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John Steinbeck is best known for writing about the lives of ordinary American people during the Great Depression.

He was born in Salinas, California on 27 February 1902. When he was a teenager he spent time working on ranches near his home and this had a big impact on his writing. His experience of working with farm labourers and his interest in their lives is clearly evident in Of Mice and Men, as well as books like The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden.

Of Mice and Men was first published in 1937. It is set in a place called Soledad, a Spanish word meaning solitude or loneliness, in California, during the Great Depression. This was a period of significant poverty and unemployment across the USA. The book tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two migrant workers and friends, who dream of one day owning a farm together.

Try our quiz and find out how much you know about George and Lenny. Can you tell who said what in the novel?