East of Eden Hardcover - 2004

Name: East of Eden
Price: 131.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: John Steinbeck
ISBN: 9781587245626

by John Steinbeck

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About this book

East of Eden is a novel by John Steinbeck, published in 1952. It tells the multi-generational story of two families, the Hamiltons and the Trasks, in California's Salinas Valley. The novel explores themes of good and evil, love and hate, and the human capacity for both. It also delves into the nature of family dynamics, inheritance, and the American dream. The characters are complex and nuanced, and the novel's narrative structure allows for a deep exploration of their motivations and emotions. East of Eden is considered one of Steinbeck's most ambitious works and a masterpiece of American literature.

From the publisher

A New York Times Bestseller

Set in the rich farmland of California's Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families -- the Trasks and the Hamiltons -- whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

First Edition Identification

East of Eden’s true first edition (Viking Press; New York, 1952) is a limited edition of only 1,500 copies signed by Steinbeck. This signed limited first edition has dark green boards and came in a slipcase. 750 copies of this signed limited first edition were for private distribution. The original cloth binding is stamped in gilt and brown, in a faux-wood grain slipcase.

The first trade edition states "First published by The Viking Press in September 1952" on the copyright page with no statements of subsequent printings, and the year 1952 on the title page. Boards are light green. Dust jacket has Steinbeck's photo on the rear with no blurbs. The first state has "bite" on page 281, line 38.