"Steinbeck is an artist; and he tells stories of these lovable thieves and adulterers with a gentle and poetic purity of heart and of prose." –New York Herald Tribune
Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, Steinbeck created a Camelot on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur's castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging–men who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude.
As Steinbeck chronicles their deeds–their multiple lovers, their wonderful brawls, their Rabelaisian wine-drinking–he spins a tale as compelling and ultimately as touched by sorrow as the famous legends of the Round Table, which inspired him.