John Steinbeck become the enemies of the political status quo." In a 1942 letter to United States Attorney General Francis Biddle, John Steinbeck wrote: "Do you suppose you could ask Edgar's boys to stop stepping on my heels? They think I am an enemy alien. It is getting tiresome." The FBI denied that Steinbeck was under investigation. In 1936, Steinbeck published the first of what came to be known as his Dustbowl trilogy, which included "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath". This first novel tells the story of a fruit pickers' strike in California which is both aided and
The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton, by Robert Graves, 1943, is a 1943 historical novel based on a true story, the life of the young wife of poet John Milton. Graves tells it from her viewpoint and paints an unflattering portrait of Milton. In addition to Milton and Marie, real historical characters included in the story include Edmund Verney, who is depicted as Marie's true love. Summarising the novel for the Carcanet edition, Simon Brittan wrote that: "Graves regards [Milton] as one of the heinous monsters in the