Edmund White Non-Fiction books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series?"

"There are thirteen books in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series, published between 1980 and 2025."

Q: "What is the first book in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series?"

"The first book in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series is States of Desire, published in 1980."

Q: "Which of Edmund White's non-fiction books won the National Book Critics Circle Award?"

"Edmund White's biography Genet (1993) won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The book is a thorough account of French writer and outlaw Jean Genet's life, running nearly 800 pages. White spent years researching it while living in Paris, and critics praised it as one of the finest literary biographies of the twentieth century."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	States of Desire	1980	Edmund White	Buy
2	Genet	1993	Edmund White	Buy
3	The Burning Library	1994	Edmund White	Buy
4	Our Paris: Sketches from Memory	1994	Edmund White	Buy
5	City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and ’70s	1999	Edmund White	Buy
6	Loss within Loss: Artists in the Age of AIDS	2000	Edmund White	Buy
7	Arts and Letters	2004	Edmund White	Buy
8	My Lives	2005	Edmund White	Buy
9	Rimbaud: The Double Life of a Rebel	2008	Edmund White	Buy
10	Sacred Monsters	2011	Edmund White	Buy
11	Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris	2014	Edmund White	Buy
12	The Unpunished Vice	2018	Edmund White	Buy
13	The Loves of My Life	2025	Edmund White	Buy

Edmund White’s non-fiction is as varied as his fiction. States of Desire (1980) was an early journalistic survey of gay life across America. His biography of Jean Genet, published in 1993, won the National Book Critics Circle Award and remains his most acclaimed work of non-fiction. He has also written a biography of Arthur Rimbaud and critical essays collected in The Burning Library (1994) and Arts and Letters (2004).

Several of his non-fiction books are memoirs. City Boy (1999) recalls his years in New York during the 1960s and 70s. Inside a Pearl (2014) covers his time in Paris. My Lives (2005) is organized thematically rather than chronologically, with chapters on his mother, his father, his lovers, and his friends. The Unpunished Vice (2018) is a book about reading. White’s non-fiction shares his fiction’s candor and attention to the texture of daily life.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series?

There are thirteen books in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series, published between 1980 and 2025.

What is the first book in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series?

The first book in the Edmund White Non-Fiction series is States of Desire, published in 1980.

Which of Edmund White's non-fiction books won the National Book Critics Circle Award?

Edmund White’s biography Genet (1993) won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The book is a thorough account of French writer and outlaw Jean Genet’s life, running nearly 800 pages. White spent years researching it while living in Paris, and critics praised it as one of the finest literary biographies of the twentieth century.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order