''The Long Valley''
is a collection of
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
written by the American author
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
. The collection was first published in 1938.
[The Long Valley, Western Washington University](_blank)
Accessed November 2007 It comprises 12 short stories.
The short stories were written over several years and are set in Steinbeck's birthplace, the
Salinas Valley
The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley.
The Salinas River, which geologically ...
in California. They include the prize-winning tale ''The Murder''; ''The Chrysanthemums''; the representation of
lynch mob violence in ''The Vigilante'', inspired by the lynching of the confessed murderers of
Brooke Hart
Brooke Hart (June 11, 1911 – November 9, 1933) was the eldest son of Alexander Hart, the owner of the L. Hart & Son department store in downtown San Jose, California, United States. His kidnapping and murder were heavily publicized, and the su ...
; and the classic ''Red Pony'' tales. Many of the stories were published previously. ''
The Red Pony
''The Red Pony'' is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933 to 1936. The full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book ...
'' was written in 1933 and published in ''
Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...
''.
[Introduction to John Steinbeck, ''The Long Valley'', John Timmerman, Penguin Publishing, 1995]
Stories
* "
The Chrysanthemums"
* "The White Quail"
* "
Flight
Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
"
* "The Snake"
* "Breakfast"
* "The Raid"
* "The Harness"
* "The Vigilante"
* "Johnny Bear"
* "The Murder"
* "Saint Katy the Virgin"
* "
The Red Pony
''The Red Pony'' is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933 to 1936. The full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book ...
"
References
Further reading
* Busch, Christopher S. "Longing for the Lost Frontier: Steinbeck's Vision of Cultural Decline in 'The White Quail' and 'The Chrysanthemums'.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 26.03-04 (Summer/Fall 1993) 81-90.
* Pellow, C. Kenneth. "'The Chrysanthemums' Revisited.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 22.01-02 (Winter/Spring 1989) 8-16.
* Renner, Stanley. "Mary Teller and Sue Bridehead: Birds of a Feather in 'The White Quail' and ''Jude the Obscure''.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 18.01-02 (Winter/Spring 1985) 35-45.
* Renner, Stanley. "Sexual Idealism and Violence in 'The White Quail'.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 17.03-04 (Summer/Fall 1985) 76-87.
* Ware, Elaine. "Struggle for Survival: Parallel Theme and Techniques in Steinbeck's 'Flight' and Norris's 'McTeague'.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 21.03-04 (Summer/Fall 1988) 96-103.
* Kohzadi, Hamedreza. "The Marriage of Hysteria and Feminism in John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums: Elisa Allen as a Married but Virgin Feminist Homosexual Hysteric." Interdisciplinary Literary Studies 20.4 (2018): 429-469. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/intelitestud.20.4.0429
External links
*
1938 short story collections
1938 short stories
American short story collections
History of Monterey County, California
Short story collections by John Steinbeck
Short stories set in California
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