STEINBECK, John — Wayward Bus, the

London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1947. Steinbeck Between War and Mastery - The Wayward Bus First UK Edition - A Transitional Work STEINBECK, John. The Wayward Bus. London: William Heinemann Ltd. [1947]. First UK edition. Octavo (7 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches; 197 x 130 mm.). [vi], 254 pp. Publisher's purple linen over boards, spine lettered in silver. Boards with some damp staining to outer edges. In the original dust jacket printed in green and white, with minor wear to extremities. A very good copy. Published in the same year as the American edition, The Wayward Bus occupies a fascinating transitional position in Steinbeck's career, bridging the earlier socially engaged novels of the 1930s with the more expansive, philosophical works that would culminate in East of Eden. Set over the course of a single journey, the novel brings together a diverse cast of characters - drifters, dreamers, and the quietly desperate - trapped together both physically and emotionally, a microcosm of postwar American life. Despite the modest condition issues to the boards, this remains a solid and presentable example of an increasingly elusive Steinbeck first in its UK issue. Goldstone & Payne A33b. .