John Steinbeck wrote a piece for Esquire defending Arthur Miller during Miller's HUAC investigation.Īfter playwright Arthur Miller refused to name names of suspected communists during an investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1956, he was brought to trial and was found guilty of contempt of Congress in May 1957. In 1976, though, the unfinished manuscript was posthumously released and remains in print today. But by 1959, the author had abandoned the project and never completed it before his death in 1968. In 1958, Steinbeck even set out to retell Malory’s stories for a modern audience in The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. John Steinbeck wrote (but never finished) a book based on King Arthur.Īs a child, Steinbeck was enthralled with Arthurian tales of knighthood, adventure, and honor-and as he began producing his own work, like 1935's Tortilla Flat, he borrowed many of the plots and themes that defined Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d'Arthur (or The Death of Arthur). 'I was pretty mad but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically,' Steinbeck wrote of the event. Luckily, Steinbeck was an avid dog-lover, so he took the incident in stride and spent the next two months rewriting his work. One evening, after being left alone for a bit too long, his beloved Irish setter, Toby, decided to devour the first half of Steinbeck's manuscript for Of Mice and Men. 'My dog ate my work' is probably the oldest excuse in the book-but for Steinbeck, it was true. John Steinbeck's dog ate his original manuscript for Of Mice and Men. Here are 11 facts about Steinbeck's life and career. Born on February 27, 1902, this literary figure is remembered for novels like 1937's Of Mice and Men and 1939's The Grapes of Wrath, along with select nonfiction work and screenplays. John Steinbeck is one of the most popular authors of the 20th century, known for his deft social commentary and grasp on the lives of the everyday person.

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck