Ironically, Steinbeck's breakthrough novel, Tortilla Flat, had garnered him five rejection slips by the time it was accepted in 1935 by New York publisher Pascal Covici. This book, about a group of California free spirits, called paisanos, has often been compared to the Arthurian stories because of the loyalty of its group of characters. The novel was an immediate popular success and won the Gold Medal of the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco as the year's best novel by a Californian. Just before its publication, however, Steinbeck's father died, missing the positive critical success of his son's writing. Steinbeck received $3,000 or $4,000 for the Hollywood film rights.
Encouraged, Steinbeck began his next project, a novel about a strike of agricultural workers organized by two communists. As predicted, this latest novel caused great fury because the labor movement at that time was causing distress to the large growers, who worried about strikes. Steinbeck titled the novel In Dubious Battle (1936), and it sold moderately well.
Of Mice and Men (1937), a popular and critical success, was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club. Following its publication, Steinbeck toured England, Ireland, Russia, and Sweden. He returned to the United States and produced a play version of the book with famous playwright George Kaufman. The play won the New York Drama Critic Circle's Award on the first ballot and also became a popular film. When the play opened on Broadway, Steinbeck was already working on what most critics consider to be his masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath.
