When Mr. Dashwood dies, he leaves his second wife and her three daughters at the mercy of his son and heir, John. John's wife convinces him to turn his step-mother and half-sisters out, and they move to a country cottage, rented to them by a distant relative. In their newly reduced circumstances Elinor and Marianne, the two eldest daughters, wrestle with ideas of romance and reality and their apparent opposition to each other. Elinor struggles

The fiction of John Steinbeck has amassed generations of admirers since first making its mark on the literary landscape in the mid-20th century. The Long Valley is a collection of 12 short stories set in the author's birthplace of Salinas Valley, California. A must-read for Steinbeck fans and for all lovers of American literature, the collection includes "The Murder," "The Chrysanthemums," "The Vigilante," and the classic Red Pony tales.