 Similar pairings had led to success, not only in the pair's "Carousel" and "South Pacific", but in Hammerstein's work before his collaboration with Rodgers, such as "The Desert Song" and "Rose-Marie".During early 1953, Steinbeck sent Hammerstein early drafts of the novel.Rodgers was also concerned about the idea of having a prostitute be the female lead, but eventually gave in.