Larry McMurtry Books in Order
Larry McMurtry has written 48 books, published between 1961 and 2017. The first book is Horseman, Pass By / Hud (1961) and the newest is Thalia (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 48
- Published
- 1961–2017
- Confirmed
- 48 of 48 titles
- Pages on record
- 15,534 in 44 of 48 books
- Reading time
- 259–388 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 15,534 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 44 of 48 titles with a page count on record.
Larry McMurtry (Larry Jeff McMurtry, June 3, 1936 to March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist and screenwriter. Most of McMurtry's fiction takes place in the Old West or in contemporary Texas, and the early novels Horseman, Pass By (1961), The Last Picture Show (1966) and Terms of Endearment (1975) trace the decline of small-town Texas life. Screen adaptations of McMurtry's work received 34 Oscar nominations and 13 wins. The catalogue lists 48 books from 1961 to Thalia (2017), including the Lonesome Dove and Berrybender Narratives series and non-fiction.
How many Larry McMurtry books are there?
Larry McMurtry has 48 books, released between 1961 and 2017. They include 6 separate series.
Larry McMurtry Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 48 Larry McMurtry books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119611923/4
- 219623043/4
- 319662803/4
- 419682013/4
- 519708323/4
- 619722963/4
- 719754163/4
- 819783523/4
- 919823953/4
- 1019832543/4
- 1119859453/4
- 1219872243/4
- 1319875443/4
- 1419884123/4
- 1519893043/4
- 1619903523/4
- 1719926373/4
- 1819935473/4
- 1919943843/4
- 2019954803/4
- 2119955183/4
- 2219978033/4
- 2319974163/4
- 2419994323/4
- 2519992043/4
- 2619991603/4
- 27Roads: A Millennial Journey Along America's Great Interstate HighwaysLarry McMurtry Non-Fiction #52000 · 208 pages · confirmed 3/420002083/4
- 2820002883/4
- 2920011603/4
- 30Sacagawea's Nickname: Essays on the American WestLarry McMurtry Non-Fiction #72001 · 178 pages · confirmed 3/420011783/4
- 3120023003/4
- 3220033023/4
- 3320033683/4
- 3420042563/4
- 3520042563/4
- 36Brokeback Mountain: Story to ScreenplayLarry McMurtry Short Story #12005 · 166 pages · confirmed 3/420051663/4
- 37Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West, 1846-1890Larry McMurtry Non-Fiction #82005 · 178 pages · confirmed 3/420051783/4
- 382006–3/4
- 3920062563/4
- 4020071953/4
- 4120082723/4
- 422009–3/4
- 4320091753/4
- 4420101603/4
- 452012–3/4
- 4620141963/4
- 472015–3/4
- 4820177363/4
Larry McMurtry series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Lonesome Dove books in order 4 books
Larry McMurtry books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Larry McMurtry Non-Fiction
13 books13 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Larry McMurtry Standalone Novels
9 books9 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Houston in order
6 booksLast Picture Show in order
5 booksBerrybender Narratives in order
4 booksThalia, Texas in order
3 booksDesert Rose in order
2 booksLarry McMurtry Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Penguin Lives in order
1 book- 5. Crazy Horse
Larry McMurtry Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Larry McMurtry books run from Horseman, Pass By / Hud (1961) to Thalia (2017), the sequence in the table above. The Lonesome Dove series also has a separate in-universe order on record: Lonesome Dove books in chronological order. No other Larry McMurtry story order is on record.
Do you have to read Larry McMurtry books in order?
You only need to read Larry McMurtry books in order within each series: the books listed here span 6 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Larry McMurtry
Start with Lonesome Dove (1985), the first Lonesome Dove book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Horseman, Pass By / Hud (1961).
What is the newest Larry McMurtry book?
Thalia (2017) is the newest Larry McMurtry book released so far.
Is there a new Larry McMurtry book coming?
No next Larry McMurtry book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Larry McMurtry has won
Wikidata records 4 awards and 2 nominations for Larry McMurtry. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Carl Sandburg Literary Award2014Won
- Spur Award for Best Novel of the West1998Wonfor Comanche Moon
- Helmerich Award1986Won
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction1986Wonfor Lonesome Dove
- PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction1986Shortlistedfor Lonesome Dove
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction1986Shortlistedfor Lonesome Dove
Larry McMurtry at a glance
- Died
- Larry McMurtry died in 2021, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Larry McMurtry on record dates from 2017.
- Release pace
- Larry McMurtry books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 15,534 pages across the 44 of 48 books with a recorded length, a median of 298 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Larry McMurtry books, 17 of 48, were published in the 2000s.
What the Larry McMurtry books are about
47 of the 48 Larry McMurtry books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: biography is tagged on 8 of 47. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Biography 8 of 47 books
- Westerns 8 of 47 books
- American literature 7 of 47 books
- Texas 7 of 47 books
- History 6 of 47 books
- Thalia (Tex. : Imaginary place) 6 of 47 books
- Eccentrics and eccentricities 5 of 47 books
- Indians of North America 5 of 47 books
- Berrybender family (Fictitious characters) 4 of 47 books
- British 4 of 47 books
- City and town life 4 of 47 books
- Historical fiction 4 of 47 books