The Grapes of Wrath

First published in April 1939, The Grapes of Wrath follows the Joad family as they leave their drought-stricken farm in Oklahoma and travel west along Route 66 in search of work and a better life in California. Led by the steadfast Ma Joad and accompanied by her son Tom, recently released from prison, the family joins thousands of displaced farmers driven from their land by the Dust Bowl and the economic collapse of the Great Depression. Their journey towards the promised orchards of California instead reveals a world of poverty, exploitation and hostility, where the hope of a fresh beginning is continually tested.

Moving between the intimate story of the Joads and broader, lyrical chapters that speak for an entire dispossessed people, Steinbeck creates a powerful portrait of hardship, solidarity and resistance. The novel is both a work of social protest and an enduring meditation on human dignity, collective responsibility and the possibility of hope in the face of injustice. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940, it became one of the defining American novels of the twentieth century and remains among Steinbeck’s most consequential achievements.

From the book

“In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.”

— John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

On The Grapes of Wrath

“This is the sort of book that stirs one so deeply that it is almost impossible to attempt to convey the impression it leaves.”

— Kirkus Reviews