20th century in literature

Literatureof the 20th century refers toworld literatureproduced during the 20th century (1901 to 2000).

The main periods in question are often grouped by scholars asModernist literature,Postmodern literature,flowering from roughly 1900 to 1940 and 1960 to 1990respectively, roughly usingWorld War IIas a transition point. After 1960, the somewhat malleable term "contemporary literature"widely appears.

Although these terms (modern, contemporary and postmodern) are generally applicable to and stem from Western literary history, scholars often use them in reference toAsian,Latin AmericanandAfrican literatures.Non-western writers, in particular inPostcolonial literature,have been at the forefront of literary evolution during the twentieth century.

Technological advances facilitated lower production cost for books, coupled with rising populations and literacy rates, which resulted in a significant rise in production of popular literature andtrivial literature,comparable to the similar developments in music. The division of "popular literature" and "high literature" in the 20th century is overlapped bygenressuch asdetectivesorscience fiction,despite being largely ignored by mainstreamliterary criticismfor most of the century. These genres developed their own establishments and critical awards; these include theNebula Award(since 1965), theBritish Fantasy Award(since 1971) or theMythopoeic Awards(since 1971).

Towards the end of the 20th century,electronic literaturegrew in importance in light of the development ofhypertextand later theWorld Wide Web.

TheNobel Prize in Literaturewas awarded annually throughout the century (with the exception of 1914, 1918, 1935 and 1940–1943), the first laureate (1901) beingSully Prudhomme.The New York TimesBest Seller listhas been published since 1942.

Thebest-selling literary worksof the 20th century are estimated to beThe Lord of the Rings(1954/55, 150 million copies),Le Petit Prince(The Little Prince,1943, 140 million copies),Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone(1997, 120 million copies) andAnd Then There Were None(1939, 115 million copies). The Lord of the Ringswas also voted "book of the century" in various surveys. Perry Rhodan(1961 to present) proclaimed as the best-selling book series, with an estimated total of 1 billion copies sold.

1901–1918

Main articles:1900s literatureand1910s literature

TheFin de sièclemovement of theBelle Époquepersisted into the 20th century, but was brutally cut short with the outbreak of World War I (an effect depicted e.g. inThomas Mann'sThe Magic Mountain,published 1924). TheDadamovement of 1916–1920 was at least in part a protest against thebourgeoisnationalistandcolonialistinterests which many Dadaists believed were the root cause of the war; the movement heralded theSurrealismmovement of the 1920s.

1900

• Lord JimbyJoseph Conrad(Poland, England)
• The Knights of the CrossbyHenryk Sienkiewicz(Poland)

Genre fiction

• The Wonderful Wizard of OzbyL. Frank Baum(US)

1901

• BuddenbrooksbyThomas Mann(Germany)
• The InheritorsbyJoseph ConradandFord Madox Ford(England)
• KimbyRudyard Kipling(India, England)

Genre fiction

• The Purple CloudbyM. P. Shiel(Montserrat,England)
• The First Men in the MoonbyH. G. Wells(England)

1902

• Heart of DarknessbyJoseph Conrad
• The ImmoralistbyAndré Gide(France)
• The Wings of the DovebyHenry James(US, England)
• The Grand Babylon HotelbyArnold Bennett(England)

Genre fiction

• The Hound of the BaskervillesbyArthur Conan Doyle(Scotland)
• Just So StoriesbyRudyard Kipling

Plays

• Man and SupermanbyGeorge Bernard Shaw(Ireland)
• The Lower DepthsbyMaxim Gorky

1903

• RomancebyJoseph ConradandFord Madox Ford
• The AmbassadorsbyHenry James
• The PitbyFrank Norris(US)
• In WonderlandbyKnut Hamsun(Norway)

Genre fiction

• The Call of the WildbyJack London(US)
• The Riddle of the SandsbyErskine Childers(England, Ireland)

1904

• The Golden BowlbyHenry James
• NostromobyJoseph Conrad
• The Napoleon of Notting HillbyG. K. Chesterton(England)
• The PeasantsbyWładysław Reymont(Poland)

Genre fiction

• The Food of the GodsbyH. G. Wells
• The Sea-WolfbyJack London
• Green MansionsbyWilliam Henry Hudson(Argentina, England)

Plays

• John Bull's Other IslandbyGeorge Bernard Shaw
• The Cherry OrchardbyAnton Chekhov

1905

• Hadrian the SeventhbyFrederick RolfeakaBaron Corvo(England, Italy)
• Where Angels Fear to TreadbyE. M. Forster(England)
• KippsbyH. G. Wells
• Songs of Life and HopebyRubén Darío(Nicaragua)
• The House of MirthbyEdith Wharton(US)
• The Club of Queer TradesbyG. K. Chesterton

1906

• The JunglebyUpton Sinclair(US)
• The Confusions of Young TörlessbyRobert Musil(Austria)
• MotherbyMaxim Gorky

Genre fiction

• Puck of Pook's HillbyRudyard Kipling
• Peter Pan in Kensington GardensbyJ. M. Barrie(Scotland)
• Time and the GodsbyLord Dunsany(Ireland, England)
• White FangbyJack London

Plays

• The Aran IslandsbyJohn Millington Synge(Ireland)
• The Morality of Mrs. DulskabyGabriela Zapolska(Poland)

1907

• BardidibySarat Chandra Chattopadhyay(India)
• The Secret AgentbyJoseph Conrad
• The Longest JourneybyE. M. Forster

Genre fiction

• The Listener and Other StoriesbyAlgernon Blackwood(England) – containsThe Willows,one of the first 'cosmic horror' stories
• The Hill of DreamsbyArthur Machen(England)

Plays

• The Playboy of the Western WorldbyJohn Millington Synge

Poetry

• Cautionary Tales for ChildrenbyHilaire Belloc(France, England)

1908

• The Man Who Was ThursdaybyG. K. Chesterton
• A Room with a ViewbyE. M. Forster
• The Iron HeelbyJack London
• HellbyHenri Barbusse(France, Russia)
• The MagicianbySomerset Maugham(England, France) – based on the author's meeting withAleister Crowley

Genre fiction

• The Wind in the WillowsbyKenneth Grahame(England)

Poetry

• PersonaebyEzra Pound(US, England, Italy) – one of the first examples of 'modernist' poetry

1909

• Martin EdenbyJack London
• Sparrows: the story of an unprotected girlbyHorace W C Newte
• Tono-BungaybyH. G. Wells
• Three LivesbyGertrude Stein(US, France)

Poetry

• ExultationsbyEzra Pound
• PoemsbyWilliam Carlos Williams(US)

Plays

• The Blue BirdbyMaurice Maeterlinck(Belgium)

1910

• Howards EndbyE. M. Forster
• The CardbyArnold Bennett
• The History of Mr PollybyH. G. Wells

1911

• Zuleika DobsonbyMax Beerbohm(England)
• In a German PensionbyKatherine Mansfield(England) – short stories
• Under Western EyesbyJoseph Conrad
• The White PeacockbyD. H. Lawrence(England)
• Jennie GerhardtbyTheodore Dreiser(US)
• In Desert and WildernessbyHenryk Sienkiewicz(Poland)

Genre fiction

• Peter and WendybyJ. M. Barrie(Scotland)

1912

• The TrespasserbyD. H. Lawrence
• Death in VenicebyThomas Mann(Germany)

Genre fiction

• Riders of the Purple SagebyZane Grey(US)
• The Lost WorldbyArthur Conan Doyle
• Tarzan of the ApesbyEdgar Rice Burroughs(US)

Plays

• PygmalionbyGeorge Bernard Shaw

1913

• PetersburgbyAndrei Bely(Russia)
• Swann's WaybyMarcel Proust(France)
• Le Grand MeaulnesbyAlain-Fournier(France)
• Sons and LoversbyD. H. Lawrence
• ChancebyJoseph Conrad

Genre fiction

• A Prisoner in FairylandbyAlgernon Blackwood– adapted into a play, it later became theAndrew Lloyd WebbermusicalStarlight Express
• The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchuby 'Sax Rohmer' (England)

Poetry

• AlcoolsbyGuillaume Apollinaire(Poland, France) – dada poems
• GitanjalibyRabindranath Tagore

1914

• DublinersbyJames Joyce(Ireland, France, Italy) – short stories
• The Prussian Officer and Other StoriesbyD. H. Lawrence– short stories
• Der UntertanbyHeinrich Mann
• The Vatican CellarsbyAndré Gide
• Tender ButtonsbyGertrude Stein
• The GolembyGustav Meyrink(Austria)
• MistbyMiguel de Unamuno(Spain)
• MauricebyE. M. Forster– unpublished
• Sinister StreetbyCompton Mackenzie(Scotland, Greece)
• The Flying InnbyG. K. Chesterton
• The Ragged-Trousered PhilanthropistsbyRobert Noonan(UK)

Poetry

• North of BostonbyRobert Frost(US)

1915

• The Good SoldierbyFord Madox Ford
• The RainbowbyD. H. Lawrence
• The MetamorphosisbyFranz Kafka
• Of Human BondagebySomerset Maugham
• The UnderdogsbyMariano Azuela(Mexico)
• VictorybyJoseph Conrad
• Pointed RoofsbyDorothy Richardson
• The Voyage OutbyVirginia Woolf(England)
• VainglorybyRonald Firbank(England)
• RashōmonbyRyūnosuke Akutagawa

Genre fiction

• The Thirty-Nine StepsbyJohn Buchan(Scotland, Canada)

1916

• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManbyJames Joyce
• Women in LovebyD. H. Lawrence– initially banned, published in 1920

Genre fiction

• GreenmantlebyJohn Buchan

Poetry

• Salt-Water Poems and BalladsbyJohn Masefield(England)
• Mountain IntervalbyRobert Frost

1917

• Under FirebyHenri Barbusse(France, Russia)
• Walpurgis NightbyGustav Meyrink
• Growth of the SoilbyKnut Hamsun
• The Shadow LinebyJoseph Conrad
• CapricebyRonald Firbank
• DevdasbySarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

Poetry

• Dulce et Decorum estandAnthem for Doomed YouthbyWilfred Owen(England) – published posthumously
• Prufrock and Other ObservationsbyT. S. Eliot(US, England)

Non-fiction

• The State and RevolutionbyVladimir Lenin

1918

• TarrbyWyndham Lewis(Canada, England)
• Man of StrawbyHeinrich Mann(Germany)

Poetry

• CalligrammesbyGuillaume Apollinaire– dada poetry

Non-fiction

• Eminent VictoriansbyLytton Strachey(England)
• Reflections of a Nonpolitical ManbyThomas Mann(Germany)

Interwar period

Main articles:1920s literatureand1930s literature

Further information:Surrealism,Roaring Twenties,Modernist literature,andHarlem Renaissance

The 1920s were a period of literary creativity, and works of several notable authors appeared during the period.D. H. Lawrence's novelLady Chatterley's Loverwas a scandal at the time because of its explicit descriptions of sex. James Joyce's novel,Ulysses,published in 1922 in Paris, was one of the most important achievements of literary modernism.

1919

• Within a Budding GrovebyMarcel Proust
• Night and DaybyVirginia Woolf
• Winesburg, OhiobySherwood Anderson(US) – the first 'lost generation' novel
• ValmouthbyRonald Firbank
• Bazaar-e-HusnbyPremchand(publ. in Hindi asSeva-sadan)

Genre fiction

• DopebySax Rohmer– inspired by the true story of Limehouse dope-dealerBrilliant Chang
• Dope DarlingbyLeda Burke(David Garnett) (England)

1920

• WebyYevgeny Zamyatin(Russia)
• LimbobyAldous Huxley(England) – short stories
• The Lost GirlbyD. H. Lawrence
• This Side of ParadisebyF. Scott Fitzgerald(US)
• The London VenturebyMichael Arlen(Armenia,England)
• Storm of SteelbyErnst Jünger(Germany)
• A Voyage to ArcturusbyDavid Lindsay(Scotland)
• Main StreetbySinclair Lewis(US)
• The Age of InnocencebyEdith Wharton(US)

Plays

• Six Characters in Search of an AuthorbyLuigi Pirandello(Italy)
• Beyond the HorizonandAnna ChristiebyEugene O'Neill– Pulitzer prize winner

1921

• The Guermantes WaybyMarcel Proust
• Crome YellowbyAldous Huxley
• England, My England and Other StoriesbyD. H. Lawrence– short stories
• The Forsyte SagabyJohn Galsworthy(England) – pentalogy, first volume published in 1906
• My Life and LovesbyFrank Harris(England, US) – four volumes of quasi-factual sex gossip, the fifth completed by Alex Trocchi

Plays

• Back to MethuselahbyGeorge Bernard Shaw
• R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)byKarel Čapek– from which the term 'robot' was coined

1922

• UlyssesbyJames Joyce
• Jacob's RoombyVirginia Woolf
• Sodom and GomorrahbyMarcel Proust
• Croatian God MarsbyMiroslav Krleža
• The Enormous RoombyE. E. Cummings(US)
• FutilitybyWilliam Gerhardie(Russia, England)
• The Beautiful and DamnedbyF. Scott Fitzgerald
• Mortal CoilsbyAldous Huxley– short stories
• Aaron's RodbyD. H. LawrenceKim
• The Garden PartybyKatherine Mansfield– short stories
• SiddharthabyHermann Hesse(Germany, Switzerland)
• Peter WhifflebyCarl Van Vechten(US)
• BabbittbySinclair Lewis
• Lady into FoxbyDavid Garnett
• The True Story of Ah QbyLu Xun(China)

Poetry

• The Waste LandbyT. S. Eliot

1923

• Confessions of ZenobyItalo Svevo(Italy)
• The Good Soldier ŠvejkbyJaroslav Hašek(Czechoslovakia)
• The CaptivebyMarcel Proust
• KangaroobyD. H. Lawrence
• Antic HaybyAldous Huxley
• Three SoldiersbyJohn Dos Passos(US)
• The Great American NovelbyWilliam Carlos Williams
• The Devil in the FleshbyRaymond Radiguet(France)
• AelitabyAlexey Tolstoy(Russia)

Plays

• The Shadow of a GunmanbySeán O'Casey(Ireland)

Poetry

• New HampshirebyRobert Frost
• The Duino ElegiesbyRainer Maria Rilke

1924

• The Magic MountainbyThomas Mann(Germany)
• In Our TimebyErnest Hemingway(US) – short stories
• A Passage to IndiabyE. M. Forster
• The VortexbyJosé Eustasio Rivera(Colombia)
• Little Mexican and Other StoriesbyAldous Huxley– short stories
• Bohemian LightsbyRamón del Valle-Inclán(Spain)
• The FoxandThe Captain's DollbyD. H. Lawrence– short stories
• MirandabyAntoni Lange(Poland)
• Riddles and Conundrums for All Occasions

Genre fiction

• The Murder of Roger AckroydbyAgatha Christie(England)

Plays

• Juno and the PaycockbySeán O'Casey
• The VortexbyNoël Coward(England)

1925

• Mrs DallowaybyVirginia Woolf
• The TrialbyFranz Kafka(Czechoslovakia) – posthumous, first English translation in 1930
• The Great GatsbybyF. Scott Fitzgerald– often described as the epitome of the "Jazz Age" in American literature
• The Green HatbyMichael Arlen– perhaps the epitome of the jazz age in British literature
• Paris PeasantbyLouis Aragon(France)
• Albertine disparuebyMarcel Proust
• Manhattan TransferbyJohn Dos Passos
• In the American GrainbyWilliam Carlos Williams
• The Desert of LovebyFrançois Mauriac(France)
• Gentlemen Prefer BlondesbyAnita Loos(US)
• Those Barren LeavesbyAldous Huxley
• St MawrbyD. H. Lawrence– short stories
• The Making of AmericansbyGertrude Stein
• Heart of a DogbyMikhail Bulgakov(Russia / Soviet Union)
• The Artamonov BusinessbyMaxim Gorky(Russia / Soviet Union)

Genre fiction

• Beau GestebyP. C. Wren(England)

Poetry

• The Hollow MenbyT. S. Eliot

Non-fiction

• The Old Straight TrackbyAlfred Watkins(England) – introducing ley lines

1926

• The CastlebyFranz Kafka– posthumous, first English translation in 1932
• The CounterfeitersbyAndré Gide
• The Sun Also RisesakaFiestabyErnest Hemingway
• MoravaginebyBlaise Cendrars(France)
• Don Segundo SombrabyRicardo Güiraldes(Argentina)
• Nigger HeavenbyCarl Van Vechten
• Two or Three Graces and Other StoriesbyAldous Huxley– short stories
• The Plumed SerpentbyD. H. Lawrence
• The Call of CthulhubyH. P. Lovecraft

Genre fiction

• Winnie-the-PoohbyA. A. Milne(England)

Poetry

• A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistleby 'Hugh MacDiarmid' (Scotland)

Plays

• The Plough and the StarsbySeán O'Casey
• RaktakarabibyRabindranath Tagore

Non-fiction

• Seven Pillars of WisdombyT. E. Lawrence(England, Arabia)

1927

• To the LighthousebyVirginia Woolf
• Time RegainedbyMarcel Proust
• SteppenwolfbyHermann Hesse
• Men Without WomenbyErnest Hemingway– short stories
• Vestal FirebyCompton Mackenzie
• Dusty AnswerbyRosamond Lehmann(England)
• Elmer GantrybySinclair Lewis
• The Rocking-Horse WinnerbyD. H. Lawrence– short stories

Poetry

• Jhôra PalokbyJibanananda Das(India)

Plays

• The Silver TassiebySeán O'Casey(Ireland)

1928

• Berlin AlexanderplatzbyAlfred Döblin(Germany)
• NadjabyAndré Breton(France)
• Story of the EyebyGeorges Bataille(France)
• Parade's EndbyFord Madox Ford– war tetralogy, first volume in 1926
• Gypsy BalladsbyFederico García Lorca
• Point Counter PointbyAldous Huxley
• Lady Chatterley's LoverbyD. H. Lawrence– banned until 1963
• Decline and FallbyEvelyn Waugh(England)
• AmerikabyFranz Kafka– posthumous, first English translation in 1938
• All Quiet on the Western FrontbyErich Maria Remarque(Germany) – recounts the horrors of World War I and also the deep detachment from German civilian life felt by many men returning from the front
• ChevengurbyAndrei Platonov(Soviet Russia, excerpts)
• The CitybyValerian Pidmohylny(Soviet Ukraine)

Plays

• Strange InterludebyEugene O'Neill(US) – Pulitzer prize winner
• Messrs. GlembaybyMiroslav Krleža

1929

• Les Enfants TerriblesbyJean Cocteau(France)
• A Farewell to ArmsbyErnest Hemingway(US)
• Look Homeward, AngelbyThomas Wolfe
• Death of a HerobyRichard Aldington(England)
• The Sound and the FurybyWilliam Faulkner(US)
• Doña BárbarabyRómulo Gallegos(Venezuela)
• Mario and the MagicianbyThomas Mann(Germany)
• The Escaped CockbyD. H. Lawrence(England)
• The DefencebyVladimir Nabokov(Russia, France)
• Wolf SolentbyJohn Cowper Powys(England)
• The Good CompanionsbyJ. B. Priestley(England)

Non-fiction

• Good-Bye to All ThatbyRobert Graves(England)
• A Room of One's OwnbyVirginia Woolf(England)

Genre fiction

• Red HarvestbyDashiell Hammett(US) – the first hard-boiled American detective novel
• YogayogbyRabindranath Tagore(India) – original fiction in Bengali

1930

• Vile BodiesbyEvelyn Waugh
• The Apes of GodbyWyndham Lewis
• Brief CandlesbyAldous Huxley– short stories
• As I Lay DyingbyWilliam Faulkner
• Narcissus and GoldmundbyHermann Hesse
• Angel PavementbyJ. B. Priestley
• The Virgin and the GypsyandLove Among the HaystacksbyD. H. Lawrence– short stories

Genre fiction

• Last and First MenbyOlaf Stapledon(England)
• The Maltese FalconbyDashiell Hammett(US)

Poetry

• WhoroscopebySamuel Beckett(Ireland, France)

Plays

• Private LivesbyNoël Coward

Non-fiction

• Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting ManbySiegfried Sassoon(England) – 2 volumes, 1st in 1929

1931

• The Good EarthbyPearl S. Buck
• The WavesbyVirginia Woolf
• Night FlightbyAntoine de Saint-Exupéry(France)

Genre fiction

• The Glass KeybyDashiell Hammett
• At the Mountains of MadnessbyH. P. Lovecraft

Plays

• Mourning Becomes ElectrabyEugene O'Neill
• CavalcadebyNoël Coward

Non-fiction

• Axel's CastlebyEdmund Wilson(US)
• Music at NightbyAldous Huxley

1932

• The Return of Philip LatinowiczbyMiroslav Krleža
• Journey to the End of NightbyLouis-Ferdinand Céline(France)
• Brave New WorldbyAldous Huxley(England)
• The MemorialbyChristopher Isherwood(England)
• Laughter in the DarkbyVladimir Nabokov(Russia, France)
• Light in AugustbyWilliam Faulkner
• A Glastonbury RomancebyJohn Cowper Powys
• Stamboul TrainbyGraham Greene(England)
• Black MischiefbyEvelyn Waugh
• Radetzky MarchbyJoseph Roth(Austria)
• Jew BoybySimon Blumenfeld(England)

Poetry

• The OratorsbyW. H. Auden(England)

1933

• Man's FatebyAndré Malraux(France)
• Love on the DolebyWalter Greenwood(England)
• Miss LonelyheartsbyNathanael West(US)
• The Autobiography of Alice B. ToklasbyGertrude Stein
• Cat CountrybyLao She(China)

Genre fiction

• Lost HorizonbyJames Hilton(England)
• Murder Must AdvertisebyDorothy L. Sayers(England)
• The OppermannsbyLion Feuchtwanger

Non-fiction

• Down and Out in Paris and LondonbyGeorge Orwell(England)
• Texts and PretextsbyAldous Huxley
• In Praise of ShadowsbyJun'ichirō Tanizaki

1934

• Tropic of CancerbyHenry Miller(US) – a groundbreaking obscenity case before theU.S. Supreme Courtin 1961 allowed its publication there
• Call It SleepbyHenry Roth(Austria, US)
• Tender Is the NightbyF. Scott Fitzgerald
• Threepenny NovelbyBertolt Brecht(Germany)
• DespairbyVladimir Nabokov
• It's a BattlefieldbyGraham Greene
• A Handful of DustbyEvelyn Waugh
• 20,000 Streets Under the SkybyPatrick Hamilton(England)
• Voyage in the DarkbyJean Rhys(Dominica,France, England)
• Appointment in SamarrabyJohn O'Hara(US)
• A Scots QuairbyLewis Grassic Gibbon(Scotland) – trilogy, first volume published in 1932
• Novel with CocaineakaCocain RomancebyM. Ageyev(France)

Genre fiction

• The Postman Always Rings TwicebyJames M. Cain(US)

Poetry

• 18 PoemsbyDylan Thomas(Wales)

Non-fiction

• Burmese DaysbyGeorge Orwell
• Death in the AfternoonbyErnest Hemingway

1935

• Mr Norris Changes TrainsbyChristopher Isherwood
• Eyeless in GazabyAldous Huxley
• Auto-da-FebyElias Canetti(Bulgaria,Germany)
• A Clergyman's DaughterbyGeorge Orwell
• England Made MebyGraham Greene
• A House in ParisbyElizabeth Bowen(Ireland)
• Tortilla FlatbyJohn Steinbeck(US)
• Studs LoniganbyJames T. Farrell(US) – trilogy, first volume published in 1932

Genre fiction

• Little House on the PrairiebyLaura Ingalls Wilder(US)

Poetry

• Collected PoemsbyCecil Day-Lewis(Northern Ireland)

Plays

• Waiting for LeftybyClifford Odets(US)

1936

• Death on the Installment PlanbyLouis-Ferdinand Céline
• Black SpringbyHenry Miller
• U.S.A.byJohn Dos Passos
• MephistobyKlaus Mann(Germany, US)
• Absalom, Absalom!byWilliam Faulkner
• Keep the Aspidistra FlyingbyGeorge Orwell
• Confession of a MurdererbyJoseph Roth
• Invitation to a BeheadingbyVladimir Nabokov
• The Wessex NovelsbyJohn Cowper Powys(England) – tetralogy, 1st vol published in 1927
• GodaanbyPremchand

Poetry

• Ballads of Petrica KerempuhbyMiroslav Krleža
• Dhushor PandulipibyJibanananda Das(India)

Genre fiction

• Jamaica InnbyDaphne du Maurier(England)
• Gone with the WindbyMargaret Mitchell(US)
• A Gun for SalebyGraham Greene

1937

• To Have and Have NotbyErnest Hemingway
• The YearsbyVirginia Woolf
• Of Mice and MenbyJohn Steinbeck
• Lions and ShadowsbyChristopher Isherwood
• The Black BookbyLawrence Durrell(UK, Egypt)
• FerdydurkebyWitold Gombrowicz(Poland)
• Revenge for LovebyWyndham Lewis
• White MulebyWilliam Carlos Williams
• Wide Boys Never WorkbyRobert Westerby(England, US)
• Rickshaw BoybyLao She(China)
• The Life of Klim SamginbyMaxim Gorky– posthumous, tetralogy, first three volumes published in 1927–1931

Genre fiction

• Star MakerbyOlaf Stapledon
• Night and the CitybyGerald Kersh(England, US)
• The Face on the Cutting-Room FloorbyCameron McCabe(Ernest Bornemann) (Germany, England)
• The HobbitbyJ. R. R. Tolkien(England)

Non-fiction

• The Road to Wigan PierbyGeorge Orwell
• How Green Was My ValleybyRichard Llewellyn(Wales)

1938

• NauseabyJean-Paul Sartre(France)
• MurphybySamuel Beckett
• Tropic of CapricornbyHenry Miller
• Man's HopebyAndré Malraux
• The Death of the HeartbyElizabeth Bowen
• Brighton RockbyGraham Greene
• ScoopbyEvelyn Waugh
• The GiftbyVladimir Nabokov

Genre fiction

• Brighton RockbyGraham Greene
• RebeccabyDaphne du Maurier

Non-fiction

• Journey to a WarbyW. H. AudenandChristopher Isherwood
• Homage to CataloniabyGeorge Orwell
• Enemies of PromisebyCyril Connolly(England)

1939

• The Grapes of WrathbyJohn Steinbeck
• Finnegans WakebyJames Joyce
• The Banquet in BlitvabyMiroslav Krleža
• At Swim-Two-BirdsbyFlann O'Brien(Ireland)
• Goodbye to BerlinbyChristopher Isherwood
• After Many a SummerbyAldous Huxley
• Coming Up for AirbyGeorge Orwell
• On the Marble CliffsbyErnst Jünger
• Good Morning, MidnightbyJean Rhys
• The Day of the LocustbyNathanael West
• The Legend of the Holy DrinkerbyJoseph Roth
• Lotte in WeimarbyThomas Mann
• The Confidential AgentbyGraham Greene
• Mister JohnsonbyJoyce Cary(Ireland)
• Wind, Sand and StarsbyAntoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Pal JoeybyJohn O'Hara

Genre fiction

• The Big SleepbyRaymond Chandler(US)
• Rogue MalebyGeoffrey Household(England)
• The Mask of DimitriosbyEric Ambler
• And Then There Were NonebyAgatha Christie

Poetry

• Autumn JournalbyLouis MacNeice(N Ireland)
• The Map of LovebyDylan Thomas

Plays

• This Happy BreedbyNoël Coward

World War II

Further information:1940s literature

1940

• Native SonbyRichard Wright(US, France)
• Darkness at NoonbyArthur Koestler(Hungary, England)
• The Master and MargaritabyMikhail Bulgakov– published in English 1966
• For Whom the Bell TollsbyErnest Hemingway
• The Power and the GlorybyGraham Greene
• The Heart Is a Lonely HunterbyCarson McCullers(US)
• Portrait of the Artist as a Young DogbyDylan Thomas
• Owen GlendowerbyJohn Cowper Powys
• You Can't Go Home AgainbyThomas Wolfe
• And Quiet Flows the DonbyMikhail Sholokhov(Russia) – two volumes, first published in 1934
• The feeling of the world byCarlos Drummond de Andrade(Brazil)

Genre fiction

• Journey into FearbyEric Ambler(England)
• Farewell, My LovelybyRaymond Chandler

Plays

• The Iceman ComethbyEugene O'Neill

Non-fiction

• To the Finland StationbyEdmund Wilson

1941

• Hangover SquarebyPatrick Hamilton
• Reflections in a Golden EyebyCarson McCullers
• The Third PolicemanbyFlann O'Brien

Genre fiction

• Mildred PiercebyJames M. Cain

Non-fiction

• Grey EminencebyAldous Huxley

1942

• The StrangerbyAlbert Camus(Algeria,France)
• Our Lady of the FlowersbyJean Genet(France)
• Flight to ArrasbyAntoine de Saint-Exupéry

Plays

• The FliesbyJean-Paul Sartre

1943

• Arrival and DeparturebyArthur Koestler
• The Ministry of FearbyGraham Greene
• The Man Without QualitiesbyRobert Musil(Austria) – trilogy, first volume published 1930

Genre fiction

• Double IndemnitybyJames M. Cain
• The Little PrincebyAntoine de Saint-Exupéry(France)

Poetry

• Selected Poems byKeith Douglas(England)

Non-fiction

• Being and NothingnessbyJean-Paul Sartre
• The Myth of SisyphusbyAlbert Camus

1944

• The Horse's MouthbyJoyce Cary
• FiccionesbyJorge Luis Borges(Argentina) – short stories
• The Razor's EdgebySomerset Maugham
• Time Must Have a StopbyAldous Huxley

Plays

• The Glass MenageriebyTennessee Williams(US)

1945

• Black BoybyRichard Wright (author)
• Animal FarmbyGeorge Orwell
• WattbySamuel Beckett– published in 1953
• Brideshead RevisitedbyEvelyn Waugh
• Black BoybyRichard Wright
• Lark Rise to CandlefordbyFlora Thompson(England) – trilogy, first volume in 1939

Genre fiction

• If He Hollers Let Him GobyChester Himes(US, France)
• The Space TrilogybyC. S. Lewis(N Ireland) – first volume published in 1938

1946

• Cry, the Beloved CountrybyAlan Paton(South Africa)
• The Miracle of the RosebyJean Genet
• El Señor PresidentebyMiguel Ángel Asturias(Guatemala)
• Froth on the DaydreambyBoris Vian(France)
• The Member of the WeddingbyCarson McCullers

Poetry

• Deaths and EntrancesbyDylan Thomas

Plays

• The Winslow BoybyTerence Rattigan(England)

Non-fiction

• Alamein to Zem ZembyKeith Douglas
• Memoirs of Hecate CountybyEdmund Wilson
• This Way for the Gas, Ladies and GentlemenbyTadeusz Borowski(Poland)

1947

• The PlaguebyAlbert Camus
• Under the VolcanobyMalcolm Lowry(England, Canada)
• Bend SinisterbyVladimir Nabokov
• The VictimbySaul Bellow(Canada, US)
• The ConformistbyAlberto Moravia(Italy)
• The Middle of the JourneybyLionel Trilling(US)
• Slaves of SolitudebyPatrick Hamilton
• Of Love and HungerbyJulian MacLaren-Ross(England)
• Funeral RitesbyJean Genet
• Snow CountrybyYasunari Kawabata

Plays

• A Streetcar Named DesirebyTennessee Williams

Non-fiction

• The Diary of a Young GirlbyAnne Frank(Netherlands)

1948

• The Naked and the DeadbyNorman Mailer(US)
• Confessions of a Maskby 'Yukio Mishima' (Japan)
• The Heart of the MatterbyGraham Greene
• El TúnelbyErnesto Sabato(Argentina)
• The City and the PillarbyGore Vidal(US)
• Ape and EssencebyAldous Huxley
• Ashes and DiamondsbyJerzy Andrzejewski(Poland)
• Querelle of BrestbyJean Genet

Genre fiction

• No Orchids for Miss BlandishbyJames Hadley Chase(England)

Plays

• The Browning VersionbyTerence Rattigan

Non-fiction

• The Second SexbySimone de Beauvoir(France — early feminist study)
• The Kon-Tiki ExpeditionbyThor Heyerdahl(Norway)

1949

• Nineteen Eighty-FourbyGeorge Orwell
• The Roads to FreedombyJean-Paul Sartre– trilogy, first volume published 1945
• The Thief's JournalbyJean Genet
• The Man with the Golden ArmbyNelson Algren(US)
• The Train Was on TimebyHeinrich Böll(Germany)
• The AlephbyJorge Luis Borges
• The Kingdom of this WorldbyAlejo Carpentier(Mexico)
• The Heat of the DaybyElizabeth Bowen

Genre fiction

• The Trouble with HarrybyJack Trevor Story(England)
• The Mating SeasonbyP. G. Wodehouse

Plays

• Death of a SalesmanbyArthur Miller(US)

Postwar period

Main article:1950s literature

The intermediatepostwar periodseparating "Modernism" from "Postmodernism" (1950s literature) is thefloruitof thebeat generationand the classical science fiction ofIsaac Asimov,Arthur C. ClarkeandRobert A. Heinlein.This period also saw the publication of Samuel Beckett's trilogy of novels,Molloy,Malone Dies,andThe Unnameable,which enacted the dissolution of the self-identical human subject and inspired later novelists such asThomas Bernhard,John Banville,andDavid Markson.The first works ofelectronic literaturewere written in the 1950s.

1950

• Scenes from Provincial LifebyWilliam Cooper(England) – the first of the British 1950s 'kitchen sink' novels
• Canto GeneralbyPablo Neruda

Plays

• The Bald SopranobyEugène Ionesco(Romania,France)

Genre fiction

• A Town Like AlicebyNevil Shute(England, Australia)
• Strangers On a TrainbyPatricia Highsmith(US)

Non-fiction

• The Authoritarian PersonalitybyTheodor Adorno(Germany, US)

1951

• MolloybySamuel Beckett(Ireland, France)
• Malone DiesbySamuel Beckett(Ireland, France)
• The Catcher in the RyebyJ. D. Salinger(US)
• The HivebyCamilo José Cela(Spain)
• Porius (A Romance of the Dark Ages)byJohn Cowper Powys(England)
• The Grass HarpbyTruman Capote(US)
• Memoirs of HadrianbyMarguerite Yourcenar(France)
• The Opposing ShorebyJulien Gracq(France)

Plays

• The LessonbyEugène Ionesco(Romania,France)

Non-fiction

• The RebelbyAlbert Camus(France)

1952

• Invisible ManbyRalph Ellison(US)
• Wise BloodbyFlannery O'Connor(US)
• GobyJohn Clellon Holmes(US) – the firstBeatnovel
• The NaturalbyBernard Malamud(US)
• The Old Man and the SeabyErnest Hemingway
• East of EdenbyJohn Steinbeck
• Love Letter GeneratorbyChristopher Strachey

Genre fiction

• The Tiger in the SmokebyMargery Allingham(England)
• The Killer Inside MebyJim Thompson(US)

Plays

• The ChairsbyEugène Ionesco(Romania,France)

1953

• The UnnameablebySamuel Beckett(Ireland, France)
• JunkieandQueerbyWilliam S. Burroughs(US)
• Go Tell It On the MountainbyJames Baldwin(US, France)
• The OutsiderbyRichard Wright
• The Adventures of Augie MarchbySaul Bellow
• The Captive MindbyCzesław Miłosz(Poland)
• Hurry on DownbyJohn Wain(England) – the first 'angry young man' novel

Genre fiction

• Casino RoyalebyIan Fleming(England,Jamaica) – first James Bond novel
• The Long GoodbyebyRaymond Chandler
• Childhood's EndbyArthur C. Clarke(England,Sri Lanka)
• FoundationbyIsaac Asimov(US) – trilogy, first volume published in 1951
• Prelude to a Certain MidnightbyGerald Kersh

Plays

• Waiting for GodotbySamuel Beckett

1954

• Lord of the FliesbyWilliam Golding(England)
• Lucky JimbyKingsley Amis(England) – the most famous 'angry young man' novel
• Under the NetbyIris Murdoch(England)
• Bonjour TristessebyFrançoise Sagan(France)

Genre fiction

• Fahrenheit 451byRay Bradbury(US)
• Story of ObyPauline Réage(France)

Plays

• Under Milk WoodbyDylan Thomas
• The Quare FellowbyBrendan Behan(Ireland)

Non-fiction

• The Doors of PerceptionbyAldous Huxley

1955

• LolitabyVladimir Nabokov
• OnebyDavid Karp(US)
• The Quiet AmericanbyGraham Greene
• The Bread of Those Early YearsbyHeinrich Böll
• The Tree of ManbyPatrick White(Australia)
• The InheritorsbyWilliam Golding
• Pedro PáramobyJuan Rulfo(Mexico)
• The VoyeurbyAlain Robbe-Grillet(France)
• The Genius and the GoddessbyAldous Huxley
• The Deer ParkbyNorman Mailer
• The RecognitionsbyWilliam Gaddis(US)
• Memed, My HawkbyYaşar Kemal(Turkey)

Genre fiction

• The Lord of the RingsbyJ. R. R. Tolkien,first volume in 1954
• The Talented Mr. RipleybyPatricia Highsmith

Plays

• Cat on a Hot Tin RoofbyTennessee Williams
• Bus StopbyWilliam Inge(US)

Poetry

• The Less DeceivedbyPhilip Larkin(England)

1956

• The FallbyAlbert Camus
• The Devil to Pay in the BacklandsbyJoão Guimarães Rosa
• Giovanni's RoombyJames Baldwin
• The Lonely LondonersbySamuel Selvon(Trinidad,England)
• A Walk on the Wild SidebyNelson Algren

Genre fiction

• The Chronicles of NarniabyC. S. Lewis(N Ireland) – seven volumes, first in 1950
• Peyton PlacebyGrace Metalious
• The Hundred and One DalmatiansbyDodie Smith(England)

Plays

• Look Back In AngerbyJohn Osborne(England) – the first 'angry young man' play

Poetry

• Howl and Other PoemsbyAllen Ginsberg(US)

Non-fiction

• Heaven and HellbyAldous Huxley

1957

• On the RoadbyJack Kerouac(Canada, US)
• Young AdambyAlexander Trocchi(Scotland)
• Room at the TopbyJohn Braine(England)
• Doctor ZhivagobyBoris Pasternak(Russia)
• VossbyPatrick White
• The AssistantbyBernard Malamud
• Second ThoughtsbyMichel Butor(France)
• PninbyVladimir Nabokov
• Cairo TrilogybyNaguib Mahfouz(Egypt)
• Gimpel the FoolbyIsaac Bashevis Singer(Poland, US) – short stories, originally published in Yiddish years earlier
• Atlas ShruggedbyAyn Rand(US)

Genre fiction

• On the BeachbyNevil Shute

Plays

• The RoomandThe Birthday PartybyHarold Pinter(England)
• EndgamebySamuel Beckett
• The EntertainerbyJohn Osborne
• Orpheus DescendingbyTennessee Williams
• The VisitbyFriedrich Dürrenmatt(Switzerland)

Poetry

• Calling Out to YetibyWisława Szymborska(Poland)

1958

• If This Is a ManbyPrimo Levi(Italy)
• Breakfast At Tiffany'sbyTruman Capote
• The Dharma BumsbyJack Kerouac
• Saturday Night and Sunday MorningbyAlan Sillitoe(England)
• A Taste of HoneybyShelagh Delaney(England)
• Things Fall ApartbyChinua Achebe(Nigeria)
• The BellbyIris Murdoch
• Fowlers EndbyGerald Kersh
• Our Man in HavanabyGraham Greene
• CandybyTerry Southern(US)

Genre fiction

• ExodusbyLeon Uris(US)
• Zimiamvian TrilogybyE. R. Eddison(England) – first volume in 1935
• MolesworthbyGeoffrey Willans(England) andRonald Searle(England, France) – tetralogy, first book in 1954

Plays

• Krapp's Last TapebySamuel Beckett
• Suddenly, Last SummerbyTennessee Williams

Non-fiction

• The Theatre and Its DoublebyAntonin Artaud(France)
• Borstal BoybyBrendan Behan

1959

• A Raisin in the SunbyLorraine Hansberry(United States of America)
• The Tin DrumbyGünter Grass(Germany)
• Naked LunchbyWilliam S. Burroughs
• The Last of the JustbyAndré Schwarz-Bart(France)
• Goodbye, ColumbusbyPhilip Roth(US)
• Zazie in the MetrobyRaymond Queneau(France)
• In the LabyrinthbyAlain Robbe-Grillet
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance RunnerbyAlan Sillitoe
• Billy LiarbyKeith Waterhouse(England)
• The Long Day WanesbyAnthony Burgess(England) – trilogy, first volume published in 1956
• The Magic ChristianbyTerry Southern

Genre fiction

• The Gormenghast TrilogybyMervyn Peake(England) – first volume in 1946
• The GetawaybyJim Thompson

Plays

• The Dumb WaiterandThe CaretakerbyHarold Pinter
• RhinocerosbyEugène Ionesco

Cold War period, 1960–1989

Main articles:1960s literature,1970s literature,1980s literature,andPostmodern literature

Further information:Feminist literature

1960

• To Kill a MockingbirdbyHarper Lee(US)
• The London TrilogybyColin MacInnes(England) – first volume,Absolute Beginners,published in 1957
• Cain's BookbyAlexander Trocchi(UK, France, US)
• This Sporting LifebyDavid Storey(UK)
• A Burnt-Out CasebyGraham Greene
• Hiroshima Mon AmourbyMarguerite Duras(France)
• The Ballad of Peckham RyebyMuriel Spark(Scotland)
• The Rosy CrucifixionbyHenry Miller(US) – trilogy, first volume published 1949
• The Sot-Weed FactorbyJohn Barth(US)
• The Magician of LublinbyIsaac Bashevis Singer

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• The Morning of the MagiciansbyLouis PauwelsandJacques Bergier(France) – the 1960s obsession with the occult starts here. Published in English 1963
• A Canticle for LeibowitzbyWalter M. Miller Jr.(US)

1961

• Catch-22byJoseph Heller(US)
• A House for Mr BiswasbyV. S. Naipaul(Trinidad,England)
• Riders in the ChariotbyPatrick White
• The Prime of Miss Jean BrodiebyMuriel Spark
• A Severed HeadbyIris Murdoch
• Sword of HonourbyEvelyn Waugh– trilogy, first volume published in 1952
• Revolutionary RoadbyRichard Yates(US)
• Hear Us O Lord from Heaven Thy Dwelling PlacebyMalcolm Lowry– posthumous

Genre fiction

• SolarisbyStanisław Lem(Poland)
• Stranger in a Strange LandbyRobert A. Heinlein(US)
• The Man in the High CastlebyPhilip K. Dick(US)

1962

• One Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichbyAleksandr Solzhenitsyn(Russia)
• A Clockwork OrangeandThe Wanting SeedbyAnthony Burgess(England)
• Pale FirebyVladimir Nabokov
• IslandbyAldous Huxley
• The Time of the HerobyMario Vargas Llosa(Peru)
• The Golden NotebookbyDoris Lessing(Zimbabwe, England)
• The Death of Artemio CruzbyCarlos Fuentes(Mexico)
• The Alexandria QuartetbyLawrence Durrell– first volume published 1957
• Big SurbyJack Kerouac– the last of the Lost Generation at the end of the Beat Generation

Genre fiction

• The IPCRESS FilebyLen Deighton(England) – first of the Harry Palmer novels

Non-fiction

• Silent SpringbyRachel Carson(US) – the first major popular study on the deterioration of the environment

1963

• V.byThomas Pynchon(US)
• The Bell JarbySylvia Plath(US, England)
• HopscotchbyJulio Cortázar(Argentina)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestbyKen Kesey(US)
• The CollectorbyJohn Fowles(England)
• The LowlifebyAlexander Baron(England)
• Cat's CradlebyKurt Vonnegut(US)

Genre fiction

• Planet of the ApesbyPierre Boulle(France)
• The Spy Who Came in from the ColdbyJohn le Carré(England)
• The GriftersbyJim Thompson

Non-fiction

• The TrucebyPrimo Levi

1964

• HerzogbySaul Bellow
• A Single ManbyChristopher Isherwood
• Last Exit to BrooklynbyHubert Selby(US)
• The SpirebyWilliam Golding(England)
• Nothing Like the SunbyAnthony Burgess
• AtmaprakashbySunil Gangopadhyay(India)

Genre fiction

• Charlie and the Chocolate FactorybyRoald Dahl(UK)
• The Three Stigmata of Palmer EldritchbyPhilip K. Dick(US)
• Little Big ManbyThomas Berger(US)

Non-fiction

• Understanding MediabyMarshall McLuhan(Canada)

1965

• The MagusbyJohn Fowles
• The InterpretersbyWole Soyinka(Nigeria)
• CosmicomicsbyItalo Calvino(Italy)
• The Painted BirdbyJerzy Kosinski(Poland, US)
• Here We Go Round the Mulberry BushbyHunter Davies(England) – the kitchen sink novel mutates into the swinging 1960s novel

Genre fiction

• The CyberiadbyStanisław Lem

Plays

• Marat/SadebyPeter Weiss(Germany, Sweden)
• TangobySławomir Mrożek(Poland)

Poetry

• BriggflattsbyBasil Bunting

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline BabybyTom Wolfe(US)
• The Autobiography of Malcolm XbyAlex Haley(US)

1966

• A Man of the PeoplebyChinua Achebe(Nigeria)
• AlfiebyBill Naughton(England)
• The ComediansbyGraham Greene
• Wide Sargasso SeabyJean Rhys
• Tremor of IntentbyAnthony Burgess

Genre fiction

• PavanebyKeith Roberts(England)
• The Anti-Death LeaguebyKingsley Amis

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• In Cold BloodbyTruman Capote
• Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle GangsbyHunter S. Thompson(US)
• Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to MebyRichard Fariña(US)

1967

• One Hundred Years of SolitudebyGabriel García Márquez(Colombia)
• The Crying of Lot 49byThomas Pynchon
• The Vendor of SweetsbyR. K. Narayan(India)
• Poor CowbyNell Dunn(England)
• A Grain of WheatbyNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Non-fiction

• In the First CirclebyAleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• The Medium is the MessagebyMarshall McLuhanandQuentin Fiore

1968

• CocksurebyMordecai Richler(Canada)
• CouplesbyJohn Updike(US)
• The Public ImagebyMuriel Spark
• Lunar CausticbyMalcolm Lowry– posthumous
• The AbyssbyMarguerite Yourcenar

Non-fiction and quasi-fiction

• Cancer WardbyAleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• The Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestbyTom Wolfe
• The Armies of the NightandMiami and the Siege of ChicagobyNorman Mailer
• Bomb CulturebyJeff Nuttall(England)
• Slouching Towards BethlehembyJoan Didion(US)
• The Teachings of Don JuanbyCarlos Castaneda(US)

1969

• Portnoy's ComplaintbyPhilip Roth
• The French Lieutenant's WomanbyJohn Fowles
• A VoidbyGeorges Perec(France)
• PassacaillebyRobert Pinget(France)
• Dark as the Grave wherein my Friend is LaidbyMalcolm Lowry– posthumous

Genre fiction

• Barefoot in the HeadbyBrian Aldiss
• The Final ProgrammebyMichael Moorcock(England, US)
• Slaughterhouse-FivebyKurt Vonnegut(US)
• The GodfatherbyMario Puzo(US)

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• PapillonbyHenri Charrière(France)
• The View Over AtlantisbyJohn Michell(England)

1970

• Play It as It LaysbyJoan Didion
• Mr. Sammler's PlanetbySaul Bellow
• Being TherebyJerzy Kosiński
• October Ferry to GabriolabyMalcolm Lowry– posthumous
• Aranyer Din RatribySunil Gangopadhyay

Genre fiction

• The Hot RockbyDonald E. Westlake(US)
• DeliverancebyJames Dickey(US)

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• The Female EunuchbyGermaine Greer(Australia, England)
• GroupiebyJenny Fabian(England)
• PlaypowerbyRichard Neville(Australia, England)
• Revolt into StylebyGeorge Melly(England)
• Soledad BrotherbyGeorge Jackson(US) – prison letters
• Soul on IcebyEldridge Cleaver(US)

1971

• In a Free StatebyV. S. Naipaul(Trinidad,England)
• M/FbyAnthony Burgess
• Our GangbyPhilip Roth
• The Dice ManbyLuke Rhinehart(US)
• Another Roadside AttractionbyTom Robbins(US)

Genre fiction

• The Day of the JackalbyFrederick Forsyth(England)

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• The Happy HookerbyXaviera Hollander(Indonesia, Netherlands)
• Fear and Loathing in Las VegasbyHunter S. Thompson

1972

• The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor HoffmanbyAngela Carter(England)
• Invisible CitiesbyItalo Calvino
• GbyJohn Berger(England, France)
• The Good for NothingbyOğuz Atay(Turkey)

Genre fiction

• The Friends of Eddie CoylebyGeorge V. Higgins(US)
• Jonathan Livingston SeagullbyRichard Bach(US)
• The Odessa FilebyFrederick Forsyth

Poetry

• Crossing the WaterandWinter TreesbySylvia Plath

1973

• Gravity's RainbowbyThomas Pynchon
• CrashbyJ. G. Ballard(England)
• Season of AnomybyWole Soyinka(Nigeria)
• Life Is ElsewherebyMilan Kundera(Czechoslovakia,France)
• Sweet DreamsbyMichael Frayn(England)
• Fear of FlyingbyErica Jong(US)
• The Great American NovelbyPhilip Roth

Genre fiction

• Frankenstein UnboundbyBrian Aldiss

1974

• If Beale Street Could TalkbyJames Baldwin(US)
• The ConservationistbyNadine Gordimer(South Africa)
• The Fan ManbyWilliam Kotzwinkle(US)
• The Lost Honour of Katharina BlumbyHeinrich Böll
• I, the SupremebyAugusto Roa Bastos(Paraguay)
• Napoleon SymphonybyAnthony Burgess
• Myra BreckinridgeandMyronbyGore Vidal– first of pair published in 1968

Genre fiction

• Tinker Tailor Soldier SpybyJohn le Carré
• FletchbyGregory Mcdonald(US)

Genre fiction

• JawsbyPeter Benchley(US)

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• All the President's MenbyBob WoodwardandCarl Bernstein(US)

Poetry

• Mr. CogitobyZbigniew Herbert(Poland)

1975

• Humboldt's GiftbySaul Bellow
• The Deptford TrilogybyRobertson Davies– first volume published 1970
• Dead BabiesbyMartin Amis(England)
• The Autumn of the PatriarchbyGabriel García Márquez
• The History ManbyMalcolm Bradbury(England)
• The Periodic TablebyPrimo Levi– short stories

Genre fiction

• Watership DownbyRichard Adams(England)
• The ChoirboysbyJoseph Wambaugh(US)
• ShōgunbyJames Clavell(England, US)
• 'Salem's LotbyStephen King(US)

1976

• RagtimebyEL Doctorow(US)

Genre fiction

• Interview with the VampirebyAnne Rice(US)

Non-fiction and quasi-fiction

• RootsbyAlex Haley
• Another Day of LifebyRyszard Kapuściński(Poland)

Poetry

• Christmas O Shiter Sanet Guchho(ক্রিসমাস ও শীতের সনেটগুচ্ছ)byJoy Goswami(West Bengal, India)

Drama

• Death and the King's HorsemanbyWole Soyinka

1977

• The Engineer of Human SoulsbyJosef Škvorecký(Czechoslovakia)
• Song of SolomonbyToni Morrison(US)

1978

• SuccessbyMartin Amis
• The Sea, the SeabyIris Murdoch
• Lanark: A Life in Four BooksbyAlasdair Gray(Scotland)
• Life A User's ManualbyGeorges Perec
• The Book of Laughter and ForgettingbyMilan Kundera
• Jake's ThingbyKingsley Amis
• The World According to GarpbyJohn Irving(US)
• 1985byAnthony Burgess
• Horatio StubbsbyBrian Aldiss– trilogy, first volume published in 1970

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• The EmperorbyRyszard Kapuściński

Genre fiction

• Rumpole of the BaileybyJohn Mortimer(England)

1979

• A Bend in the RiverbyV. S. Naipaul
• The Unlimited Dream CompanybyJ. G. Ballard
• Sophie's ChoicebyWilliam Styron(US)

Non-fiction and Quasi-fiction

• The White AlbumbyJoan Didion
• The Right StuffbyTom Wolfe(US)

1980

• The Name of the RosebyUmberto Eco
• Pascali's IslandbyBarry Unsworth(England)
• Earthly PowersbyAnthony Burgess

1981

• Midnight's ChildrenbySalman Rushdie(India, UK)
• The Comfort of StrangersbyIan McEwan(England)
• The White HotelbyD. M. Thomas(England)
• Chronicle of a Death ForetoldbyGabriel García Márquez
• What We Talk About When We Talk About LovebyRaymond Carver(US) – short stories

Genre fiction

• The Red DragonbyThomas Harris(US)
• Gorky ParkbyMartin Cruz Smith(England, Russia)

Non-fiction

• Conversations with an ExecutionerbyKazimierz Moczarski(Poland)

1982

• Schindler's ArkbyThomas Keneally(Australia)
• An Ice-Cream WarbyWilliam Boyd(Ghana, Scotland)
• The Color PurplebyAlice Walker(US)
• A Wild Sheep ChasebyHaruki Murakami

Genre fiction

• Prizzi's HonorbyRichard Condon
• Limes InferiorbyJanusz A. Zajdel(Poland)

1983

• WaterlandbyGraham Swift(England)
• ShamebySalman Rushdie
• ErevbyEli Schechtman(USSR, Israel)

Genre fiction

• The Colour of MagicbyTerry Pratchett(England) – first book of theDiscworldseries

1984

• MoneybyMartin Amis
• Bright Lights, Big CitybyJay McInerney(US)
• The Unbearable Lightness of BeingbyMilan Kundera
• Flaubert's ParrotbyJulian Barnes(England)
• Nights at the CircusbyAngela Carter
• EnderbybyAnthony Burgess– tetralogy, first volume published in 1963
• The Witches of EastwickbyJohn Updike

Non-fiction

• Empire of the SunbyJ. G. Ballard

1985

• Sei SomoybySunil Gangopadhyay(India)
• White NoisebyDon DeLillo(US)
• Less than ZerobyBret Easton Ellis(US)
• Oranges Are Not the Only FruitbyJeanette Winterson(England)
• The Accidental TouristbyAnne Tyler(US)
• HawksmoorbyPeter Ackroyd(England)
• IllywhackerbyPeter Carey(Australia)
• The Kingdom of the WickedbyAnthony Burgess

Genre fiction

• L.A. QuartetbyJames Ellroy(US) – tetralogy, first volume published 1984
• The Handmaid's TalebyMargaret Atwood– (US)

1986

• Slaves of New YorkbyTama Janowitz(US)
• The Old DevilsbyKingsley Amis
• An Artist of the Floating WorldbyKazuo Ishiguro(Japan, UK)

Non-fiction

• Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African LiteraturebyNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o

1987

• The Satanic VersesbySalman Rushdie
• The Bonfire of the VanitiesbyTom Wolfe
• Anthills of the SavannahbyChinua Achebe
• The AlchemistbyPaulo Coelho(Brasil)

Genre fiction

• Presumed InnocentbyScott Turow(US)

1988

• Mother LondonbyMichael Moorcock
• LibrabyDon DeLillo
• Oscar and LucindabyPeter Carey(Australia)
• Love in the Time of CholerabyGabriel García Márquez

Genre fiction

• SprawlbyWilliam Gibson(Canada, US) – trilogy, first volume published 1984

1989

• London FieldsbyMartin Amis
• Foucault's PendulumbyUmberto Eco
• The Remains of the DaybyKazuo Ishiguro
• To the Ends of the EarthbyWilliam Golding– trilogy, first volume published 1980
• Ghumiyecho, Jhaupata?(ঘুমিয়েছো, ঝাউপাতা?)byJoy Goswami
• The Book of EvidencebyJohn Banville(Ireland)
• The Trick of ItbyMichael Frayn

1990s

Main article:1990s literature

• The English PatientbyMichael Ondaatje
• Slam poetry

1990

• The New York TrilogybyPaul Auster(US) – first volume published 1985
• The Black BookbyOrhan Pamuk(Turkey)
• RestorationbyRose Tremain(England)
• PossessionbyA. S. Byatt(England)
• The Buddha of SuburbiabyHanif Kureishi(England)
• Dirty WeekendbyHelen Zahavi(England)

Genre fiction

• Devil in a Blue DressbyWalter Mosley(US)
• Good OmensbyNeil GaimanandTerry Pratchett

1991

• Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated CulturebyDouglas Coupland(Canada)

1994

• Blood of ElvesbyAndrzej Sapkowski(Poland)

1996

• Infinite JestbyDavid Foster Wallace(US)
• Prathama AlobySunil Gangopadhyay(India)

1997

• UnderworldbyDon DeLillo(US)
• American PastoralbyPhilip Roth
• NightmarebyZlatko Topčić
• Into Thin AirbyJon Krakauer

Genre fiction

• Northern LightsbyPhilip Pullman(UK) – first inHis Dark Materialstrilogy
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StonebyJ. K. Rowling(UK) – first in series

See also

List of years in literature (table)
…1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960…
Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science +...

• American literature
• Experimental literature
• French literature of the 20th century
• List of 20th-century writers
• Literary modernism
• Twentieth-century English literature
• 20th-century music
• 20th century in poetry
• Electronic literature

External links

• Discovering Literature: 20th centuryat the British Library