Lummox

"A great hunky unresponsive sort of girl." So Bertha is described by one of the many who take comfort in her bottomless warmth and give nothing in return. Born of "no particular father and a dead mother," Bertha is pure-hearted and almost inarticulate, struggling to survive amidst the poverty and violence of lower Manhattan.

This powerful story brings to life the sights, sounds, and stale odors of New York Harbor at the beginning of this century, just as it probes the emotions of a woman whose simple dignity clearly transcends her lot. Bertha's days are spent scrubbing the floors for rich families with addresses on Madison Avenue and Gramercy Park: the Wallensteins, the Musliners...and the Farleys, whose grown son, a shy poet of delicate health, is the first to see in Bertha not a lummox but a muse. A starkly realistic portrayal of the harsh social realities facing New York's immigrants, LUMMOX is also a beautifully written testament to the remarkable resilience of the human spirit---and to an unforgettable character whose struggles, and eventual triumph, will touch all who read about her.