John Steinbeck

ohn Steinbeck was inspired to write his novella The Pearl after visiting the La Paz, Baja California Sur, with his good friend and marine biologist Ed Ricketts on their Sea of Cortez expedition. A city which is featured in The Pearl, La Paz is the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, an area which supports some 900 islands. Near La Paz, there is the Isla Espiritu Santo, considered the "crown jewel" of the Gulf. Pearl divers have found many in this area; and, pearls from the sea are valued more highly than freshwater pearls.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Ricketts inspired much of Steinbeck's writing. His lab on Cannery Row figures into the novel of the same name, and Ricketts is the model for the character "Doc." In addition to inspiring a number of characters for Steinbeck, the biologist provided material for the ecological themes of some of the author's works.