Leaving Stanford, Steinbeck moved to New York and worked for five years at various jobs, writing and drifting. Eventually he returned to California, and his first book, Cup of Gold, appeared in 1929, two months before the stock market crash. This novel sold 1,500 copies, and its publication began a decade of recognition and material prosperity for Steinbeck.
In 1930, Steinbeck married Carol Henning whom he had met while working and writing at Lake Tahoe. He and Carol moved to Los Angeles, where Steinbeck continued his writing while Carol did a great deal of editing. Steinbeck also met marine biologist Ed Ricketts, who was a fascinating and talkative companion. Ricketts inspired the character for Doc in Cannery Row (1945) and many of Ricketts' views about biology influenced Steinbeck's literary themes. Ricketts later collaborated on the writing of The Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research, published in 1941.
During the decade of the 1930s — a time of national depression, bread lines, and bloody labor-management conflicts — Steinbeck knew a definitive cross-section of society and shared the problems and stresses of the times. In 1932, he received $400 dollars for the first of his California novels, The Pastures of Heaven. He followed this novel with To a God Unknown in 1933, but neither novel did well. During this difficult time, his mother suffered a stroke, adding to his discouragement. But also during this period, Steinbeck conceived the idea for The Red Pony and won the O. Henry Prize in 1934 for his story, "Murder." Two of Steinbeck's Pony stories were published in the North American Review, and he was beginning to enjoy some prominence. This was tempered in 1934, however, by the death of his mother.
