Books

London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1952. First British edition of Steinbeck's epic and moving story of a modern Cain and Abel. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by John Steinbeck on the half-title page. From the library of actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. with his bookplate to the front pastedown. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was an actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He was the son of Douglas Fairbanks and the stepson of Mary Pickford, and his first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example, rare and desirable signed and with noted provenance. "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…

East of Eden is a novel by American author John Steinbeck. Published in September 1952, it is a saga telling the story of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—with a particular focus on the life of Adam Trask, his twin sons Caleb and Aron, and their complex relationship with each other and their father. The novel explores themes of depravity, beneficence, love, and redemption, and it vividly captures the rural Salinas Valley in California at the turn of the 20th century. Steinbeck considered 'East of Eden' to be his magnum opus.