Green Bay Tree: A Novel

Green Bay Tree: A Novel by Louis Bromfield. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781888683646.

Bromfield creates a sophisticated and complex account of a family and its position in society. John Shane, a mysterious gentleman appears in a midwestern town and builds his estate--Cypress Hill--beyond the penetrating eyes of the townspeople who refer to it as Shanes Castle. After his death, his widow Julia, and daughters Lily and Irene, make no effort to quell the speculation of their neighbors. Steel mills eventually surround Shanes Castle and its inhabitants, serving only to enhance the appearance of the Shane clans separateness. With his keen storytelling, Bromfield carefully unfolds the stories of a community of people and the Shane women with whom they are fascinated, preoccupied, and even obsessed.