Erskine Caldwell, Tobacco Road

Christopher Rieger (Southeast Missouri State University)

Ed. by Stephen E. Meats, Pittsburg State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1932

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Tobacco Road was Erskine Caldwell’s third published novel, but his first big success. Although the novel sold modestly upon its initial release by Scribner’s, it was wildly successful as a paperback reissue for Penguin in 1946. It sold over one million copies within one year of its paperback release, spurred on by the popularity of stage and film versions of the novel. A stage version of Tobacco Road, written by Jack Kirkland, opened on Broadway in 1933, and it became the longest-running show in Broadway history, closing in 1941 after 3,180 shows, over 900 more than any other play in American history at the time. Several travelling shows operated at once, playing in forty-three states and breaking attendance records …

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1137 words

Citation: Rieger, Christopher. "Tobacco Road". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 April 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8391, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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