Is A Tree Grows In Brooklyn In The Public Domain?

I get asked this all the time when we talk books in my circle: is 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' public domain? Plainly put, no — not in the U.S. yet. Because it was published in 1943, U.S. copyright lasts 95 years from publication for works of that era, so it becomes public domain on January 1, 2039. Titles aren't protected on their own, so you can mention the title freely, but the text and the specific characters and expressions remain under copyright.

If you're outside the U.S., the rules can differ: many countries use life-plus-70 rules (Betty Smith died in 1972), so those places may treat the work differently and it might not be public domain there until later. For any reuse beyond short quotations, check the Copyright Office or contact the rights holder, and consider fair use only for brief excerpts like reviews or scholarly commentary. If you just want to read or quote a line in a blog post, cite it and keep it short — and if you want to adapt it or use long passages, start the permissions conversation early.

Opening 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' felt like stepping into a whole neighborhood for me — the smells, the grit, the little victories. If you're asking whether the book itself is in the public domain, the short practical fact is: not yet in the United States. Betty Smith's novel was published in 1943, and U.S. rules for works published that year give them a 95-year term from publication. That means U.S. copyright protection runs through 2038, and the book will enter the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2039.

I like to think of copyright as a timeline you can actually watch speed up: titles themselves aren't protected (so you can say the title 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' freely), but the text, characters as fleshed out by the author, and specific expressions are protected until the term expires. Also remember adaptations — the 1945 film and later dramatizations — have their own separate copyrights. So even when the original text becomes public domain, certain movie scripts, translations, or stage versions might still be restricted.

If you're planning to quote, adapt, or publish anything based on the book now, consider fair use for small excerpts (citations, reviews, commentary) but know fair use is a case-by-case defense, not a free pass. If you want to use larger chunks or create a derivative work, you'd need permission. For practical checking I usually look at a mix: the U.S. Copyright Office records, WorldCat entries, HathiTrust, and publisher pages. Libraries and rights databases can confirm publication and renewal details. If it's for anything commercial, contacting the current rights holder or publisher is the safest route. Meanwhile, I still borrow my old paperback from time to time — there's a comfort in rereading Francie's world while waiting for the legal timeline to tick over.