Did You Know That John Steinbeck’s Dog Ate Half of his 1st Manuscript of “Of Mice and Men”?
American Writer John Steinbeck, who won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, loved dogs, but he was not happy after his dog, Toby, who had been left alone one night, ate about half of his 1st draft of “Of Mice and Men.” In May 1936, Steinbeck wrote his agent, Elizabeth Otis, “Minor tragedy stalked. My setter pup, left alone one night, made confetti of about half of my manuscript book. Two months work to do over again. It set me back. There was no other draft. I was pretty mad, but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically. I didn’t want to ruin a good dog for a manuscript I’m not sure is good at all. He only got an ordinary spanking … I’m not sure Toby didn’t know what he was doing when he ate the first draft. I have promoted Toby-dog to be a lieutenant-colonel in charge of literature.” I guess Toby thought that 1st draft was a bit ‘ruff.’
He had to start the book again but it would be published the following year in 1937. The story is about two traveling ranch workers, George and Lennie, trying to earn enough money to buy their own farm/ranch. Set in 1930’s America during The Great Depression, it includes themes of racism, loneliness, prejudice against the mentally ill, and the struggle for personal independence. It would be made into movies three times — in 1939, 1981, and…
