reader and had been a national best seller, is, necessary to read. The subject and the message contained is likely never out of date, for environment has been a focus of attention nowadays and of course it will, in the future.
It is necessary to translate the book into other languages, including Indonesian, with an intention that the soil conservation will be understood by more people in the world and lasts forever.
--
I. CHARACTERS :
Louis Bromfield, a land lover
Mary, his wife
Dr. Goebbels, his friend in Munich
Louis Gillet, his friend in France
George, his friend
John Ferguson, a farmer
Alexander Rose, a miller
Cecilia or " Ceely " Rose, Alexander's daughter
Cecilia's mother and her two brothers
Johnny Appleseed, a frontier saint about whom had collected volumes of folklore and legend
Aunt Mattie, Louis Bromfield's great-aunt, a story teller
Clem Anson, a farmer, landholder, landlover
Mr Charles, an old man, the storyteller of "Ceely" Rose story
Vilma Smith, Ceely's friend
Euphemy Ferguson, a child of John Ferguson
Three highwaymen
Mrs Hanby, The wife of one of the highway men
The sheriffs
Louis Bromfield's mother
Charley Bromfield, Louis's father
Louis Bromfield's grandfather
Max Drake, Louis Bromfield's partnerin making plan of the land rehabilitation
Louis Lamoreux, an architect
IT Frary, a friend of the architect, the Cleveland Museum man, the adviser in building the Big House
Schlitter, a cabinet makerThree Bauer brothers, the carpenters
Phoebe Wise, Louis Bromfield's relative, a remarkable woman
Pete, Kenneth, Wayne, youths, members of 4-H club
Hecker, a young Soil Conservation Service man
Ollie Diller, the Wooster Experiment Station man
Dr. Hugh Bennet, the Soil Conservation Service man
Smith, a farmer
Exra Manson, a settler in the Valley with a wife and ten children
Walter Oakes, Louis Bromfield's friend, an old man, the owner of "My Ninety Acres"
Nellie Oakes, Walter's wife
John, the Oakes's son
Robert, the Oakes's son, John's younger brother, the president of the Consolidated Metals Corporation
Mrs Ince, Walter's servant
Jed Hulbert, Walter's friend
Sir Albert Howard, the author of "An Agricultural Testament"
Ed H Faulkner, the author of "Plowman's Folly"
Ollie Fink, charge of conservation education in Ohio
Paul Sears, head if the Botany Department at Oberlin College
Savois Lottenville, the active manager of the Oklahoma University Press
Rex, Louis Bromfield's boxer
Dash, a Scotty
Picquet, a gardener
Marquise, Picquet's dog
Monsieur Bigue, a town jeweller
Made Bigue, the jeweler's wife
FRou - frou, a wretched little female pocket sized dog
Rickky, Louis Bromfield's mongoose
Mrs Lehman, an animal-lover
Charlotte Erikson, Louis Bromfield's friend
Audrey, Mito's wife
Harry, English bulldog
Regina, Rex's wife
Prince, Baby, Smoky, the children of Regina and Rex
Charley Martin, a gardener
Folly, a dog, a newcomer
Patsy and Dusky, female cockers
Tex, a mare
Tony, Hope's big pony
Hope and Ellen, Louis Bromfield's friends
Red, a twenty-six-year old horse
Kate Tobias, Louis Bromfield's old friend and schoolmate, a grocery-store keeper
Donald, a duck
Gilbert, a tom turkey
Blondy, a bull
Bosquet, Louis Bromfield's intimate friend, a machine-tool worker
Joe Smeeth, an American worker
Bill Widsor, the fish and game manager of the Conservancy
Jim, an engineer, a veteran of the last war, a wood, animal, people lover
Hays, the catere of the big Westinghouse plant at Mansfield
the members of the Friends of the land
Pete, a dairyman
Dr Borst, a scientist
II. SETTING
1. Place: a. Pleasant Valley, Malabar, Anson Place, Ferguson Place, Flemming Place, Colombus.
b. France: Senlis.
2. Time : 1939 till 1940s
III. PLOT
Chapter I. Return of the Native
- Louis Bromfield together with his wife, Mary, and George returned to Pleasant Valley, his
home county, after leaving it for more than thirty years, staying in France.
Chapter II. Up Ferguson Way
( flash back )
- John Ferguson came into the Valley and became the owner of 640 acres of virgin land.
- The land divided, redivided, reunited and divided again by inheritance, by sale, by trading.
- The land was sold off to the two millers, Rose and Talbot.
- The land was brought in a single piece.
- Louis bought the land.
Chapter III. Johnny Appleseed and Aunt Mattie
- Louis Bromfield talks about his great -aunt named Mattie who was a storyteller and
Johnny Appleseed who loved human being and all Nature.
Chapter IV. The Anson Place
Louis Bromfield tells about the Anson Place
- Clem Anson had been born and lived there.
-Clem Anson had five daughters, loved his land and was proud of being a good farmer and
a landholder.
The story of Ceely Rose :
- Ceely fell in love with Hugh
- The young peoplelaughed at him over Ceely's passion.
-Hugh evaded her.
- Ceely concluded, out of Hugh's remark, that the obstacle of her love was her parents and
brothers.
-Ceely poisoned her parents and brothers.
-Vilma Smith told a story to Ceely that Vilma had poisoned her family and then asked
Ceely what about her. (In fact the story was not true. It was made to make Ceely
confess what she had done)
-Ceely confessed that she had poised her family too.
-Ceely was arrested.
The story of three highway men
-Three highway men terrified Pleasant Valley
-The sheriffs organized posses which patrolled the roads at night, but they never found the
bandits or any trace of them.
-The legend grew that someone in the posse was in league with them or that the highway
men on their off nights rode with the posse.
-Mrs Hanby appeared at the office of the sheriff of Richland County that her husband was
one of the highway men.
-It was then found that the other two bandits were the sheriff of Ashland County who led
the posse and his brother.
Chapter V. The Flemming Place
- The fertility of the Flemming Place had slipped down and down under the greed and ignorance of the men who worked its gently rolling fields.
-Louis Bromfield wanted to be a pioneer who restored the richness of the country.
Chapter VI. The Plan
-Louis Bromfield planned to stop destruction and remodel big old barns with Max Drake
Chapter VII.The Big House
-Louis built the Big House with the help of an architect, carpenters etc.
Chapter VIII. On Being "Teched"
(flash-back)
- Louis Bromfield had gone with his father electioneering and they stopped at Phoebe's house.
-Louis Bromfield heard Phoebe saying "Cousin Charley, that boy is teched too"
- Many years after, he understood the meaning "teched" that was "loves his land, animals, trees and understands them all"
Chapter IX. Some Big Ideas
-Louis Bromfield together with youth rehabilited the old farms.
Chapter X. My Ninety Acres
- Louis Bromfield visited Walter Oakes
reviewed by neny mariani suhardiyah
The Title: Pleasant Valley
The Author: Louis Bromfield
The Publisher: Pocket Books Inc, New York, N.Y.
The Year of the Publication: 1954
The ammount of the pages: 336
________________________________________________________
SOIL CONSERVATION IN PLEASANT VALLEY
In his book entitled "Pleasant Valley", Louis Bromfield talks about soil: he exposes its great importance, its effect of the destruction to human's life, agriculture, stock breeding and soil conservation.
The condition of the soil and the farming in America in 1930s when American people were not aware of the nature of the land, had brought Louis to write the book. At that time many American farmers had destructed the soil: they mined greedily, made bad farming so that the earth could not provide great production as it did before. The fertility of the earth decreased and it influenced the national economy and health and security of American people. He saw that he never let the condition go on.
At the beginning of the book he tells the readers his return to his county Pleasant Valley after staying in France for more than thirty years. He describes his homesickness, great love and his pride of his come country.
In the next chapters he describes some places and stories and legends which happed there, that he uses many flash-back descriptions in the stories: John Ferguson, Johnny Applessed, Aunt Mattie, Ceely Rose, Anson and many others.
He also tells his imagination, plan, intention to restore the earth which at the end it really succeeded. In the book he also does not forget describing his great love for his animals: it takes a chapter which consists of 33 pages.
The readers get many things out of the book: the storiest give pleasure and enjoyment, whereas the message makes people aware of the destruction of the soil. Besides, of course the readers will get broader knowledge on agriculture and the nature of the earth.
The book which was read and loved by more than 100,000 reader and had been a national best seller, is, necessary to read. The subject and the message contained is likely never out of date, for environment has been a focus of attention nowadays and of course it will, in the future.
It is necessary to translate the book into other languages, including Indonesian, with an intention that the soil conservation will be understood by more people in the world and lasts forever.
--
I. CHARACTERS :
Louis Bromfield, a land lover
Mary, his wife
Dr. Goebbels, his friend in Munich
Louis Gillet, his friend in France
George, his friend
John Ferguson, a farmer
Alexander Rose, a miller
Cecilia or " Ceely " Rose, Alexander's daughter
Cecilia's mother and her two brothers
Johnny Appleseed, a frontier saint about whom had collected volumes of folklore and legend
Aunt Mattie, Louis Bromfield's great-aunt, a story teller
Clem Anson, a farmer, landholder, landlover
Mr Charles, an old man, the storyteller of "Ceely" Rose story
Vilma Smith, Ceely's friend
Euphemy Ferguson, a child of John Ferguson
Three highwaymen
Mrs Hanby, The wife of one of the highway men
The sheriffs
Louis Bromfield's mother
Charley Bromfield, Louis's father
Louis Bromfield's grandfather
Max Drake, Louis Bromfield's partnerin making plan of the land rehabilitation
Louis Lamoreux, an architect
IT Frary, a friend of the architect, the Cleveland Museum man, the adviser in building the Big House
Schlitter, a cabinet makerThree Bauer brothers, the carpenters
Phoebe Wise, Louis Bromfield's relative, a remarkable woman
Pete, Kenneth, Wayne, youths, members of 4-H club
Hecker, a young Soil Conservation Service man
Ollie Diller, the Wooster Experiment Station man
Dr. Hugh Bennet, the Soil Conservation Service man
Smith, a farmer
Exra Manson, a settler in the Valley with a wife and ten children
Walter Oakes, Louis Bromfield's friend, an old man, the owner of "My Ninety Acres"
Nellie Oakes, Walter's wife
John, the Oakes's son
Robert, the Oakes's son, John's younger brother, the president of the Consolidated Metals Corporation
Mrs Ince, Walter's servant
Jed Hulbert, Walter's friend
Sir Albert Howard, the author of "An Agricultural Testament"
Ed H Faulkner, the author of "Plowman's Folly"
Ollie Fink, charge of conservation education in Ohio
Paul Sears, head if the Botany Department at Oberlin College
Savois Lottenville, the active manager of the Oklahoma University Press
Rex, Louis Bromfield's boxer
Dash, a Scotty
Picquet, a gardener
Marquise, Picquet's dog
Monsieur Bigue, a town jeweller
Made Bigue, the jeweler's wife
FRou - frou, a wretched little female pocket sized dog
Rickky, Louis Bromfield's mongoose
Mrs Lehman, an animal-lover
Charlotte Erikson, Louis Bromfield's friend
Audrey, Mito's wife
Harry, English bulldog
Regina, Rex's wife
Prince, Baby, Smoky, the children of Regina and Rex
Charley Martin, a gardener
Folly, a dog, a newcomer
Patsy and Dusky, female cockers
Tex, a mare
Tony, Hope's big pony
Hope and Ellen, Louis Bromfield's friends
Red, a twenty-six-year old horse
Kate Tobias, Louis Bromfield's old friend and schoolmate, a grocery-store keeper
Donald, a duck
Gilbert, a tom turkey
Blondy, a bull
Bosquet, Louis Bromfield's intimate friend, a machine-tool worker
Joe Smeeth, an American worker
Bill Widsor, the fish and game manager of the Conservancy
Jim, an engineer, a veteran of the last war, a wood, animal, people lover
Hays, the catere of the big Westinghouse plant at Mansfield
the members of the Friends of the land
Pete, a dairyman
Dr Borst, a scientist
II. SETTING
1. Place: a. Pleasant Valley, Malabar, Anson Place, Ferguson Place, Flemming Place, Colombus.
b. France: Senlis.
2. Time : 1939 till 1940s
III. PLOT
Chapter I. Return of the Native
- Louis Bromfield together with his wife, Mary, and George returned to Pleasant Valley, his
home county, after leaving it for more than thirty years, staying in France.
Chapter II. Up Ferguson Way
( flash back )
- John Ferguson came into the Valley and became the owner of 640 acres of virgin land.
- The land divided, redivided, reunited and divided again by inheritance, by sale, by trading.
- The land was sold off to the two millers, Rose and Talbot.
- The land was brought in a single piece.
- Louis bought the land.
Chapter III. Johnny Appleseed and Aunt Mattie
- Louis Bromfield talks about his great -aunt named Mattie who was a storyteller and
Johnny Appleseed who loved human being and all Nature.
Chapter IV. The Anson Place
Louis Bromfield tells about the Anson Place
- Clem Anson had been born and lived there.
-Clem Anson had five daughters, loved his land and was proud of being a good farmer and
a landholder.
The story of Ceely Rose :
- Ceely fell in love with Hugh
- The young peoplelaughed at him over Ceely's passion.
-Hugh evaded her.
- Ceely concluded, out of Hugh's remark, that the obstacle of her love was her parents and
brothers.
-Ceely poisoned her parents and brothers.
-Vilma Smith told a story to Ceely that Vilma had poisoned her family and then asked
Ceely what about her. (In fact the story was not true. It was made to make Ceely
confess what she had done)
-Ceely confessed that she had poised her family too.
-Ceely was arrested.
The story of three highway men
-Three highway men terrified Pleasant Valley
-The sheriffs organized posses which patrolled the roads at night, but they never found the
bandits or any trace of them.
-The legend grew that someone in the posse was in league with them or that the highway
men on their off nights rode with the posse.
-Mrs Hanby appeared at the office of the sheriff of Richland County that her husband was
one of the highway men.
-It was then found that the other two bandits were the sheriff of Ashland County who led
the posse and his brother.
Chapter V. The Flemming Place
- The fertility of the Flemming Place had slipped down and down under the greed and ignorance of the men who worked its gently rolling fields.
-Louis Bromfield wanted to be a pioneer who restored the richness of the country.
Chapter VI. The Plan
-Louis Bromfield planned to stop destruction and remodel big old barns with Max Drake
Chapter VII.The Big House
-Louis built the Big House with the help of an architect, carpenters etc.
Chapter VIII. On Being "Teched"
(flash-back)
- Louis Bromfield had gone with his father electioneering and they stopped at Phoebe's house.
-Louis Bromfield heard Phoebe saying "Cousin Charley, that boy is teched too"
- Many years after, he understood the meaning "teched" that was "loves his land, animals, trees and understands them all"
Chapter IX. Some Big Ideas
-Louis Bromfield together with youth rehabilited the old farms.
Chapter X. My Ninety Acres
- Louis Bromfield visited Walter Oakes
reviewed by neny mariani suhardiyah
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