East of Eden (novel) - Writing East of Eden

Writing East of Eden

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 Valley", and then, after he decided to incorporate the Biblical allusion directly into the title, "Cain Sign". It was only upon transcribing the 16 verses of Cain and Abel in the text itself that he enthusiastically took the last three words of the final verse, East of Eden, as the novel's title.

The novel was not well accepted by the critics of its day, who found it heavy-handed and unconvincing, especially in its use of Biblical allusion. Nevertheless, it became an instant best-seller in November 1952, a mere month after it was released, and is now considered one of Steinbeck's finest achievements.