“A grand, sweeping panorama . . . richly written, finely detailed . . . vivid and memorable.”— Daily News (New York) Yearning for a better life, Anna Friedman fled Poland for New York at the turn of the century. Finding work as a maid for the Werner family, Anna discovers an elegance beyond her dreams—and the passion of Paul Werner, a man beyond her reach, even when she is in his arms. But it is Joseph Friedman whom she marries. And through an act of illicit passion that will haunt her though all her days, Anna lifts Joseph from poverty to a wealth on which the Friedman dynasty would be based for generations. Sweeping from Jazz Age New York to Nazi Germany to a sun-baked Israeli kibbutz, Evergreen has become a modern American classic—an epic novel that spans three generations of an unforgettable family—and exposes the heart of an extraordinary woman: her marriage, her children, her deceit. “A magnificent story . . . this beautifully written book will be treasured and reread for many years to come.”— Library Journal “A magnificent story . . . this beautifully written book will be treasured and reread for many years to come.” — Library Journal “A grand, sweeping panorama . . . richly written, finely detailed . . . vivid and memorable.” — Daily News The towering modern classic of passion and ambition that forever changed the way we see the courageous immigrants who came to America's shores -- the story of Anna Friedman transfixes us with the turbulent emotions of a woman and her family touched by war, tragedy, and the devastating secrets of one forbidden love... bittersweet and evergreen. "A magnificent story...this beautifully written book will be treasured and reread for many years to come." -- Library Journal . "A grand, sweeping panorama...richly written, finely detailed...vivid and memorable." -- Daily News . modern classic of passion and ambition that forever changed the way we see the courageous immigrants who came to America's shores -- the story of Anna Friedman transfixes us with the turbulent emotions of a woman and her family touched by war, tragedy, and the devastating secrets of one forbidden love... bittersweet and evergreen. The towering modern classic of passion and ambition that forever changed the way we see the courageous immigrants who came to America's shores -- the story of Anna Friedman transfixes us with the turbulent emotions of a woman and her family touched by war, tragedy, and the devastating secrets of one forbidden love... bittersweet and evergreen. Belva Plain  is the  New York Times  bestselling author of  Evergreen, Random Winds, Eden Burning, Crescent City, The Golden Cup, Tapestry, Blessings, Harvest, Treasures, Whispers, Daybreak, The Carousel, Promises, Secrecy, Homecoming, Legacy of Silence, Fortune’s Hand, After the Fire, Looking Back, Her Father’s House, The Sight of the Stars, Crossroads,  and  Heartwood . A Barnard College graduate who majored in history, Belva Plain lived in Millburn, New Jersey, where she and her husband raised three children. She died in 2010. 1       In the beginning there was a warm room with a table, a black iron stove and old red-flowered wallpaper. The child lay on a cot feeling the good heat while the mother moved peacefully from the table to the stove. When the mother sang her small voice quavered over the lulling nonsense-words; the song was meant to be gay but the child felt sadness in it.   “Don’t sing,” she commanded and the mother stopped. She was amused.   “Imagine,” she told her husband, “Anna doesn’t like my voice! She made me stop singing today!”   The father laughed and picked Anna up. He had a sandy beard and dim blue eyes. He was slow and tender, especially when he touched the mother; the child was comforted when he put his arms around the mother.   “Kiss Mama!” she said.   They laughed again and the child understood that they were laughing at her and that they loved her.   For a long time the days and the years were all the same. In the house the mother moved between the stove and the table. The father hammered boots and cut leather for harness in his front-room shop. On the big bed in the room back of the kitchen the mother brought new babies to birth; one year there were twin boys, red-haired like Anna and Papa.   On Friday nights there was a linen cloth on the table; there was sugar in the tea, and white bread. Papa brought beggars home from the synagogue; the beggars were dirty and had a nasty smell. They were given the best food in the house, the plum jam and the breast of chicken. The room was shadowed; the white light of the candles burned through Mama’s hands as they moved in blessing and flickered on the pearls in her ears. There was a lovely and lofty mystery in her words and on her face.   It seemed to the child that the world had always been and would always be like this. She could not imagine any other way for people to live. The road through the village was dusty in the summe