The Long Valley: Suggestions for Further Reading

"Flight" is set along the Big Sur coast below Monterey. In the early 1920s Steinbeck worked for the first surveying crew in the Big Sur area, before the U.S. Highway 1 was constructed. Steinbeck's mother had also taught school in the Big Sur vicinity before marrying.

Fiorelli, Edward. "John Steinbeck." Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Vol. 6. 2nd Rev. ed. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2001. 2233-38.

Hayashi, Tetsumaro, ed. Steinbeck's Short Stories in The Long Valley: Essays in Criticism. Vol. 15. Steinbeck Monograph Series, No. 15. Muncie, IN: John Steinbeck Society of America, English Dept., Ball State U, 1991. (Twelve essays, one on each story in The Long Valley except The Red Pony, and one an assessment of Steinbeck's career as a short story writer.

Mitchell, Marilyn L. "Steinbeck's Strong Women: Feminine Identity in the Short Stories." Short Story Criticism. Vol. 11. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1992. 221-25.

Summary of the text, brief textual history, and a map of the Salinas Valley with relevant locations.

A list of literary locations in Monterey County that makes mention of locations in The Long Valley. 

Critical article comparing "Flight" with Steinbeck's later work, The Pearl, published in the Steinbeck Review.

Monterey County Historical Societys listing of Steinbeck's settings.

Reading and Discussion Questions on John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums."

An adaptation of "The Chrysanthemums" by SJSU Professor Matthew Spangler.