Steinbeck began writing the story as a movie script[3] in 1944 and first published it as a short story called "The Pearl of the World" in the Woman's Home Companion (December 1945).[4] The original publication is also sometimes listed as "The Pearl of La Paz".[5] Steinbeck expanded the story to novella length and published it under the name The Pearl (1947), published by Viking Press.[4] As he was writing the novella version, he was frequently travelling to Mexico where the film version,[6] co-written with Jack Wagner,[4] was being filmed. The film was also released by RKO in 1947 as a co-promotion with the book.[6]
In 2001, The Pearl was loosely adapted as a film directed by Alfredo Zacharias, starring Lukas Haas and Richard Harris, which was released directly to video in 2005.[4]
The book takes place in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. Unlike many of Steinbeck’s other works, it does not take place in the U.S state of California.
