John Steinbeck, Cup of Gold

Michael J. Meyer (DePaul University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1929

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Steinbeck’s first novel,

Cup of Gold,

grew out of short story entitled “A Lady in Infra-Red”, that he wrote while still a student at Stanford. After undergoing a lengthy revision and expansion during 1924 to 1928, the novel was accepted for publication by Robert M. McBride & Company of New York in September 1929. Its full title was

Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History

, and Steinbeck’s old Stanford classmate Amasa “Ted” Miller was instrumental in finalizing the arrangements with the publisher.

Even though Steinbeck’s letters of 1928 and 1929 make it clear that he was dissatisfied with almost every aspect of the published book, he was particularly distressed that the cover created by his friend Mahlon Blaine made the book

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4065 words

Citation: Meyer, Michael J.. "Cup of Gold". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 August 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5768, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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