Random Winds

RANDOM WINDS is an epochal saga about a family of physicians -- first Enoch, the dedicated country doctor; then Martin, his son, a brilliant neurosurgeon; and Claire, his flamboyant, unconventional daughter.

The story moves from a turn-of-the-century village in upstate New York to privileged estates outside London, from the bedsides of the rural poor to the frenetic emergency room of a New York hospital, from war-torn London to hideaways on the French Riviera. It tells of the trials and triumphs of a dynamic family struggling to hold its center, and of love beyond anyone's power to deny.

"Belva Plain creates vivid people and involves us with them. She is at the top of the novelist's profession." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)

Belva Plain captured readers' hearts with her first novel, Evergreen, which Delacorte published more than 30 years ago. It topped the New York Times best-seller list for 41 weeks and aired as an NBC-TV miniseries. In total, more than 20 of her books have been New York Times best sellers.
 
Before becoming a novelist,  Belva Plain wrote short stories for many major magazines, but taking care of a husband and three children did not give her the time to concentrate on the novel she had always wanted to write. When she looked back and said she didn't have the time, she felt as though she had been making excuses. In retrospect, she said, "I didn't make the time." But, she reminded us, during the era that she was raising her family, women were supposed to concentrate only on their children. Today 30 million copies of her books are in print.
 
A Barnard College graduate who majored in history,  Belva Plain enjoyed a wonderful marriage of more than 40 years to Irving Plain, an ophthalmologist. Widowed for more than 25 years, Ms. Plain continued to reside in New Jersey, where she and her husband had raised their family and which was still home to her nearby children and grandchildren until her death in October 2010.