Easton Press Pearl S. Buck books
Franklin Library Pearl S. Buck books
Pearl S. Buck biography
In 1949, outraged that existing adoption services considered Asian and mixed-race children unadoptable, Pearl established Welcome House, Inc., the first international, interracial adoption agency. In nearly five decades of work, Welcome House has placed over five thousand children. In 1964, to support children who were not eligible for adoption, Buck established the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to "address poverty and discrimination faced by children in Asian countries." In 1965, she opened the Opportunity Center and Orphanage in South Korea, and later offices were opened in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. When establishing Opportunity House, Buck said, "The purpose...is to publicize and eliminate injustices and prejudices suffered by children, who, because of their birth, are not permitted to enjoy the educational, social, economic and civil privileges normally accorded to children."
In the late 1960s, Pearl toured West Virginia to raise money to preserve her family farm in Hillsboro, WV. Today The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace is a historic house museum and cultural center. She hoped the house would "belong to everyone who cares to go there," and serve as a "gateway to new thoughts and dreams and ways of life."
Pearl was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia to Caroline Stulting (1857-1921) and Absalom Sydenstricker. Her parents, Southern Presbyterian missionaries, traveled to China soon after their marriage on July 8, 1880, but returned to the United States for Pearl's birth. When Pearl was three months old, the family returned to China, to be stationed first in T'sinkiang-p'u and then in Zhenjiang. Pearl grew up bilingual, tutored in English by her mother and in classical Chinese by Mr. Kung.
The Boxer Uprising greatly affected Pearl and her family. Pearl's Chinese friends deserted her and her family, and there were not as many Western visitors as there once were.
In 1911, Pearl left China to attend Randolph-Macon Woman's College, graduating (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1914. From 1914 to 1933, she served as a Presbyterian missionary, but her views later became highly controversial in the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy, leading to her resignation.[citation needed]
In 1914, Pearl returned to China. She married an agricultural economist missionary, John Lossing Buck, on May 13, 1917, and they moved to Suzhou, Anhui Province, a small town on the Huai River (There are two cities in China with the English name 'Suzhou', one in Anhui and one in Jiangsu Province. The one where the Bucks lived was in Anhui). It is this region she described later in The Good Earth and Sons.
From 1920 to 1933, Pearl and John made their home in Nanking (Nanjing), on the campus of Nanjing University, where both had teaching positions. Pearl taught English literature at both the University of Nanjing and the Chinese National University. In 1920, the Bucks had a daughter, Carol, afflicted with phenylketonuria. In 1921, Pearl's mother died, and shortly afterward her father moved in. In 1924, they left China for John's year of sabbatical and returned to the United States for a short time, during which Pearl earned her Masters degree from Cornell University. In 1925, the Bucks adopted Janice (later surnamed Walsh). That fall, they returned to China.
The tragedies and dislocations which Pearl suffered in the 1920s reached a climax in March 1927, during "Nanking Incident." In a confused battle involving elements of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops, Communist forces, and assorted warlords, several Westerners were murdered. Since Absalom was a missionary, the family decided to stay in Nanjing until the battle reached the city. When violence broke out, a poor Chinese family allowed them to hide in their hut while the family house was looted. The family spent a terrified day in hiding, after which they were rescued by American gunboats. They traveled to Shanghai and then sailed to Japan, where they spent the following year. They later moved back to Nanjing, though conditions remained dangerously unsettled.
In 1935, the Bucks were divorced. Richard Walsh, president of the John Day Company and her publisher, became Pearl Buck's second husband. The couple lived in Pennsylvania.
Pearl S. Buck died of lung cancer on March 6, 1973 in Danby, Vermont, and was interred in Green Hills Farm in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. She designed her own tombstone, which does not record her name in English; instead, the grave marker is inscribed with Chinese characters representing the name Pearl Sydenstricker.
Pearl S. Buck books in order
East Wind:West Wind (1930)
The Good Earth (1931)
Sons (1933)
All Men Are Brothers (1933)
A House Divided (1935)
The House of Earth (1935)
The Mother (1933)
This Proud Heart (1938)
The Patriot (1939)
Other Gods (1940)
China Sky (1941)
China Gold: A Novel of War-torn China (1942)
Dragon Seed (1942)
The Promise (1943)
China Flight (1943)
The Townsman (1945 - as John Sedges)
Portrait of a Marriage (1945)
Pavilion of Women (1946)
The Angry Wife (1947 - as John Sedges)
Peony (1948)
The Big Wave (1948)
A Long Love (1949 - as John Sedges)
Kinfolk (1950)
God's Men (1951)
Sylvia (1951)
Bright Procession (1952 – as John Sedges)
The Hidden Flower (1952)
Come, My Beloved (1953)
Voices in the House (1953 - as John Sedges)
Imperial Woman (1956)
Letter from Peking (1957)
Command the Morning (1959)
Satan Never Sleeps (1962)
The Living Reed (1963)
Death in the Castle (1965)
The Time Is Noon (1966)
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (1967)
The New Year (1968)
The Three Daughters of Madame Liang (1969)
Mandala (1970)
The Goddess Abides (1972)
All Under Heaven (1973)
The Rainbow (1974)
The Eternal Wonder (2013)
Short Stories
Unknown title (1902 – first published story, pen name "Novice")
The Real Santa Claus (1911)
Village by the Sea (1911)
By the Hand of a Child (1912)
The Hours of Worship (1914)
When 'Lof' Comes (1914)
The Clutch of the Ancients (1924)
The Rainy Day (c. 1925)
A Chinese Woman Speaks (1926)
Lao Wang, the Farmer (1926)
The Solitary Priest (1926)
The Revolutionist (1928)
The Wandering Little God (1928)
Father Andrea (1929)
The New Road (1930)
Singing to her Death (1930)
The Barren Spring (1931)
The Old Chinese Nurse (1932)
The Quarrel (1932)
The First Wife and Other Stories (1933)
The Communist (1933)
Fathers and Mothers (1933)
The Frill (1933)
Hidden is the Golden Dragon (1933)
The Lesson (1933)
The Old Mother (1933)
The Refugees (1933)
Repatriated (1933)
The Return (1933)
The River (1933)
The Two Women (1933)
The Beautiful Ladies (1934)
Fool's Sacrifice (1934)
Shanghai Scene (1934)
Wedding and Funeral (1934)
Between These Two (1935)
The Dance (1935)
Enough for a Lifetime (1935)
Hearts Come Home (1935)
Heat Wave (1935)
His Own Country (1935)
The Perfect Wife (1935)
Vignette of Love (1935)
The Crusade (1936)
Strangers Are Kind (1936)
The Truce (1936)
What the Heart Must (1937)
The Angel (1937)
Faithfully (1937)
Ko-Sen, the Sacrificed (1937)
Now and Forever (1937)
The Woman Who Was Changed (1937)
The Good Rich Man (1937 Unpublished)
The Sheriff (1937 Unpublished)
The Pearls of O-lan – from The Good Earth (1938)
Ransom (1938)
Tiger! Tiger! (1938)
Wonderful Woman (1938)
High and Mighty (1938 Unpublished)
Mrs. Witler's Husband (1938 Unpublished)
Mother and Daughter (1938 Unpublished)
For a Thing Done (1939)
The Old Demon (1939)
The Face of Gold (1940)
Golden Flower (1940)
Iron (1940)
The Old Signs Fail (1940)
Stay as You Are (1940)
There Was No Peace (1940)
Mother without Child (1940 Unpublished)
Answer to Life (novella; 1941)
More Than a Woman (1941)
Our Daily Bread (1941)
Today and Forever: Stories of China (1941)
The Enemy (1942)
John-John Chinaman (1942)
Twenty-Seven Stories (1943)
The Long Way 'Round (1942)
Mrs. Barclay's Christmas Present (1942)
Descent into China (1944)
Journey for Life (1944)
The Real Thing (1944)
Hill (1938)
Begin to Live (1945)
Mother and Sons (1945)
A Time to Love (1945)
Big Tooth Yang (1946)
The Conqueror's Girl (1946)
Faithfully Yours (1947)
Home to Heaven (1947)
Incident at Wang's Corner (1947)
Mr. Right (1947)
Mrs. Mercer and Her Self (1947)
The One Woman (1947)
Virgin Birth (1947)
Francesca (1948)
Far and Near: Stories of Japan, China, and America (1949)
The Ember (1949)
The Tryst (1950)
Love and the Morning Calm (1951)
The Man Called Dead" (1952)
Death and the Spring (1953)
Moon over Manhattan (1953)
The Three Daughters (1953)
The Unwritten Rules (1953)
The Couple Who Lived on the Moon (1953)
A Husband for Lili (1953)
Instead of Diamonds (1953 Unpublished)
The Heart's Beginning (1954)
The Shield of Love (1954)
Christmas Day in the Morning (1955)
Death and the Dawn (1956)
Mariko (1956)
A Certain Star (1957)
Honeymoon Blues (1957)
Christmas Miniature (1957)
China Story (1958)
Leading Lady (1958)
The Secret" (1958)
With a Delicate Air (1959)
The Bomb (Dr. Arthur Compton) (1959)
Heart of a Man (1959)
Melissa (1960)
The Silver Butterfly (1960)
Christmas Ghost (1960)
Fourteen Stories (1961)
The Beauty (1961)
Beyond Language (1961)
The Commander and the Commissar (1961)
Enchantment (1961)
Parable of Plain People (1961)
Hearts Come Home and Other Stories (1962)
A Field of Rice (1962)
A Grandmother's Christmas (1962)
Never Trust the Moonlight (1962)
The Cockfight (1963)
A Court of Love (1963)
Escape at Midnight (1963)
The Lighted Window (1963)
Night Nurse (1963)
The Sacred Skull (1963)
The Trap (1963)
Stories of China (1964)
Escape at Midnight and Other Stories (1964)
India, My India (1964)
Ranjit and the Tiger (1964)
A Certain Wisdom (1967)
Stranger Come Home (1967)
The House They Built (1968)
The Orphan in My Home (1968)
Secrets of the Heart (1968)
The Good Deed and Other Stories of Asia, Past and Present (1969)
All the Days of Love and Courage (1969)
Dagger in the Dark (1969)
Duet in Asia (1969; written 1953
The Good Deed (1969)
Going Home (1969)
Letter Home (1969; written 1943)
Sunrise at Juhu (1969)
Two in Love (1970)
The Gifts of Joy (1971)
Once upon a Christmas (1971)
The Christmas Secret (1972)
Christmas Story (1972)
In Loving Memory (1972)
The New Christmas (1972)
The Miracle Child (1973)
Mrs. Barton Declines (1973)
East and West Stories (1975)
Darling Let Me Stay (1975)
Dream Child (1975)
The Golden Bowl (1975; written 1942)
Letter from India (1975)
To Whom a Child is Born (1975)
Secrets of the Heart: Stories (1976)
Alive again (1976)
Come Home My Son (1976)
Here and Now (1976)
Morning in the Park (1976)
Search for a Star (1976)
To Thine Own Self (1976)
The Woman in the Waves (1976)
The Lovers and Other Stories (1977)
The Kiss (1977)
The Lovers (1977)
Miranda (1977)
Mrs. Stoner and the Sea and Other Stories (1978)
The Woman Who Was Changed and Other Stories (1979)
The Castle (1979)
A Pleasant Evening (1979)
The Assignation (unpublished)
The Big Dance (unpublished)
The Bleeding Heart (unpublished)
The Bullfrog (unpublished)
The Day at Dawn (unpublished)
The Director
Heart of the Jungle (unpublished)
Images (unpublished)
Lesson in Biology / Useless Wife (unpublished)
Morning in Okinawa (unpublished)
Mrs. Jones of Jerrell Street (unpublished)
One of Our People (unpublished)
Summer Fruit (unpublished)
Three Nights with Love (unpublished)
Too Many Flowers (unpublished)
Wang the Ancient (unpublished)
Wang the White Boy (unpublished)
Short story collections
The First Wife and Other Stories (1933) – includes: "The First Wife", "The Old Mother", "The Frill", "The Quarrell", "Repatriated", "The Rainy Day", "Wang Lung", "The Communist", "Father Andrea", "The New Road", "Barren Spring", *"The Refugees", "Fathers and Mothers", "The Good River"
Today and Forever: Stories of China (1941) – includes: "The Lesson", The Angel", "Mr. Binney's Afternoon", "The Dance", "Shanghai Scene", "Hearts Come Home", "His Own Country", "Tiger! Tiger!", "Golden flower", "The Face of Buddha", "Guerrilla Mother", "A Man's Foes", "The Old Demon"
Twenty-seven Stories (1943) – includes (from The First Wife and Other Stories): "The First Wife", "The Old Mother", "The Frill", "The Quarrell", "Repatriated", "The Rainy Day", Wang Lung", "The Communist", "Father Andrea", "The New Road", "Barren Spring", *"The Refugees", "Fathers and Mothers", "The Good River"; and (from Today and Forever: Stories of China): "The Lesson", The Angel", "Mr. Binney's Afternoon", "The Dance", "Shanghai Scene", "Hearts Come Home", "His Own Country", "Tiger! Tiger!", "Golden flower", "The Face of Buddha", "Guerrilla Mother", "A Man's Foes", "The Old Demon"
Far and Near: Stories of Japan, China, and America (1947) – includes: "The Enemy", "Home Girl", "Mr. Right", "The Tax Collector", "A Few People", "Home to Heaven", "Enough for a Lifetime", "Mother and Sons", "Mrs. Mercer and Her Self", "The Perfect Wife", "Virgin birth", "The Truce", "Heat Wave", "The One Woman"
Fourteen Stories (1961) – includes: "A Certain Star," "The Beauty", "Enchantment", "With a Delicate Air", "Beyond Language", "Parable of Plain People", "The Commander and the Commissar", "Begin to Live", "The Engagement", "Melissa", "Gift of Laughter", "Death and the Dawn", "The Silver Butterfly", "Francesca"
Hearts Come Home and Other Stories (1962)
Stories of China (1964)
Escape at Midnight and Other Stories (1964)
The Good Deed, and other Stories of Asia, Past and Present (1970)
East and West Stories (1975)
Secrets of the Heart: Stories (1976)
The Lovers and Other Stories (1977)
Mrs. Stoner and the Sea and Other Stories (1978)
The Woman Who Was Changed and Other Stories (1979)
Beauty Shop Series: "Revenge in a Beauty Shop" (1939) – original title "The Perfect Hairdresser"
Beauty Shop Series: "Gold Mine" (1940)
Beauty Shop Series: "Mrs. Whittaker's Secret"/"The Blonde Brunette" (1940)
Beauty Shop Series: "Procession of Song" (1940)
Beauty Shop Series: "Snake at the Picnic" (1940) – published as "Seed of Sin" (1941)
Beauty Shop Series: "Seed of Sin" (1941) – published as "Snake at the Picnic (1940)
Non-fiction
Is There a Case for Foreign Missions? (1932)
The Chinese Novel: Nobel Lecture Delivered before the Swedish Academy at Stockholm, December 12, 1938 (1939)
Of Men and Women (1941)
American Unity and Asia (1942)
What America Means to Me (1943)
Talk about Russia (with Masha Scott - 1945)
Tell the People: Talks with James Yen about the Mass Education Movement (1945)
How It Happens: Talk about the German People, 1914-1933, with Erna Pustau (1947)
American Argument with Eslanda Goode Robeson (1949)
The Child Who Never Grew (1950)
The Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen (1953)
My Several Worlds (1954)
Friend to Friend: A Candid Exchange between Pearl S. Buck and Carlos P. Romulo (1958)
For Spacious Skies (1966)
The People of Japan (1966)
To My Daughters, with Love (1967)
The Kennedy Women (1970)
China as I See It (1970)
The Story Bible (1971)
Pearl S. Buck's Oriental Cookbook (1972)
Words of Love (1974)
Biographies
The Exile (1936)
Fighting Angel (1936)
Autobiographies
My Several Worlds (1954)
A Bridge For Passing (1962)
Source and additional information: Pearl S. Buck