East Of Eden

by John Steinbeck Publisher : Viking Press Year : 1952 Edition : First Printing : First Pages : 602 Condition : Good Binding : Hardcover Price : $114.95

Item Description :

Viking Press, 1952. FIRST EDITION, first printing. First state volume ("bite" for "bight" on pg. 281, line 38.) Ex-libris, minimal stamps on inside covers and endpapers only, residue from removal of dust jacket on covers, missing front endpaper. John Ernst Steinbeck was one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. Responsible for both the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, released in 1939 and the novel Of Mice and Men, released in 1937, he wrote 25 publications, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories. In 1962 Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Often described as Steinbeck's most ambitious novel, East of Eden brings to life the intricate details of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories. The novel was originally addressed to Steinbeck's young sons, Thom and John (then 6½ and 4½ respectively). Steinbeck wanted to describe the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds, smells, and colors. The Hamilton family in the novel is said to be based on the real-life family of Samuel Hamilton, Steinbeck's maternal grandfather. A young John Steinbeck also appears briefly in the novel as a minor character. According to his last wife Elaine, he considered this to be a requiem for himself—his greatest novel ever. Steinbeck stated about East of Eden: "It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years." He further claimed: "I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this." Basis for James Dean's first starring role in Oscar Winning Motion Picture. Inexpensive copy of much sought after true first edition. 602 pages.



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