Between the Covers

Unbound. Carbon typescript, incomplete; pp. 102-260; double-spaced; two holes punched on margins; creasing to corners and general toning to first several pages; final page (containing only two lines) torn, affecting text else near fine.

Steinbeck began writing *The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights* in 1956, adapting the story from the Winchester text of Sir Thomas Malory’s *Le Morte d’Arthur*. The manuscript was unfinished at the time of his death, ending with the death of chivalry in Lancelot, and a version edited by Chase Horton was not published until 1976. The manuscript reflects modest grammatical typed corrections. According to Laura F. Hodges in the *Steinbeck Quarterly*, "Steinbeck took a "living approach" to the retelling of Malory's work by using the original structure and chapter titles, but he explored the psychological underpinning of the events and and tuned the use of language [to be] accessible to a Modern English speaker." Drafts of the Arthur manuscript are recorded at the Center for Steinbeck Studies in San Jose (typescript, described as “first draft”), the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas (carbon typescript, 546 pages), and the Morgan Library (typescript, incomplete).

A unique, unfinished work from the Noble Laureate and great American novelist.

Item #397783