Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The 23rd Pan Book of Horror Stories |
1982 |
Buy |
| Travel Writing |
1984 |
Buy |
| City Sleuths and Tough Guys |
1989 |
Buy |
| The Literary Traveller |
1994 |
Buy |
| A Tangled Web |
2005 |
Buy |
| Cape Town Calling |
2010 |
Buy |
| Granta 114: Aliens |
2011 |
Buy |
| Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, “Found” Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts |
2012 |
Buy |
| The Best American Travel Writing 2014 |
2014 |
Buy |
| Life Is Short – Art Is Shorter: In Praise of Brevity |
2015 |
Buy |
Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Sinning with Annie |
1972 |
Buy |
| World’s End |
1982 |
Buy |
| Half Moon Street |
1984 |
Buy |
| On the Edge of the Great Rift: Three Novels of Africa |
1996 |
Buy |
| The Collected Stories |
1997 |
Buy |
| The Collected Short Novels |
1998 |
Buy |
| Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings |
2000 |
Buy |
| The Stranger at the Palazzo d’Oro |
2003 |
Buy |
| Mr. Bones |
2014 |
Buy |
| The Vanishing Point |
2025 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| V.S. Naipaul |
1972 |
Buy |
| The Great Railway Bazaar |
1975 |
Buy |
| The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas |
1979 |
Buy |
| To the Ends of the Earth: The Selected Travels |
1980 |
Buy |
| The Kingdom by the Sea |
1983 |
Buy |
| Sailing Through China |
1984 |
Buy |
| The Imperial Way: By Rail from Peshawar to Chittagong |
1985 |
Buy |
| Patagonia Revisited |
1985 |
Buy |
| Sunrise with Seamonsters |
1985 |
Buy |
| Nowhere Is a Place |
1986 |
Buy |
| Riding the Iron Rooster |
1988 |
Buy |
| Travelling the World |
1990 |
Buy |
| The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific |
1992 |
Buy |
| The Pillars of Hercules |
1995 |
Buy |
| Slow Trains to Simla |
1996 |
Buy |
| Sir Vidia’s Shadow |
1998 |
Buy |
| Nurse Wolf and Dr. Sacks |
2001 |
Buy |
| Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town |
2002 |
Buy |
| 2 Stars |
2005 |
Buy |
| Ghost Train to the Eastern Star |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road |
2011 |
Buy |
| The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari |
2013 |
Buy |
| Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads |
2015 |
Buy |
| Figures in a Landscape: People and Places |
2018 |
Buy |
| On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey |
2019 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Murder in Mount Holly |
1969 |
Buy |
| London Snow |
1982 |
Buy |
| Doctor Slaughter |
1984 |
Buy |
| The Shortest Day of the Year |
1986 |
Buy |
| The White Man’s Burden |
1987 |
Buy |
| Dr. Demarr |
1990 |
Buy |
| A Christmas Card |
1991 |
Buy |
| The Greenest Island |
1995 |
Buy |
| Camp Echo |
2019 |
Buy |
Spencer Monroe Savage Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Consul’s File |
1972 |
Buy |
| The London Embassy |
1982 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Fong and the Indians |
1968 |
Buy |
| Waldo |
1968 |
Buy |
| Girls at Play |
1969 |
Buy |
| Jungle Lovers |
1971 |
Buy |
| Saint Jack |
1973 |
Buy |
| The Black House |
1974 |
Buy |
| The Family Arsenal |
1976 |
Buy |
| Picture Palace |
1978 |
Buy |
| The Mosquito Coast |
1981 |
Buy |
| O-Zone |
1986 |
Buy |
| My Secret History |
1989 |
Buy |
| Millroy the Magician |
1993 |
Buy |
| My Other Life |
1996 |
Buy |
| Kowloon Tong |
1997 |
Buy |
| Hotel Honolulu |
2001 |
Buy |
| Blinding Light |
2005 |
Buy |
| The Elephanta Suite |
2007 |
Buy |
| A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta |
2009 |
Buy |
| The Lower River |
2012 |
Buy |
| Mother Land |
2017 |
Buy |
| Under the Wave at Waimea |
2021 |
Buy |
| The Bad Angel Brothers |
2022 |
Buy |
| Burma Sahib |
2024 |
Buy |
Paul Theroux has been writing since the late 1960s and has produced an enormous body of work across fiction, travel writing, and essays. His novels range from the satirical early works like Fong and the Indians and Waldo to major literary novels like The Mosquito Coast and Saint Jack. He is equally known for his travel books, which record journeys by train, boat, and road across every continent.
His travel writing includes some of the genre’s most recognized titles. The Great Railway Bazaar (1975) recounts a four-month train trip through Asia, and The Old Patagonian Express (1979) follows a rail journey from Massachusetts to the tip of South America. Later books like Dark Star Safari and On the Plain of Snakes continued his tradition of long, overland travel through challenging regions. With nearly 80 books to his name, Theroux is one of the most productive American writers of his generation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Paul Theroux written?
Paul Theroux has written 79 books across six series.
What was Paul Theroux's first book?
Paul Theroux’s first book is Fong and the Indians, published in 1968.
What is Paul Theroux best known for?
Paul Theroux is best known for his travel writing, particularly The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express, as well as his novel The Mosquito Coast, which was adapted into a film starring Harrison Ford.