"Sweet Thursday" 1954 Steinbeck, John

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STEINBECK, John

[273] pp.

The Viking Press

1954

8 1/4" x 5 3/4"

Jacket design by Paul Galdone

Sweet Thursday … Read more STEINBECK, John

[273] pp.

The Viking Press

1954

8 1/4" x 5 3/4"

Jacket design by Paul Galdone

Sweet Thursday is a 1954 novel by John Steinbeck. It is a sequel to Cannery Row and set in the years after the end of World War II.

According to Steinbeck in the narrative, "Sweet Thursday" is the day between Lousy Wednesday and Waiting Friday.

Genesis of the novel
In the wake of World War II, Steinbeck left California for New York City and divorced his second wife Gwyn Conger Steinbeck in 1948. He married the actress Elaine Scott and became interested in writing for the theater, writing the play Burning Bright. Produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the play opened on Broadway in October 1950 and closed after 13 performances, a flop.

When Steinbeck found out that there was interest in turning Cannery Row into a Broadway musical, he wrote Sweet Thursday as a more Broadway-friendly piece. Eventually, Rodgers and Hammerstein became interested in it after Frank Loesser turned the property down.

Its origins as a pitch for a musical may explain some of the differences in the lead character of Mack between the two novels. In Sweet Thursday, Mack repeats snippets of poetry and whimsy, and he sings a melody that are out of character with the Mack of 1945's Cannery Row. See less