The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 8 books · 1935 to 1954 · Often set in Monterey

John Steinbeck

Literary and generalLiterary fictionClassicsComic fiction

John Steinbeck wrote about working people in California, from the migrant Joad family of The Grapes of Wrath to the drifters and dreamers of Monterey's Cannery Row. East of Eden retells the story of Cain and Abel in the Salinas Valley.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday share their cast; his other novels stand alone.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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John Steinbeck books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Cannery Row

2 books · Set in MontereyLiterary fictionComic fiction
  1. 1Cannery Row1945With DocBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Sweet Thursday1954With DocBuy on Amazon

Novels

6 booksLiterary fictionClassics
  1. 1Tortilla Flat1935With Danny · Set in MontereyBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Of Mice and Men1937With George Milton and Lennie Small · Set in SoledadBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Red Pony1937With Jody Tiflin · Set in the Salinas ValleyBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Grapes of Wrath1939With Tom Joad · Set in Oklahoma to CaliforniaBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Pearl1947With Kino · Set in La PazBuy on Amazon
  6. 6East of Eden1952With Adam Trask · Set in SalinasBuy on Amazon

Characters

15 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Cannery Row

Novel leads