The Salinas Valley is in Norther California.
An edition of East of Eden
(1952)
East of Eden
John Steinbeck centennial ed. (1902-2002) (4)
by John Steinbeck
- 940 Want to read
- 59 Currently reading
- 141 Have read
Share
×Close
Last edited by MichaelVannin
October 9, 2025 | History
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.
Adam Trask came to California from the East to farm and raise his family on the new rich land. But the birth of his twins, Cal and Aaron, brings his wife to the brink of madness, and Adam is left alone to raise his boys to manhood. One boy trhives nurtured by the love of all those around him; the other grows up in loneliness enveloped by a mysterious darkness.
First published in 1952, East of Eden is the work in which Steinbeck created his most mesmerizing characters and explored his most enduring themes: the mystery of identity, the enecplicability of love, and the murderous consequences of love's absence. A masterpiece of Steinbeck's later years, East of Eden is a powerful and vastly ambitious novel that is at once a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis.
--jacket flap
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: /languages/eng /languages/spa /languages/fre /languages/ger
Subjects
migrant labor, historical fiction, domestic fiction, depravity, beneficence, love, the struggle for acceptance, self-destruction, guilt, freedom, literary fiction, classics, Fiction, Twins, Novela hogareña, Hermanos, Brothers, Fathers and sons, Classic Literature, Open Library Staff Picks, Sibling rivalry, Padre e hijo, Novela histórica, Rivaldad entre hermanos, open_syllabus_project, Niños de prostitutas, Rural families, Children of prostitutes, Ficción, Father-son relationship, Reading Level-Grade 7, Reading Level-Grade 6, Reading Level-Grade 9, Reading Level-Grade 8, Reading Level-Grade 11, Reading Level-Grade 10, Reading Level-Grade 12, American fiction (fictional works by one author), Fathers and sons, fiction, California, fiction, American literature, Large type books, Children's fiction, Poor, History, Murder, Revenge, Jealousy, Rich people, Social life and customs, Pauvres, Romans, nouvelles, Histoire, Meurtre, Vengeance, Jalousie, Riches, Pères et fils, Mœurs et coutumes, Manners and customs, World War, 1939-1945, Novela, Vida social y costumbres, Guerra Mundial II, 1939-1945, Problem youth, BrithersPeople
The Trasks, The Hamiltons, Cain, Abel, Charles Trask, Adam Trask, Cyrus Trask, Cathy Ames, Caleb Trask, Aron Trask, Abra Bacon, Samuel Hamilton, Liza Hamilton, George Hamilton, Will Hamilton, Tom Hamilton, Joe Hamilton, Lizzie Hamilton, Una Hamilton, Dessie, Olive Hamilton, Mollie Hamilton, Mr. Edwards, Faye, Ethel, Joe ValeryPlaces
California, Salinas River Valley, Salinas, Valle del Río (California), Salinas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Northern California, Stanford University, San Francisco, Salinas River Valley (Calif.), Californie, Vallée du Salinas, Salinas, Vallée du (Calif.)Times
19th century, 20th century| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
001
|
zzzz
|
002
|
zzzz
|
003
|
zzzz
|
004
|
zzzz
|
005
|
zzzz
|
006
|
zzzz
|
007
|
zzzz
|
008
|
zzzz
|
009
|
zzzz
|
010
|
zzzz
|
|
011
|
zzzz
|
012
|
zzzz
|
|
013
Plpr6: East of Eden and MP3 Pack
2012, Pearson Education Australia
in /languages/eng
1408274221 9781408274224
|
zzzz
|
014
|
zzzz
|
|
015
Level 6: East of Eden MP3 for Pack
2011, Pearson Education, Limited
in /languages/eng
140827115X 9781408271155
|
zzzz
|
016
|
zzzz
|
017
|
zzzz
|
018
|
zzzz
|
019
|
zzzz
|
020
|
zzzz
|
|
021
|
zzzz
|
022
|
zzzz
|
023
East of Eden
July 3, 2003, Longman
Hardcover
in /languages/eng
- New edition
0582461529 9780582461529
|
zzzz
|
024
East of Eden
2003, Viking
Hardcover
in /languages/eng
- John Steinbeck Centennial Edition (1902-2002); 2003 edition (4)
0670033049 9780670033041
|
eeee
|
025
|
zzzz
|
026
East of Eden
2002, Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Electronic resource
in /languages/eng
143624143X 9781436241434
|
zzzz
|
027
|
cccc
|
028
East of Eden
2002, Penguin Books
Hardcover
in /languages/eng
- John Steinbeck centennial ed. (1902-2002) (5)
0142000655 9780142000656
|
eeee
|
|
029
East of Eden [Audiobook]
2002, Recorded Books
Audio cassette
in /languages/eng
0788748831 9780788748837
|
zzzz
|
030
East of Eden: Centennial Edition
February 2002, Tandem Library
Unknown Binding
in /languages/eng
1417646403 9781417646401
|
zzzz
|
031
|
zzzz
|
032
East of Eden
2002, Penguin Books
Paperback
in /languages/eng
- John Steinbeck centennial ed. (1902-2002) (4)
0142000655 9780142000656
|
aaaa
|
033
East of Eden.
March 1, 2001, Langensch.-Hachette, M
Paperback
in /languages/ger
3526434700 9783526434702
|
zzzz
|
034
|
zzzz
|
035
East of Eden (Steinbeck "Essentials")
April 26, 2001, Penguin Books Ltd
in /languages/eng
0140292942 9780140292947
|
eeee
|
036
East of Eden (Penguin Modern Classics)
September 7, 2000, Penguin Books Ltd
0141185074 9780141185071
|
zzzz
|
037
East of Eden (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
October 1999, Rebound by Sagebrush
Library Binding
in /languages/eng
0808514121 9780808514121
|
zzzz
|
|
038
|
zzzz
|
039
|
zzzz
|
040
|
zzzz
|
|
041
|
zzzz
|
|
042
Yidian yuan dong
1995, Shu hua chu ban shi ye you xian gong si
in /languages/chi
- Chu ban
9575518659 9789575518653
|
zzzz
|
|
043
|
zzzz
|
044
|
zzzz
|
045
East of Eden
1992, Penguin Books
Paperback
in /languages/eng
- Wyatt Introduction (29)
0140186395 9780140186390
|
eeee
|
|
046
|
zzzz
|
047
East of Eden (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)
October 1992, Tandem Library
in /languages/eng
0613996984 9780613996983
|
zzzz
|
048
|
eeee
|
|
049
|
zzzz
|
050
Al Este del Edén
1989, Círculo de Lectores, S.A.
Hardcover
in /languages/spa
8422627914 9788422627913
|
zzzz
|
|
051
Jenseits von Eden: Roman
1987, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag
in /languages/ger
342310810X 9783423108102
|
zzzz
|
052
|
eeee
|
|
053
|
zzzz
|
054
East of Eden
1986, Penguin Books
Paperback
in /languages/eng
- Reissue edition (18)
0140049975 9780140049978
|
eeee
|
055
|
eeee
|
|
056
|
zzzz
|
057
East of Eden
1981, Penguin Books, Penguin (Non-Classics)
Mass Market Paperback
in /languages/eng
- Television Edition
014005829X 9780140058291
|
eeee
|
058
Jenseits von Eden: Roman
1980, Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, Club Bertelsmann, Europäische Bildungsgemeinschaft, Buchgemeinschaft Donauland, Buch- und Schallplattenfreunde
Hardcover
in /languages/ger
|
zzzz
|
|
059
OST FOR EDEN (East of Eden) Two Volumes
1979, Gyldendal Nordk Forlag
Leather-bound
8205115028 9788205115026
|
zzzz
|
060
|
zzzz
|
061
|
zzzz
|
|
062
East of Eden
June 1976, Ulverscroft Large Print
Hardcover
in /languages/eng
- Largeprint edition
0854565620 9780854565627
|
zzzz
|
063
East of Eden
1976-08, Bantam Books
Mass Market Paperback
in /languages/eng
- Bantam Edition, 42nd printing
0553129090 9780553129090
|
eeee
|
|
064
|
zzzz
|
065
|
cccc
|
066
|
zzzz
|
067
|
zzzz
|
068
|
eeee
|
069
|
zzzz
|
070
|
zzzz
|
|
071
|
zzzz
|
072
|
zzzz
|
|
073
|
zzzz
|
074
|
zzzz
|
075
|
eeee
|
076
|
eeee
|
077
|
cccc
|
|
078
|
zzzz
|
|
079
|
zzzz
|
|
080
|
zzzz
|
|
081
|
zzzz
|
082
|
zzzz
|
083
|
cccc
|
|
084
|
zzzz
|
085
|
zzzz
|
|
086
|
zzzz
|
087
|
eeee
|
|
088
|
zzzz
|
|
089
|
zzzz
|
|
090
|
zzzz
|
091
Jenseits von Eden: Roman
1953, Diana Verlag Konstanz
perfect paperback
in /languages/ger
3548028950 9783548028958
|
cccc
|
092
|
cccc
|
093
|
zzzz
|
094
|
zzzz
|
095
|
eeee
|
096
|
zzzz
|
097
|
eeee
|
|
098
|
zzzz
|
099
|
zzzz
|
100
|
zzzz
|
101
|
zzzz
|
|
102
|
zzzz
|
103
|
zzzz
|
|
104
|
zzzz
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
US / CAN
Classifications
The Physical Object
Edition Identifiers
Work Identifiers
Source records
Work Description
Steinbeck considered East of Eden to be his masterpiece. In his journal, Journal of a Novel (often read as a companion to the novel) he notes that “this is the book I have always wanted and have worked and prayed to be able to write Set primarily in the Salinas Valley in the early twentieth century, the novel traces three generations of two families – the Trasks and the Hamiltons – as they grapple with the ever-present forces of good and evil. From this plot emerged some of Steinbeck’s most fascinating characters – many of whom are modeled after people in his own life.
Part allegory, part autobiography, and part epic, East of Eden was an ambitious project from the start – a gift to Steinbeck’s sons that was meant to teach them about identity, grief, and what it means to be human. Tinged with biblical echoes of the fall of Adam and Eve and the rivalry of Cain and Abel, this sprawling saga has captivated audiences everywhere for generations. It is through the popularization of East of Eden that the Salinas Valley was truly transformed into “the valley of the world”; a place where everyone is able to find a piece of themselves in the golden, rolling hills.
(source)
Contains:
Also contained in:
Excerpts
added by Lisa.
first sentence
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (1)
Genres 1
Drama
50%
Romance
50%
Mood 1
Sad
20%
Lonely
20%
Melancholy
20%
Reflective
20%
Emotional
20%
Lists
| October 9, 2025 | Edited by MichaelVannin | |
| August 29, 2025 | Edited by bitnapper | Merge works (MRID: 234672) |
| August 29, 2025 | Edited by bitnapper | Merge works (MRID: 234470) |
| August 15, 2025 | Edited by OnFrATa | Merge works (MRID: 228930) |
| October 8, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | create work page |