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  • John Steinbeck was one of America's greatest authors.

  • What books did John Steinbeck write?

  • Why were they so popular?

  • Raised in California, John Steinbeck formed an appreciation for the region.

  • In particular, he grew to love California's Salinas Valley, which greatly influenced his

  • writing.

  • As a teenager, Steinbeck made the decision to become a writer and often locked himself

  • in his room to do his writing.

  • In 1919, Steinbeck enrolled at Stanford University, but eventually dropped out in 1925, having

  • never graduated.

  • Steinbeck briefly moved to New York City where he found work as a newspaper reporter, but

  • the pull of California quickly drew him back home.

  • While working as a caretaker in Lake Tahoe, he wrote his first novel, Cup of Gold, in

  • 1929.

  • Over the next decade Steinbeck wrote The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown, both of which

  • were poorly received by critics.

  • Steinbeck eventually achieved success with Tortilla Flat in 1935, a humorous novel about

  • life in the Monterrey region.

  • The book was very popular, selling more than 26,000 copies in its first year (during the

  • heart of the Depression).

  • Two years later, Steinbeck published Of Mice and Men.

  • This novel tells the story of two migrant ranch workers.

  • Much of the book is based on Steinbeck's own experiences traveling the country as a

  • hobo.

  • Of Mice and Men remains enormously popular and is read in classrooms across the nation.

  • The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939.

  • The novel relays the tale of a Depression-era Oklahoma family and their struggle to create

  • a new life in California.

  • In many minds, it perfectly captured the mood and discontent of the nation during this difficult

  • time.

  • At one point, The Grapes of Wrath was selling 10,000 copies a week!

  • It also earned Steinbeck a Pulitzer Prize in 1940.

  • Following the success of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck served as a war correspondent during

  • World War II.

  • He continued to write for the rest of his life, producing classics such as Cannery Row

  • and East of Eden.

  • He was even awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

  • John Steinbeck died of heart disease on December 20, 1968, but left behind a monumental legacy

  • that included 27 books.

  • Over a ten year period, he produced several of America's greatest masterpieces of fiction.

  • He will always be remembered for writing about social and economic issues while giving voice

  • to working-class America.

  • He is one from an elite list of authors who had a gift for creating characters that were

  • relatable to a broad, general audience.

John Steinbeck was one of America's greatest authors.

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