“If you make that much money there’s bound to be a mess.”
The line from John Steinbeck’s novel, East of Eden, is one of many in his books presaging the never-ending struggles among his heirs.
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The current mess involves a years-long court case with Steinbeck’s son and granddaughter on one side, and his deceased wife’s relatives on the other.
In a complaint filed in 2004, Thomas Steinbeck and Blake Smyle, the daughter of the writer’s younger son, John Steinbeck IV, accused John Steinbeck’s widow, Elaine, of “a 30-year hidden conspiracy to deprive John Steinbeck’s blood heirs of their rights.” Their suit, which also named Steinbeck’s publisher and literary agent as defendants, sought total damages of $18 million.
Yesterday, a federal appeals court in New York reversed an earlier ruling that had granted the two rights to 10 of Steinbeck’s works. The court ordered the lower court to rule in favor of Penguin Group publishing company and Elaine Steinbeck’s heirs.
The decision gives Penguin rights to publish 10 novels, including The Grapes of Wrath and Tortilla Flat.
Steinbeck published his first novel, Cup of Gold, in 1929 and went on to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1968.
His third wife, Elaine Steinbeck, was executor of his estate and a fierce defender of his legacy. When she died in 2003, she left the copyrights to her sisters and heirs from a previous marriage.
John Steinbeck’s descendants were excluded from her will.
Thomas, known as Thom, is his only living son. John Steinbeck IV, the father of Blake Smyle, died at age 44 during surgery for a herniated disk. His memoir, The Other Side of Eden, was published after his death.
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