Richard Yates Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Screenplays Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Richard Yates was a published author. He burst onto the scene with the publication of his first novel, Revolutionary Road, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 1961.

The book drew a lot of praise and made Yates an important new writer in the literary world. Kurt Vonnegut even said that the book was ‘The Great Gatsby’ of its time. William Styron said that it was a “deft, ironic, beautiful novel that deserves to be a classic’. Tennessee Williams said that it was more than fine writing and that if “more is needed to make a masterpiece in modern American fiction, I am sure I don’t know what it is”.

In 1962, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness was published, the author’s first collection of short stories. It was received well and likewise had praise heaped upon it, with Kurt Vonnegut saying that it was “the best short-story collection ever written by an American”.

Upon returning from Los Angeles, Yates began working as a speechwriter for Senator Robert F. Kennedy until the assassination of JFK. From there he moved to Iowa where he served as a creative writing teacher and would influence and inspire writers such as Andre Dubus and Dewitt Henry.

His third novel Disturbing the Peace came out in 1975. His book The Easter Parade came out in 1976, following the lives of the Grimes sisters and ending in typical fashion for this author, replicating the disappointed lives of Revolutionary Road.

Even as Yates began to find himself an author cut adrift in a sea fast turning towards postmodernism, he would stay true to realism. His influences remained the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Flaubert, and Chekov, the short story master.

It was to his school and army days that the author would go to for his next novel, A Good School, which was followed by his second collection of short stories, Liars in Love. He would also write Young Hearts Crying which was released in 1984 and would follow that up with his final completed novel two years later, Cold Spring Harbour.

Like the fate of his hero, Flaubert, whose novel Madame Bovary proved to be an influence for Revolutionary Road and The Easter Parade, Yates’ works are enjoying a renaissance, attracting new readers all over the world.

Revolutionary Road is the first novel to come out from Richard Yates. It was adapted into a 2008 movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Sam Mendes. The romantic drama grossed over $79.6 billion worldwide. Read the book that started Richard Yates’ career in literature and see what you think.

In the nineteen fifties, Frank and April Wheeler look like they are the model American couple. They are beautiful and bright, talented, living with two young children and a starter home in the suburbs. But even though they should have everything, there is this nagging dark side to them that indicates something isn’t right.

Maybe they married too young or decided to have a family too early. Maybe Frank’s job is dull and April never really saw herself as a housewife. But they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. However, that certainty is now on the verge of crumbling.

With compassion and clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying each other and their best selves. Read this book to catch all of Revolutionary Road for yourself!

A Special Providence is the second book to come out from Richard Yates. Robert Prentice is 18. His mother Alice is 53.

Both of them are damaged souls in their own ways. Robert has been damaged by the ravages of war. Alice has been damaged by thwarted dreams of prosperity. In two deeply humanizing portraits, the great American writer crafts a novel of postwar America, at once at odds with its own sense of identity and mercilessly prohibitive to its like minded citizens.