’There is only one book to a man’ Steinbeck wrote of East of Eden, his most ambitious novel. Set in the rich farmland of Salinas Valley, California, this powerful, often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations helplessly re-enact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Here Steinbeck created some of his most memorable characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love and the murderous consequences of love’s absence.

East of Eden is Steinbeck’s other big book. The place The Grapes of Wrath has assumed in American culture remains unique; it is probably our most widely read strong novel. When the book was published in 1939 it was banned in Illinois and reviled as "filthy" in Washington, D.C., though First Lady Roosevelt and her husband read and publicly spoke about it. It quickly rose on the best-seller lists, sold nearly half a million copies in its first year, and received in 1940 both the National Book Award and the Pultizer Prize. When John Ford made a movie based on the book, it went on to dominate the Academy Awards. By the fiftieth anniversary of its publication, nearly fifteen million copies of the novel had been printed.

Introduction by David Wyatt 

Suggestions for Further Reading

A Note on the Text 

East of Eden