Rare Books
Travels with Charley : in search of America
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Travels with Charley : in search of America
Rare Books
"Twenty years -- in the twentieth century -- are a long time, and for twenty years John Steinbeck has been occupied in writing about America, while America changed. He felt that he might have lost touch with this monster country, with its speech, the smell of its grass and trees, its color and quality of light, the pulse of its people. To reassure himself, he set out on a voyage of rediscovery, accompanied by a distinguished French poodle named Charley, and riding in a three-quarter-ton pickup truck equipped with miniature ship's cabin and named Rocinante. His course took him through almost forty states: northward from Long Island to Maine; through the Middle West to Chicago; onward by way of Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana (with which he fell in love), and Idaho to Seattle, south to San Francisco and his birth place, Salines; eastward through the Mojave, New Mexico, Arizona, to the vast hospitality of Texas, to New Orleans and a shocking drama of desegregation; finally, on the least leg, through Alabama, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to New York. Again, as always, Steinbeck's concern was with the people. As the small villages, the vast spaces, towering mountains, and laughing meadows unrolled before the indomitable Rocinante, her owner, aided and cheered by Charley, looked for the American identity. It is exact and provable, he decided. It triumphs over sectional difference, over geography, temperament, and dialect. 'From start to finish I found no strangers. ... These are my people and this is my country.' Never before have people and country been examined and reported with so much love combined with so much critical insight"--Dust jacket.
657130
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John Fearnley collection on John and Elaine Steinbeck
Manuscripts
Letters between John Steinbeck, his wife Elaine, and John Fearnley, a director and casting director working for the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization at the time. Correspondence discusses the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream, which was based on Steinbeck's novel Sweet Thursday (1954); ideas for a new production; and Steinbeck's enjoyment of living in England while writing his last novel. A 1967 letter from Elaine Steinbeck describes the couple's life in Vietnam while John Steinbeck was working as a war correspondent there. Many letters incorporate nicknames the three devised on a trip during the Pipe Dream run: Inside Straight (John Steinbeck), Queen Radio (Elaine Steinbeck), and Small Change (John Fearnley). Some letters also include a Pigasus stamp, a flying pig motif Steinbeck used throughout his life as a symbol of himself. There is also one letter to Elaine Steinbeck from Richard Lewine, former managing director of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, advising her about John Fearnley's eulogy; and a fragment likely written by John Fearnley.
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Tortilla Flat
Rare Books
Adopting the structure and themes of Arthurian legend, John Steinbeck creates a "Camelot" on a shabby hillside above Monterey on the California coast and peoples it with a colorful band of knights. As he chronicles the thoughts and emotions, temptations and lusts of the "knights", Steinbeck spins a tale as compelling as the famous legends of the Round Table.
657127
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Cannery Row
Rare Books
This is a segment of the underworld on the California coast near Monterey. A group of rootless men, who took jobs only as a last resort, lived contentedly in an old warehouse; nearby Dora ran her house of prostitution with business efficiency, and in his marine laboratory Doc prepared the specimens he collected along the shore. Love for Doc was the sentiment that all Cannery Row shared, and the climax was the fearful birthday party given for him.
657126
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Traveling in America: early draft
Manuscripts
The collection is comprised primarily of the manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera of Paul Theroux. His works are often semi-autobiographical and are based on his experiences living and traveling around the world. He is noted for his rich, sometimes ironic, description of people and places. The material comprises almost his entire career as a writer and includes multiple drafts of various works from working notebooks to printed galleys. The collection includes novels (1967-2016), short story collections (1972-2014), non-fiction and travel books (1972-2016), and shorter works including reviews, articles, short stories, plays, and lectures (1960-2015); the collection also includes Theroux's working and travel notebooks (1968-2014). The collection also contains professional papers and business correspondence (1963-2015), with publishers, agents, other authors and reader's letters; included in this material are letters from, among others, Eve Auchincloss, Peter De Vries, Margaret Drabble, Nadine Gordimer, Graham Greene, Blanche C. Gregory, Hamish Hamilton Ltd., Houghton Mifflin Company, V.S. Naipaul, Jonathan Raban, Oliver Sacks, Muriel Spark, Stephen Spender, William Styron, and Auberon Waugh. There is also a smaller amount of family material and personal correspondence (1939-2015), with family and friends; this correspondence includes Eugene Theroux, Alexander Theroux, Peter Theroux, Marcel Theroux, Louis Theroux, Anne Theroux, and various other family members. The ephemera consists of photographs, printed material and magazines (1941-1915).
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