By 1947, the year John Steinbeck’s 10th novel,
The Wayward Bus,was published, readers were anxiously anticipating the American author’s writings in light of his previous critical and commercial successes such as
Tortilla Flat(1935),
Of Mice and Men(1937), and the epic
The Grapes of Wrath(1939). While writing
The Wayward Bus,Steinbeck was confronting numerous personal and professional issues, including financial challenges, gastrointestinal illness, difficulties surrounding the filming in Mexico of his story
The Pearl, an aborted plan to co-author a musical comedy, and, most importantly, his turbulent marriage to second wife Gwyn Conger, who was experiencing a difficult pregnancy. One could argue that the real-life problems Steinbeck was facing triggered the raw, earthy emotions…
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Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "The Wayward Bus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8113, accessed 19 April 2024.]
