Pearl Buck began writing her mother's biography immediately after the death of Caroline Stalting (Kerry) in 1921, and she did not initially plan to publish it. During the events in Nanjing in 1926–1927, when Pearl Buck's house was destroyed, the manuscript of this book was one of the few things that was not stolen or destroyed. In the early 30s, the text was revised. The writer decided to publish it only in 1936 (under the title “Foreign Lands”), after “Earth” and other “Chinese” novels became famous and her literary reputation was strengthened. Work on a book about his father (The Fighting Angel) also began immediately after his death in 1931. It was preceded by Pearl Buck's obituary of Absolom Sydenstricker (1852-1931), which contained factual information about his life and, naturally, emphasized his merits and advantages. Both books received fairly high praise in the press upon their release. The New York Times wrote of Foreign Lands: “It is one of the noblest epic narratives of our time.” Sherwood Eddy also testified in the pages of the Saturday Review of Literature: “A moving story about a woman of a beautiful soul, about her home and her life. This is a real book, marked by high literary merits, revealing a wonderful human character.”