Notes on John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck was born on 27 Feb 1902 in Salinas, California, not far from the area where Of Mice and Men is set. He attended Stanford University, but never settled to one area of study and left without obtaining a degree.
In his twenties, he pursued a varied working life, including that of an itinerant ranch worker, similar to the characters portrayed in the novel. His early writings had some success, and established him as an author interested in social problems.
'Of Mice and Men' was first published in 1937, and was immediately successful, earning Steinbeck a wide reputation.
Steinbeck enjoyed even greater success with the full-length novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. He wrote a number of other novels such as Cannery Row and In Dubious Battle, as well as Short Stories such as The Red Pony and The Pearl.
The latter two stories are frequently studied as school texts.
However, most critics agree that Steinbeck's later works don't quite match up to his earlier efforts. Nevertheless, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception.".
Steinbeck died 20 Dec 1968.