The story is primarily set in the Salinas Valley, California, between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of World War I. The first fourteen chapters, set in Connecticut and See more

• The Trask family: Cyrus Trask, Mrs. Trask, Alice, Adam, Charles, Cathy Ames, Aron, Caleb
• The Hamilton family: Samuel Hamilton, Liza, George, Will, Tom, Joe, Lizzie, Una, Dessie, … See more

The book explores themes of depravity, beneficence, love, the struggle for acceptance and greatness, the capacity for self-destruction, and of guilt and freedom. It ties these themes together with references to and many parallels with the biblical See more

As he wrote the novel, Steinbeck went through a number of possible titles for the book, including "The Salinas Valley", the working title from the beginning; "My Valley", after a Texas businessman suggested he make it more universal; "Down to the … See more

East of Eden was first published by Viking Press in September 1952. The first edition had two print runs: 1,500 copies were signed by Steinbeck; the second run was of unsigned copies. In both print runs, there is a spelling mistake on page 281, line 38: "I … See more

Upon the release of East of Eden in September 1952, the general reading public took it to heart and quickly propelled it to the number one spot on the fiction best-seller list. In a letter to a friend, Steinbeck wrote "I am getting flocks of letters .... People … See more

• The book was adapted for cinema in the 1955 film East of Eden by director Elia Kazan, starring James Dean, Julie Harris, Richard Davalos, Raymond Massey, Jo Van Fleet, and Burl Ives. The movie deals only with the fourth and final part of the book; Dean acts … See more