On this day...

John Steinbeck's 'The Winter of Our Discontent' was published in 1961. Based, like so much of Steinbeck's work, on a society corrupted by idealisation, the title of the novel comes from a line of Shakespeare's 'Richard III' - 'now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York'. Yet the book unfortunately, did not reach the heights of Shakespearean acclaim. Although some believed that Steinbeck returned to the 'high standards...and to the social themes that made his early work so impressive, and so powerful', others claimed that 'serious readers' had justifiably stopped reading Steinbeck years ago. Sadly, Steinbeck died of a heart attack in 1968, making 'The Winter of Our Discontent' his last novel.

On this day...

John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath', was published in 1939. The novel, like several of Steinbeck's works, is set in the Great Depression, and chartered the life of protagonist Tom Joad, who sets out for California in an attempt to find wealth and prosperity. Steinbeck had previously published a series of short stories, including of course, 'Of Mice and Men', yet this latest endevour was said to be 'a very grave attempt to do a first-rate piece of work'.

Yet while writing this 'first-rate piece of work' Steinbeck struggled to come up with a title, and indeed it was his wife who supplied him with 'The Grapes of Wrath', itself taken from a passage from Revelation 14:19. The novel's strong social and political subtext ensured that it was a 'phenomenon on the scale of a national event'. Indeed, the book was criticised across the country, yet was later cited as one of the major reasons for Steinbeck's 1962 Nobel Prize win. It is now one of the most frequently read novels in the American school system.

On this day...

John Steinbeck's novella, 'Of Mice and Men' was published in 1937. Following on from the success of 'Tortilla Flat', Steinbeck's newest book was very much in keeping with the themes which had, and would continue to dominate his works. Born in Salinas in 1902, the Great Depression and its effect on the 'American Dream' concept haunted Steinbeck and so manifested itself in literary form. 'Of Mice and Men' exemplifies this, the narrative following two migrant ranchers in search of work, and the struggles and hardships they encounter. Now required reading in numerous school systems, it had previously been a target for censorship, and indeed is listed as the fourth most challenged book of the 21st century by th American Library Association. The novella was written in such a way as to ease transferral to stage, and subsequently many adaptations have followed, the first in the same year as its publication.

John Steinbeck to lessen Google wrath...

The Google book controversy rages on. Following the long dispute with the Author's Guild, writers have until January 28th to opt in or out of the scheme, which is currently digitising millions of books world wide. Led by Ursula Le Guin, of 'Earthsea novels' fame, several authors have expressed their digust with the deal, including Nick Harkaway and Kim Stanley Robinson; Le Guin herself called it a 'deal with the devil'. However, the tide has shifted in recent days, as the Steinbeck family has announced their decision to 'opt in'. Gail Steinbeck, the famous author's daughter-in-law, stated that while she was still against Google's 'imperious act of copyright infringement', it was time to evaluate the situation and minimise the losses. Le Guin is still continuing with her petition, to this date signed by almost 300 authors.

On this day...

American author John Steinbeck, died in 1968 at the age of 66. Of both German and Irish descent, Steinbeck was born in Salinas, and used the location as the setting for many of his novels. The migrant workers which he encountered there, and the severity of such an existance, became prominent themes in his writings; intertwining with the Great Depression, which occupied much of his early life. Steinbeck's literary career is most notable for his so-called 'dust bowl' fiction; a sequence of induvidual novels based on the futilityof the American Dream for the common people. Of these, the most famous is 'The Grapes of Wrath', a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1940. Yet the novel caused outrage among some, for its negative representation of capitalism, and led to Kern County banning the book from public schools and libraries for two years. After a year as the World War Two correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, Steinbeck returned to novels, producing such works as 'East of Eden' and 'The Pearl'. Steinbeck was award the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, for his 'realistic and imaginative writing'.

On this day...

Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament in Paris in 1895, leaving a large proportion of his estate for the establishment of a prize. Best known as the inventor of dynamite, the Swedish chemist had been prompted to do this, after a premature obituary 7 years previous, in which it said: 'Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday'. His subsequent wish to leave a greater legacy meant that 31,225,000 Swedish Kronor were given to fund 5 prizes; one in physical science, one in chemistry, another in medicine, the fourth for literary work 'in a ideal direction', and the final one for service to the international fraternity. After Nobel's death in 1896, his family refused to follow these instructions, and therefore it was not until 1901 that the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. The list of Literature Laureates is prestigious, and includes names such as William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Steinbeck, Seamus Heaney and even Winston Churchill. To date there have been 102 Laureates.