John Steinbeck Salinas, Monterey and parts of the San Joaquin Valley were the setting for many of his stories. The area is now sometimes referred to as "Steinbeck Country". Most of his early work dealt with subjects familiar to him from his formative years. An exception was his first novel, "", which concerns the pirate Henry Morgan, whose adventures had captured Steinbeck's imagination as a child. In his subsequent novels, Steinbeck found a more authentic voice by drawing upon direct memories of his life in California. His childhood friend, Max Wagner, a brother of Jack Wagner and who later became a film
Thomas Steinbeck two sons, Thomas and John Jr., and had never wanted any children. When she was experiencing problems during her pregnancy with John Jr., Steinbeck told her that she had 'complicated' his life during a busy period of writing. When John Jr. arrived prematurely in 1946, she recalls Steinbeck telling her: 'I wish to Christ he’d die, he’s taking up too much of your fucking time.' She identifies the conversation as 'the moment when love died ... He never cried for me. He never cried for his sons.' " When not in school or on holiday, Thom and his younger brother