Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revolutionary Road | 1961 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 2 | A Special Providence | 1969 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 3 | Disturbing the Peace | 1975 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 4 | The Easter Parade | 1976 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 5 | A Good School | 1978 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 6 | Young Hearts Crying | 1984 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 7 | Cold Spring Harbor | 1986 | Richard Yates | Buy |
| 8 | Castles of Gold & Dust | 1996 | Richard Yates | Buy |
Richard Yates wrote eight novels over a career spanning from 1961 to 1996. Revolutionary Road (1961), his debut, follows Frank and April Wheeler as their suburban life unravels. The Easter Parade (1976) traces two sisters through decades of disappointment. A Good School (1978) draws on his boarding school years, and Young Hearts Crying (1984) follows a couple from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Yates spent much of his career in relative obscurity despite critical admiration. A Special Providence (1969) is a partly autobiographical war novel, and Disturbing the Peace (1975) follows a man’s mental breakdown. Cold Spring Harbor (1986) returns to Long Island domestic life. Castles of Gold & Dust, published posthumously in 1996, was his final work.
Though Yates died in 1992 without achieving the commercial success of many peers, a revival of interest in his work began in the early 2000s. The 2008 film adaptation of Revolutionary Road, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, brought him back to wide public attention. His novels reward readers who appreciate precise, unsentimental writing about ordinary American lives gone sideways.