Pleasant Valley

Bromfield’s personal account of life and environmental practice at his Malabar Farm

Both memoir and environmental commentary, this unique and classic work by Louis Bromfield engages and educates us as he demonstrates the importance of sustainable agriculture practices—not only for restoring the land but for restoring the home of the people who live there.

Louis Bromfield (1896–1956), a Pulitzer Prize–winning author from Mansfield, Ohio, studied agriculture at Cornell University before transferring to Columbia University to study journalism. As a member of the American Field Service covering World War I in Senlis, France, he lived in Europe and Asia for 14 years and wrote often; however, it wasn’t until moving back to Ohio that Bromfield’s literary career began to thrive. In 1927, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Early Autumn. In 1939, Bromfield purchased Malabar Farm, located near his hometown, which was his inspiration for writing Pleasant Valley, Malabar Farm, Out of the Earth, and From My Experience. The farm became an Ohio state park in 1976 and continues to promote sustainable agriculture and the importance of soil conversation.