John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters

Cecilia Donohue (Independent Scholar - North America)

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 1968

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Essay Collection
- Letter(s)

Resources

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While John Steinbeck will always be best known for his works of fiction, which range from short stories to epic novels, a posthumously-published volume of prose related to the creation of one of his longer, most celebrated works provides valuable insight into the mind and creative process of this writer.

Journal of a Novel: The “East of Eden” Letters is comprised of the diary entries Steinbeck wrote to his literary editor, Pascal “Pat” Covici, from the commencement to the completion of East of Eden, Steinbeck’s classic retelling of the Genesis Cain and Abel story, set in the author’s native Salinas Valley, California during the late 19th through early 20th Centuries. The creation of this novel took place during the lion’s share of the year 1951. These letters, originally

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Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 January 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4287, accessed 08 May 2024.]

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