William Hjortsberg Books In Order

Publication Order of Harry Angel Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Anthologies

William Hjortsberg was a novelist and an author of screenplays.

He was born in New York City on February 23, 1941 to his Swiss mother and father. He would go to Dartmouth for college and then attend the Yale School of Drama for a year before ultimately deciding to leave so that he could become a writer.

The next few years saw William living in the Caribbean as well as Europe. He would write two novels that went unpublished, but the second novel did have the silver lining of getting him the attention of Stanford University, which resulted in them giving Hjortsberg a creative writing fellowship. The fellowship concluded in 1968.

At that time, the author was having a bit of a discouraged moment as he had still not been published and was working to pay the bills as a stock boy at the local grocery store. William had once believed that he could pay his way as a novelist but had been robbed of his illusions. He started writing stories only to amuse himself. The end result would be the absurd 1969 story Alp, which was all about a skiing village in the Alps and was referred to by Thomas McGuane as ‘quite possibly’ the finest comic novel that had been composed in America.

In the seventies, the author decided that it was time to dip his toe into science fiction. The result would be the 1971 novel Gray Matters and the 1973 novel Symbiography. Gray Matters was inspired by a remark that the author had made himself while at a party about human brains that were being kept alive by science. The second story was about a man who makes dreams and appeared later in Penthouse in a condensed format.

He would also go on to write Toro! Toro! Toro!, which was a comedic take on the world of bullfighting which is historically very macho. After that, he wrote Falling Angel. The 1978 detective story would become his most well known. It would also be adapted into a 1987 movie titled Angel Heart, which starred Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke. The movie stayed largely faithful to the novel but there were changes made that made it differ from the original story.

Falling Angel was also made into an opera in 2015 that was composed by J. Mark Scearce. It would also see a sequel in print from Hjortsberg that he titled Angel’s Inferno. The novel was published posthumously.

William is also the author of the screenplay for the 1986 feature film Legend, the Ridley Scott dark fairy tale. He has been nominated for Falling Angel for an Edgar Award. He has also won two Playboy Editorial Awards, and has written a biography titled Jubilee Hitchhiker all about author Richard Brautigan. In addition to writing the screenplay for Legend, Hjortsberg also penned the 1977 screenplay Thunder and Lightning and the 1980 television screenplay The Georgia Peaches.

He had gotten married three times in his life and has a son and daughter.

Before passing, the author lived with his family in Montana. William passed away on April 22, 2017 due to pancreatic cancer and was 76 years old at the time of his passing. He was survived by his wife, Margaret Jane Camp.

Falling Angel is the first novel in the Harry Angel series by William Hjortsberg. If you like a good book that combines the occult, mystery, and a bit of murder, this is likely the perfect story for you. Pick up a copy and check it out or just keep reading to find out what happens to get a synopsis to get an exciting preview of what happens!

Falling Angel sees a private eye straight out of New York who is pretty tough against one of the scariest foes that a detective has ever come up against. Harry Angel sees a regular case of a missing person soon transform into a nightmare that extends to things like black magic and voodoo.

Soon Harry Angel finds that he’s dealing with more than just a standard case. The detective is quickly pulled into an entirely new world where danger lurks around every corner and he risks a horrible death at any moment.

Full of supernatural spookiness combined with classic horror, this book has turned many a reader into an instant William Hjortsberg fan! This book also includes a foreword from Ridley Scott as well as the late James Crumley giving an introduction. There is also an afterword from the author, an extra short story, and a letter penned by the King of Horror himself Stephen King in full published form.

Pick up a copy of this book and read along to catch all of the twists and see what Harry Angel gets up to and whether he’s going to be able to solve this case and make it through in one piece too. Read this book and find out what happens in the end!

Angel’s Inferno is the second novel in the Harry Angel series by William Hjortsberg! If you loved the events of the first book and the character of Harry Angel, follow along for another thrilling installment of this series and read the compelling sequel to the first that captured the imagination and minds of so many readers first in novel form and then as a movie.

Harry Angel is a private eye and he finds himself in a predicament. He has been handcuffed in his own apartment with cops and a dead body. Now he’s being accused of committing the crime of killing three people.

There is positive news, however. He knows who really did it. But he also needs to clear his name, and to do that, he’s going to need to escape. He’s also got to do some work and figure out his own personal identity. He has to work quickly, because he knows that it’s only a matter of time before the authorities catch up to him.

With the authorities chasing after him, Harry hastily makes his way around the world searching for a stage musician. He goes from Boston to New York to Paris and even the Vatican. As he goes deeper into the world of the occult, can he get justice when it comes to the devil? Or is Harry in over his head? Read Angel’s Inferno by William Hjortsberg to find out!