Thomas Wolfe Standalone Novels books in order

Thomas Wolfe's standalone novels include his four major autobiographical works — Look Homeward, Angel, Of Time and the River, The Web and the Rock, and You Can't Go Home Again — as well as posthumously published manuscripts. His novels span from 1929 to 2009.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Look Homeward, Angel 1929 Thomas Wolfe Buy
2 Of Time and the River 1935 Thomas Wolfe Buy
3 The Web and the Rock 1938 Thomas Wolfe Buy
4 You Can’t Go Home Again 1940 Thomas Wolfe Buy
5 Good Child’s River 1991 Thomas Wolfe Buy
6 O Lost: A Story of the Buried Life 2000 Thomas Wolfe Buy
7 The Web and the Root 2009 Thomas Wolfe Buy

Thomas Wolfe’s major novels follow Eugene Gant and later George Webber through experiences drawn closely from his own life: childhood in Asheville, student days at Harvard, teaching in New York, travels in Europe, and the complex relationships that shaped his writing. The prose is dense and lyrical, often running to great length within individual scenes.

The posthumously published novels — Good Child’s River (1991), O Lost: A Story of the Buried Life (2000), and The Web and the Root (2009) — represent earlier drafts and manuscript versions of material that Wolfe’s editors shaped into the published novels. They offer a closer look at his process and the raw material behind his finished work.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Thomas Wolfe Standalone Novels series?

There are seven books in the Thomas Wolfe Standalone Novels series, published between 1929 and 2009.

What is the first book in the Thomas Wolfe Standalone Novels series?

The first book in the Thomas Wolfe Standalone Novels series is Look Homeward, Angel, published in 1929.

Were Thomas Wolfe's later novels published during his lifetime?

Only Look Homeward, Angel (1929) and Of Time and the River (1935) were published in his lifetime. The Web and the Rock (1938) and You Can’t Go Home Again (1940) were edited and published posthumously by his editor Edward Aswell. Later titles including Good Child’s River and O Lost appeared decades after his death.

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