Elizabeth McCracken Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Art of the Story Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Elizabeth McCracken is an American born fiction writer best known for her novel Niagra Falls All Over Again. She schooled in Newton North High school and was awarded Bachelor in Arts, and Master’s degree in Arts from Boston University graduated from the University of Lowa with Masters in fine art. She lived in Cambridge in 2008 and 2009. She is married to Edward Carey with two children, a son, and a daughter. Elizabeth McCracken and her husband were earlier on the faculty of the Lowa writer’s workshop. She published her first stories, Thunder &other stories.

Hungry one of McCracken’s short stories was long-listed for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award in 2015 which is a very valued award in for short stories. She also won The Story Prize for her book, Thunderstruck & Other stories in 2015, National Book Awards finalist for, The Giant’s House in 1996, L.L Winship/PEN New English Award for the Niagara Falls All Over Again in 2002.

Niagara Falls All Over Again

Niagara Falls All Over Again is Elizabeth McCracken’s published in 2001 after her debut novel The Giant’s House.

Spanning from the fading years of vaudeville and the dawn of the age of Hollywood, Niagara Falls All Over Again documents the story of a mistake-filled but strong friendship over three decades, telling a powerful story of love, family, grief, and loss. It’s through this the author introduces to the readers her most powerful hero- Mose Sharp, a son; husband, brother, friend, and a father to a fat man in baggy pants who changes his life for good.

To the public, Mose was the arch of the comedy team known as Carter and Sharp. But to his partner, Mose was a charming, handsome man who never failed at romance and love. To his dad and siblings, Mose was the prodigal son, and to his own heart and soul, he was the boy who once had a chance to save a young woman’s life- a woman would be his greatest loss.

Born in a small rural town Iowa to a Jewish family, he was the only male siblings among six sisters, and so he couldn’t leave his home soon enough. At the age of sixteen, Mose had joined a vaudeville circuit, but he knew one thing right from the start- he needed a partner that’s what he always reminded himself. But as the Carter and Sharp comedy team progressed from vaudeville age to the golden Hollywood age- one astonishing thing happened- it was Mose who had the best lines backstage.

Rocky would go through women, wives, and money in his unending search for love only to finally settle down to a fragile family love marked by unending tragedy. And soon it was evident that there were un-repairable cracks in their relationship until one act led to another, and a partnership sparked.

Niagara Falls All Over Again is bold as it is compassionate as the author introduces her indelibly characters from Mose’s family to the vagabond lovers, friends and competitors in his journey as she dives into the fragile structures that are the foundations of friendship family, love affair, and partnership.
Hollywood golden age will always be remembered for the emergence of great comedy duos. It was the days of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Bob and Bing. The formula to make a good comedy doe was pretty straightforward: one person had to be a buffoon to deliver all the physical gags, and the other person had to be a straight man. This formula worked fantastically, and the trend even lasted for years through the sixties where the team of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin ruled supreme.

It’s through this depiction that Elizabeth McCracken tells her touching but also a hilarious story of a great pairing in her book Niagara Falls Over Again. She serves a heart-warming and a deliciously wicked memoir told by the straight character from a fictional comedy due from that wonderful Golden Era. This is a tale of enduring friendship and professional partnership that began from their early days during the Great Depression, through the Second World War and to their edge of glory as then decline into ingloriousness.

The author presents her characters with so much dimension and depth that makes the readers realize that in life, it’s important not to look beyond stereotypes and learn that inconsistency is what makes everyone human after all. She works detailed the inward of her cast in a smooth and unhurried manner. Much happens to her cast, and every detail is presented each comment, and the fact all building to the understanding of a given character in the reader meticulously. The story is told from Mose Sharp point of view. Events happen, life rolls along through tragedies, disasters, and marriages.

The Giant’s House

The Giant’s House is Elizabeth’s debut novel first published in 1996. The book explores the life of Peggy Cort, a fictional character who falls madly in love with James Sweatt, the world’s tallest man.

The book primarily reflects the character’s exploration of humanity with romance at the core. The story kicks off in 1950 in a small town in Cape Cod where we meet the 26-year-old librarian who feels like life and love have stood her up. But one day, James Sweatt, an 11-year-old boy- the talk of the town because of his height- walks right into Peggy’s library and transforms her life for good.

The two misfits soon find their lives interwoven in ways they never imagined. In James, she discovers the one person in the world who’s never understood her so does her heart and their romance.

The Giant’s House is a quirky, and unforgettably tender story about learning to appreciate those unexpected miracles in our lives, and about the strength to love those who love and appreciate us in a world that doesn’t give guarantees and promises. Elizabeth McCracken has a captivating way with words, and it’s impossible not to be captured by this simple story of love. Her main character, Peggy, inaccessible to love and the public in generals opens her heart to the man who loves her and to the readers. She is funny, intelligent and a worthy character to associate with.