The Moon Is Down

The Moon Is Down
First Edition
AuthorJohn Steinbeck
Cover artistFrank Lieberman
LanguageEnglish
GenreDystopian Fiction
PublisherViking Press
Publication date
March 6, 1942
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages188
LC ClassPS3537.T3234

The Moon Is Down is a 1942 novel by American writer John Steinbeck. The book is about the military occupation of a small town in Northern Europe by an unnamed army. Steinbeck wrote it as propaganda intended to fuel resistance movements in occupied countries during World War II. The book was widely bootlegged and adapted for the stage in Europe. The Moon Is Down was adapted into a film by Irving Pichel in 1943.

The novel's scenario echoed the occupation of Norway by Germany during World War II. Norway awarded Steinbeck the King Haakon VII Freedom Cross for the novel.