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Burning Bright

John Steinbeck

19501 pagesabout 5–10 minutes
1950
first published
  • 1951Heinemann · 111 pages · ENGISBN 9780434740147
  • 1970Pan Books · 96 pages · ENGISBN 9780330026031
  • 1991Mandarin · 102 pages · ENGISBN 9780749303983
  • 1994Penguin Books · 93 pages · ENGISBN 9780140187427
  • 2016Recorded Books, Inc. and Blackstone Publishing · 1 pagesISBN 9781664617155
  • 2001Penguin Books Ltd · 112 pagesISBN 9780141186061
  • 2003Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media · ENGISBN 9780606286381
  • 2006Penguin Classics · 128 pages · ENGISBN 9780143039440

A short novel written in an experimental blend of play and novel. The story is a simple morality play set in a circus. When an ageing man’s young wife suspects that her husband is sterile she decides to seduce his young assistant solely to become pregnant, wanting to give her husband the child he craves. When the husband discovers the truth he must come to terms with his pride.

How it reads

ComplexityExperimental

Worth knowing

Romance levelSubplot

When and where

ThemesLove
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