Great Depression writing, as authors have sought to evaluate an era that caused both financial and emotional trauma. Perhaps the most noteworthy and famous novel written on the subject is "The Grapes of Wrath", published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded both the Nobel Prize for literature and the Pulitzer Prize for the work. The novel focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers who are forced from their home as drought, economic hardship, and changes in the agricultural industry occur during the Great Depression. Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" is another important novella about a journey during the
A Death in the Family published in 1957 was not the version intended for print by the author. He discussed his work at a conference that was part of the Knoxville James Agee Celebration (April 2005). Lofaro tracked down the author's original manuscripts and notes and has reconstructed a version he says is more authentic. Lofaro's version of the novel, "A Death in the Family: A Restoration of the Author's Text", was published in 2007 as part of a 10-volume set, "The Collected Works of James Agee" (University of Tennessee Press). Lofaro is also the author of "Agee Agonistes: Essays on the Life, Legend, and