Writer John Steinbeck’s beautiful Sag Harbor oceanside home is on sale for $16.75 million

The Sag Harbor oceanfront cottage and writing retreat where John Steinbeck wrote The Winter of Our Discontent and Travels With Charley are on sale for the first time in 60 years.

The Long Island home, which is listed at $16.75 million, was Steinbeck's home from 1955 until he died in 1968, and the writer described it as his 'Eden'.

Although California was his home state, where there's a National Steinbeck Center Museum and his Salinas boyhood home has been restored and open to the public, Steinbeck moved to New York in 1941, switching between New York City and Long Island’s Sag Harbor.

At first a vacation and weekend getaway, in 1955 Steinbeck bought a Sag Harbor waterfront cottage, which he called 'my little fishing place', where he stayed for most of the rest of his life. 

With almost two acres and views over Morris Cove and Upper Sag Harbor Cove, Steinbeck built a writing hut where he could work with no distractions and water views over Morris Cove and Upper Sag Harbor. 

The writing hut is still intact and carefully preserved much as it was when Steinbeck left with his dog in 1960 to begin his 10,000-mile road trip that became Travels with Charley.

The main cottage boasts modern kitchen ideas with stainless steel tops and a neutral decor scheme, with nods to coastal style.

Clearly a writer's abode, the walls are also bursting with books.

There are two cozy bedrooms on the upper floor, built into the eaves of the building.

Located on 586ft of waterfront, there's also a 60ft pier, where Steinbeck liked to fish.

The listing agent is Doreen Atkins, Sotheby’s International Realty, Bridgehampton Brokerage. Photos courtesy of Top Ten Real Estate Deals.

Who was John Steinbeck?

One of America’s most important writers with both a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize, Steinbeck’s classic works include the novella Of Mice and Men and the novels Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. 

John spent most of his early life in Southern California where he worked odd jobs, including farmworker, handyman, and tour guide before his success as a writer in his early 30s. Many of his best works were inspired by the people of California and from the trips he took across the United States.