Origins & Early Life

Erskine Preston Caldwell (December 17, 1903 – April 11, 1987) was an American novelist and short story writer. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native Southern United States, in novels such as Tobacco Road (1932) and God's Little Acre (1933), won him critical acclaim. With cumulative sales of 10 million and 14 million copies, respectively, Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre rank as two of the best-selling American novels of all time, with the former being adapted into a 1933 play that set a Broadway record for consecutive performances, since surpassed. Caldwell was born on December 17, 1903, in the small town of White Oak, Coweta County, Georgia.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He was the only child of Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church minister Ira Sylvester Caldwell and his wife Caroline Preston (née Bell) Caldwell, a schoolteacher. Rev. Caldwell's ministry required moving the family often, to places including Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. When he was 15 years old, his family settled in Wrens, Georgia. His mother Caroline was from Virginia.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Her ancestry included English nobility which held large land grants in eastern Virginia...

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