The Long Valley (34 page)

102:19
fumadiddles.
A variation
of flumadiddles,
meaning trash, worthless things, nonsense—or in this case, strangers.

117:9-11
I smiled... to fit his thoughts.
Cf. Steinbeck’s comment in a letter to Peter Benchley in 1956:

 

“The Murder”: First published in
North American Review
237 (April 1934): 305-12; published in
L.ovat Dickson’s Magazine
3 (October 1934): 442-46

In “Steinbeck’s ‘The Murder’: A Critical and Bibliographical Study”
[Steinbeck Quarterly
9 (Spring 1976): 45-53], Roy S. Simmonds traces the textual variants among the two magazine publications and the 1938 Viking Press text. As Mr. Simmonds established, an unusual number of variants appear, with a number of errors in the 1938 Viking text that have persisted into later editions. That the manuscript for “The Murder” was edited at the Viking offices, perhaps even by Pascal Covici, is clear, but the Viking text precisely follows neither the holograph manuscript, nor either of the two published manuscripts. Rather, it appears to conflate patterns from the latter two, mixing both American and British usage patterns. The present text standardizes the spelling according to American conventions. Substantive variants from the prior Viking text are indicated in the notes that follow.

In the holograph manuscript Steinbeck considered three different titles for the story, entering them as a series on one line as follows: Šepié The Murder Jelka Šepić.

121:2
Canon del Castillo.
The holograph draft places the story in the
Corral de Tierra
—the “Pastures of Heaven” locale. This is struck through in the holograph draft and replaced by
Valle del Castillo,
then
Canon del Castillo.
Geographically, the story still takes place in the Corral de Tierra. “The Castle” is in fact an actual rock formation there; the ruined buildings in the story still stand at its base.

121:21
Jim Moore.
Moore’s name first appears in the holograph manuscript as
Tomas Ernest Manuelo More,
then
Tomas More, then Jim Moore.

122:8
bought a fine Guernsey bull.
The previous Viking Penguin text erroneously reads
brought a fine Guernsey bull.

122:11
Jelka Šepié.
Both the holograph manuscript and the
North American Review
accent
Šepié,
Jelka’s name changes in the heavily revised holograph manuscript from
Stefanie
to
Steffanie
to
Jelka,
which name, as John Ditsky has pointed out in “Steinbeck’s ‘Slav Girl’ and the Role of the Narrator in ‘The Murder,’ ” means “Helen” in English. Ditsky also traces the ethnic origins and implications of Jelka’s full name.

128:32-34
He listened long for the sound.
The previous Viking Penguin text erroneously omits long, present in all other proof manuscripts.

131:12-13
But behind, the hollow-point bullet... the pillow.
Apparently a difficult passage for Steinbeck in the manuscript. His original version reads:
The back of the skull was broken out by the hollow pointed bullet and the pillow and wall were splashed.
The revision is successful largely because of the switch from passive voice to active for the dramatic event.

 

 

“Saint Katy the Virgin”: First published in a limited edition (199 copies) as
Saint Katy the Virgin
(New York: Covici-Friede, 1936)

137:24
They went tithing together.
That is, Brothers Paul and Colin went out collecting the tithes (ten percent of income) that people owed to the church.

139:28
APAGE SATANAS.
Greek for “Depart, Satan.” Cf. Mark 8: 33, where Jesus rebukes Peter by saying, “Get thee behind me [Depart from me], Satan.”

140:6
Daniel in the lion’s den.
See Daniel chapter 6.

141:22 Sermon on the Mount. See Matthew chapters 5-7.

142:20
There is more rejoicing in heaven.
See Luke 15:7, from the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

143:13
scrofula or trichina.
Scrofula is a form of tuberculosis affecting the lymph nodes, especially in the neck. Trichina, technically the name of the parasitic worm harbored in animal intestines, may be confused by Steinbeck with trichinosis, the disease caused by undercooked meat, particularly pork, that harbors the trichinae.

“The Red Pony” A special, limited edition of 699 copies—which included “The Gift,” “The Great Mountains,” and “The Promise”—was published in 1937 by Covici-Friede Publishers in New York. A 1945 edition by the Viking Press first included “The Leader of the People” with the other stories.

 

 

“The Gift”: First published in
North American Review
236 (November 1933): 421-38

166:13
Strangles.
An infectious disease in horses caused by a bacterium
(Streptococcus equi),
characterized by inflamed mucous membranes and abscesses of the jaw and throat.

 

“The Great Mountains”: First published in
North American Review
236 (December 1933): 492-500

177:33-34
Now he turned ... jolly mountains.
Cf.
East of Eden
(Viking Press, 1952): “I remember that the Gabilan Mountains to the east of the valley were light gay mountains” (p. 4).

179:18—19
old paisano man.
“They were called paisanos because not only were they made up of Spanish and Indian blood, but many of them were also part Italian or part Portuguese.” Jackson J. Benson,
The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer
(New York: Penguin Books, 1984), p. 277.

 

“The Promise”: First published in
Harper’s Magazine
175 (May 1937): 243-52

 

 

“The Leader of the People”: First published in
Argosy
20 (August 1936): 99—106

 

Argosy is a British publication, and its text is considerably different from that of
The Long Valley
in minor variants of spelling and punctuation conventions.

215:11
congress gaiters.
Ankle-high shoes with elastic side pieces, usually of black leather (kid) with white elastic.

 

The Grapes of Wrath
Introduction by Robert DeMott
This Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression follows the
western movement of one family and a nation in search of work and
human dignity.
ISBN 978-0-14-018640-6

 

East of Eden
Introduction by David Wyatt
The masterpiece of Steinbeck’s later years, East
of Eden
is the powerful
and vastly ambitious novel that is both family saga and a modern
retelling of the book of Genesis.
ISBN 978-0-14-018639-0

 

Of Mice and Men
Introduction by Susan Shillinglaw
A parable about commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss, Of
Mice and
Men
remains one of America’s most widely read and beloved novels.
ISBN 978-0-14-018642-0

Cannery Row
Introduction by Susan Shillinglaw
Steinbeck’s tough but loving portrait evokes the lives of Monterey’s
vital laboring class and their emotional triumph over the bleak existence
of life in
Cannery Row. ISBN 978-0-14-018737-3

 

The Pearl
Introduction by Linda Wagner-Martin with Drawings by José Clemente
Orozco
The diver Kino believes that his discovery of a beautiful pearl means the
promise of a better life for his impoverished family. His fall from innocence
is one of Steinbeck’s most moving stories about the American
dream. ISBN 978-0-14-018738-0

 

 

Travels with Charley in Search of America
Introduction by Jay Parini
In September 1960, Steinbeck and his poodle, Charley, embarked on a
journey across America. A picaresque tale, this chronicle of their trip
meanders along scenic backroads and speeds along anonymous superhighways,
moving from small towns to growing cities to glorious
wilderness oases.
ISBN 978-0-14-018741-0

The Portable John Steinbeck
Edited by Pascal Covici, Jr.
This grand sampling of Steinbeck’s most important works includes two
complete novels,
Of
Mice and Men and The Red Pony, as well as excerpts
from many of his other books, short stories, and his 1962 Nobel
Prize Acceptance Speech.
ISBN 978-0-14-015002-5

 

America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction
Edited by Susan
Shillinglaw
and Jackson J. Benson
This original new collection brings together for the first time more than
fifty of Steinbeck’s finest essays and journalistic pieces, along with the
complete text of his last-published and long-out-of-print
America and
Americans. ISBN 978-0-14-243741-4

 

 

Burning Bright
Written as a play in story form, this novel traces the story of a man ignorant
of his own sterility, a wife who commits adultery to give her husband
a child, the father of that child, and the outsider whose actions
affect them all.
ISBN 978-0-14-018742-7

 

 

Cup of Gold
Steinbeck’s first novel, and the only historical novel he ever wrote, brings to
life the exciting, violent adventures of the infamous pirate Henry Morgan.
ISBN 978-0-14-018743-4

 

 

In Dubious Battle
Introduction and Notes by Warren French
This powerful social novel, set in the California apple country, is a story
of labor unrest in the migrant community and the search for identity of
its protagonist, young Jim Nolan.
ISBN 978-0-14-018641-3

 

The Log from the
Sea of Cortez
Introduction by Richard Astro
This exciting day-by-day account of Steinbeck’s trip to the Gulf of California
with biologist Ed Ricketts, drawn from the longer
Sea of Cortez,
is a wonderful combination of science, philosophy, and high-spirited
adventure.
ISBN 978-0-14-018744-1

 

 

The Long Valley
Introduction by John H. Timmerman
First published in 1938, this collection of stories set in the rich farmland
of the Salinas Valley includes the O. Henry Prize-winning story
“The Murder,” as well as one of Steinbeck’s most famous short works,
“The Snake.”
ISBN 978-0-14-018745-8

The Moon
Is Down
Introduction by Donald V. Coers
In this masterful tale set in Norway during World War II, Steinbeck explores
the effects of invasion on both the conquered and the conquerors. As
he delves into the emotions of the German commander and the Norwegian
traitor, and depicts the spirited patriotism of the Norwegian underground,
Steinbeck uncovers profound, often unsettling truths about war—and
about human nature.
ISBN 978-0-14-018746-5

 

Once There Was a War
Steinbeck’s dispatches filed from the front lines during World War II
vividly evoke the human side of the war.
ISBN 978-0-14-018747-2

 

The Pastures of Heaven
Introduction and Notes by James Nagel
Each of these interconnected tales is devoted to a family living in a
fertile valley on the outskirts of Monterey, California, and the effects,
either intentional or unwitting, that one family has on all of them.
ISBN 978-0-14-018748-9

The Red Pony
Introduction by John Seelye
This cycle of coming-of-age stories tells of a spirited adolescent boy
whose encounters with birth and death teach him about loss and profound
emptiness, instead of giving him the more conventional hero’s
pragmatic “maturity.”
ISBN 978-0-14-018739-7

 

A Russian Journal
With Photographs by Robert Capa
Introduction by Susan Shillinglaw
First published in 1948, A
Russian Journal
is a remarkable memoir and
unique historical document that records the writer and acclaimed war
photographer’s journey through Cold War Russia.
ISBN 978-0-14-118019-9

The Short Reign of Pippin IV
Steinbeck’s only work of political satire turns the French Revolution
upside down, creating the hilarious characters of the motley royal court
of King Pippin.
ISBN 978-0-14-018749-6