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Remarkable handwritten manuscript by John Steinbeck for his unpublished short story “π√” [“Pi Root”], unsigned, 34 pages, 8 x 12.5, no date but circa 1956. “Pi Root” centers on Mrs. Peter Ives Root of Peconic, Long Island, who in June 1955 petitions Judge Martin to have her husband declared legally dead after he entered a rocket and blasted off into the sky. It begins: "On June 15, 1955 in the village of Peconic, Long Island, Mrs. Peter Ives Root petitioned the ? court to declare her husband Peter I. Root 2nd legally dead. (Peconic Intelligencer, 6/15/55, p. 3, col. 4). Mrs. Root deposed that on September 1, 1954, at 12 o'clock noon, Peter Root climbed into the control seat of a rocket propelled vehicle of his own making, and in the presence of at least 1200 witnesses, pressed an activation switch, whereupon the rocket rose on a blast of fire and rapidly disappeared into the sky."
The story unfolds through letters and interviews. Mrs. Root argues her case so that her husband’s estate can enter probate, followed by an interview with Joseph Blanding, president of the Peconic Savings Bank, regarding Peter Root’s finances. The final section, pages 23–34, is presented as a transcribed “taped” interview with a Peconic grade-school teacher discussing Root’s education. In overall fine condition. Housed in a custom-made quarter-leather clamshell case. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from bookseller John F. Fleming, who states that the manuscript "was purchased by me from the estate of Elizabeth Otis who was Steinbeck's literary agent."
Steinbeck began “Pi Root” in February 1956. In a March 7, 1956 letter to Otis, he noted that work had been interrupted by other ideas, including a “long short story in the form of an historical report” titled “All Your Houses.” He nevertheless completed “Pi Root” and sent it to Otis. It seems that the title was never firmly settled: Steinbeck headed the first page with the mathematical symbols “π√,” while Otis referred to the piece as “Peter Root Legally Dead.” The story was never published and remained with Otis until its acquisition by Fleming.
Interestingly, the title also recalls Steinbeck’s novel Sweet Thursday (1954), in which Joe Elegant is writing a gothic novel called “Pi Root of Oedipus.” This manuscript suggests Steinbeck revisited the conceit two years later, developing it into an eccentric tale of disappearance, bureaucracy, and legal absurdity. A fascinating unpublished work from the Nobel Prize-winning author, offering a rare glimpse into Steinbeck’s creative process and his experimentation with epistolary, documentary, and satirical narrative forms.
