Books

New York: Covici Friede Publishers, 1935. First printing. Near fine in very good plus dust jacket.. First edition of this oft-comical tale of post-World War I Monterey, following the exploits of a wine-loving and vaguely Arthurian group of paisanos, a beautiful copy in the scarce original dust jacket. The lighthearted tone of TORTILLA FLAT lifted the spirits of Americans during the Great Depression, for whom "reading and the movies were escape... escape from grinding poverty, escape from worrying about how to pay the rent, escape from worrying about how to find a job" (San Jose). Danny and his round table of friends are rarely concerned with any of those issues as they meander through life in Monterey, undeniably poor, but not experiencing the tragedy of poverty in the same way as many of Steinbeck's later characters. Steinbeck even drew joy from writing the work: "it is light and I think amusing... I don't care whether it amounts to anything. I am enjoying it and I need…

Tortilla Flat is an early John Steinbeck novel set in Monterey, California. The novel was the first of Steinbeck's 'California novels.' Tortilla Flat was made into a film in 1942.

First editions of Tortilla Flat were published by Covici Friede and usually have a tan cloth cover, with blue lettering on the cover and spine. Original dust jackets may also include the price and a mention of the Gold Medal Books award.