East of Eden

The Viking Press, New York, 1952. Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing. A spectacular copy. This is not the first issue dustjacket with the picture of Steinbeck on the back panel but has the publisher's $4.50 printed price present on the front flap. This original dustjacket is rich in colour with no chips or tears with minor repair. The book is bound in the publisher's green cloth and is in excellent condition. The binding is tight with no cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. The pages are clean with no writing, marks or bookplates in the book. On page 281 the word "bite" was changed to "bight" in later editions. A superb copy. 

East of Eden is a novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, published in September 1952. Often described as Steinbeck's most ambitious novel, East of Eden brings to life the intricate details of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven stories. The novel was originally addressed to Steinbeck's young sons, Thom and John (then 6½ and 4½ years old, respectively). Steinbeck wanted to describe the Salinas Valley for them in detail: the sights, sounds, smells and colours. The Hamilton family in the novel is said to be based on the real-life family of Samuel Hamilton, Steinbeck's maternal grandfather. A young John Steinbeck also appears briefly in the novel as a minor character. According to his third and last wife, Elaine, Steinbeck considered it his magnum opus. Steinbeck stated about East of Eden: "It has everything in it I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years." He further said: "I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this."