Studs Lonigan books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Studs Lonigan series?"

"There are three books in the Studs Lonigan series, published between 1932 and 1935."

Q: "What is the first book in the Studs Lonigan series?"

"The first book in the Studs Lonigan series is Young Lonigan, published in 1932."

Q: "Is the Studs Lonigan trilogy based on a real person?"

"Studs Lonigan is a fictional character, but Farrell based him partly on a real person he knew growing up on Chicago's South Side. The original \"Studs\" was a neighborhood tough who died young, and Farrell used him as a starting point for a broader portrait of how environment and circumstance could destroy a life."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	Young Lonigan	1932	James T. Farrell	Buy
2	Studs Lonigan	1935	James T. Farrell	Buy
3	Judgment Day	1935	James T. Farrell	Buy

The Studs Lonigan trilogy is James T. Farrell’s best-known work and one of the landmarks of American naturalist fiction. Published between 1932 and 1935, the three novels follow William “Studs” Lonigan from his grammar school graduation in 1916 through the early years of the Great Depression. Young Lonigan introduces Studs as a fifteen-year-old with some toughness and ambition but no real direction. The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan (published in the omnibus as “Studs Lonigan”) tracks his twenties as he drifts into drinking, brawling, and dead-end jobs. Judgment Day brings the story to its grim conclusion.

Farrell wrote the trilogy as a case study in how poverty, limited education, and a stifling social environment could grind down even a young man with some native ability. Studs is not unintelligent, but he has no models for a better life and no tools to build one. The prose is direct and unadorned, piling up the details of daily life in a way that makes the reader feel the weight of Studs’ world closing in around him. The trilogy was controversial when it first appeared for its frank language and depiction of sex, and it remains a powerful and uncomfortable read.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Studs Lonigan series?

There are three books in the Studs Lonigan series, published between 1932 and 1935.

What is the first book in the Studs Lonigan series?

The first book in the Studs Lonigan series is Young Lonigan, published in 1932.

Is the Studs Lonigan trilogy based on a real person?

Studs Lonigan is a fictional character, but Farrell based him partly on a real person he knew growing up on Chicago’s South Side. The original “Studs” was a neighborhood tough who died young, and Farrell used him as a starting point for a broader portrait of how environment and circumstance could destroy a life.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order