A masterpiece of Biblical scope, and the magnum opus of one of America’s most enduring authorsA Penguin Classic In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called
East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. 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.
The masterpiece of Steinbeck’s later years,
East of Eden is a work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence. Adapted for the 1955 film directed by Elia Kazan introducing James Dean and read by thousands as the book that brought Oprah’s Book Club back,
East of Eden has remained vitally present in American culture for over half a century.
This edition features an introduction by David Wyatt.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
By the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature“A novel planned on the grandest possible scale . . . One of those occasions when a writer has aimed high and then summoned every ounce of energy, talent, seriousness, and passion of which he was capable. . . . It is an entirely interesting and impressive book.”
—The New York Herald Tribune“A fantasia and myth . . . A strange and original work of art.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A moving, crying pageant with wilderness strengths.” —Carl Sandburg
“When the book club ended a year ago, I said I would bring it back when I found the book that was moving . . . and this is a great one. I read it for myself for the first time and then I had some friends read it. And we think it might be the best novel we've ever read!”
—Oprah Winfrey 
