Whose Names Are Unknown

Whose Names Are Unknown is an American novel by Sanora Babb, written in the 1930s but not published until 2004. It centers on members of a High Plains farm family during the Great Depression as they endure the poverty inflicted by drought and the Dust Bowl; they ultimately flee to California in hopes of building a better life but encounter a new set of hardships. Although accepted by a major publisher, the book was shelved after a similar novel by a celebrated author, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, was published first. After Whose Names Are Unknown finally reached print, some scholars and critics noted that Steinbeck had had access to Babb's notes and appeared to have borrowed from her work in crafting his own novel.