# "One-Shot" Great Authors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 3, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418 "2003-09-03T22:29:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/1 "2003-09-03T22:29:03Z")
Are there any great authors in any genre (preferrably fantasy/sci-fi/fiction) that, in their lifetime, only published **one novel**? I’m interested in reading such stories. I’d like to know what a person writes when they’ve only written one thing, especially if they took a considerable time putting it together. Classic story suggestions will get you a gold star… ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/2 "2003-09-03T22:59:16Z")
Umm. Cordwainer Smith’s _Norstrilia_ comes to mind – if you think it’s great, anyway. Walter Miller’s _A Canticle for Leibowitz_; that’s if you consider the posthumously completed and published sequel not to be his. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/3 "2003-09-03T23:04:30Z")
Well, the most famous literary “one hit wonder” is probably Harper Lee, who never published anything before or since “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as far as I know. In fact, her lack of subsequent output is PART of the reason some suspect (wrongly, I believe, but who knows?) that her friend Truman Capote was the real author. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/4 "2003-09-03T23:05:48Z")
Harper Lee - “To Kill a Mockingbird” ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/5 "2003-09-03T23:08:05Z")
Mockingbird simulpost. Lee also helped Capote research “In Cold Blood.” ---
**Author:** ![adirondack\_mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@adirondack\_mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adirondack_mike)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/6 "2003-09-03T23:16:09Z")
John Kennedy Toole - Although it wasn’t published during his lifetime (If they only read it). His mom found another story that has also been published (Neon Bible). It is a good read, but I don’t think he would have gone forward with it. ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/7 "2003-09-03T23:26:37Z")
Harper Lee was primarily an author of short stories before To Kill a Mockingbird. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/8 "2003-09-03T23:30:59Z")
Most obvious: **Gone With the Wind** During his lifetime, Ralph Ellison only published **Invisible Man** , though **Juneteenth** was published posthumously. J.D. Salinger – **Catcher in the Rye** was his only actual novel, though I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something after he dies. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/9 "2003-09-04T00:12:49Z")
Well, in fantasy, there’s this guy called Tolkien who published only one big novel, along with a little children’s book called _The Hobbit_. You might want to search on his name. Terry Bisson, who completed _Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Women_ after Miller’s death, told me that the manuscript was just about done and that all he did was “take the car home and park it in the driveway.” There are very few true one-book wonders in the field, although there are many who are close. Alfred Bester did other novels but is really known only for _The Stars My Destination_ and _The Demolished Man_. Similarly, Ken Grimwood wrote other novels after _Replay_, but none of them had the same impact. How many works of Stanley G. Weinbaum can you name after “A Martian Odyssey”? After Arthur Koestler wrote _Darkness at Noon_ he never did another major novel. William Nolan has had a long history in f&sf but he’ll always be known for _Logan’s Run_. Of course, if you go back far enough you’ll run into Mary Shelley’s _Frankenstein_ and Bram Stroker’s _Dracula_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/10 "2003-09-04T01:37:06Z")
Stanley Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” is a short story, not a novel. He _did_ write a novel – **The Black Flame**. He also wrote a lot of short stories (including a sequel to “A Martian Odysey”) before he died. Bram Stoker wrote other novels, too, including **The Jewel of Seven Stars** and **The Lair of the White Worm**. But nothing else he ever wrote achieved the fame of **Dracla** (although TLOTWW was made into a spectacularly bad film starring Hugh Grant.) I was going to say Mitchell and **Gone with the Wind** , but I’ve been beaten to it. How about Grace Metallious and **Peyton Place**? ---
**Author:** ![Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Muldoon\_s\_Squishiness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muldoon_s_Squishiness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/11 "2003-09-04T01:38:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > \*\*In fact, her lack of subsequent output is PART of the reason some suspect (wrongly, I believe, but who knows?) that her friend Truman Capote was the real author. \*\* Do you have a cite for this? I think it’s a bunch of hooey as well, but I’m interested to know who is positing this "_theory_ and what evidence they use to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![Firx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Firx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Firx)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/12 "2003-09-04T01:39:17Z")
It isn’t fantasy, but Thomas Heggen wrote _Mister Roberts_. I believe he killed himself after its publication, so there’s little chance he penned much else. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/13 "2003-09-04T02:17:13Z")
If you will accept someone who only wrote one _novel_ then Norman Maclean fits the bill. He wrote the great **River Runs Through It** at 76. It is combined with a couple of short stories, but I would consider it a novel rather than a verrrry long short story. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/14 "2003-09-04T02:38:14Z")
There is a movie out called The Stone Reader, in which a NY publicity type guy goes hunting for the author of The Stones of Summer, a book he had read and really liked when he was a youngster, and the only book ever published by that author. Not a bad movie, but not great. Some of the same authors mentioned above are discussed in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/15 "2003-09-04T02:43:04Z")
Since this is about books, I’ll move this thread to Cafe Society. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/16 "2003-09-04T03:11:31Z")
Carl Sagan’s only novel is _Contact_. All of the rest was non-fiction science writing. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/17 "2003-09-04T03:21:54Z")
You look but you do not see, **Cal**. 🙂 If you’ll look closely, you’ll discover that “A Martian Odyssey” is in quotes, indicating a short story, set off from all the novels, properly set in italics. And Shelley and Stoker both wrote other novels not well-known today, but that’s okay because I was continuing the example of writers famous for a small body of work, not one-work writers. If you really wanted to nitpick me, why didn’t you point out that I typoed Stoker as Stroker? ☹ **Muldoon** , the evidence against Lee is mostly that Capote really was her childhood friend and is universally acknowledged to be the model for Dill. She had a long association with Capote and worked as a research assistant on his book _In Cold Blood_. She even got an invitation to his famous Black and White Ball. That said, she has a long known history of working on the book, starting from a bunch of short stories and spending two years rewriting it into a novel under the guidance of editor Tay Hohoff. Could Capote have lent a hand? Possible, I suppose, but the novel appears to be uniquely in her voice. And S. Morgenstern only published one well-known novel. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/18 "2003-09-04T03:23:22Z")
Why hasn’t anyone listed Emily Bronte’s sole novel, Wuthering Heights? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/19 "2003-09-04T03:47:03Z")
I forget exactly when it was written, but I recall an old lady named Helen Hoover Santmyer who had her first novel published when she was almost 90, and it was a very big seller. It seems she was outraged by Sinclair Lewis’ portrayals of Midwestern America back in the 1920’s, and she spent nearly 50 years writing her novel “…And Ladies of the Club” as a refutation of Lewis. That was PROBABLY her only novel. ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418/20 "2003-09-04T06:31:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fruitbat \* > \*\*If you will accept someone who only wrote one _novel_ then Norman Maclean fits the bill. He wrote the great **River Runs Through It** at 76. It is combined with a couple of short stories, but I would consider it a novel rather than a verrrry long short story. \*\* It’s a novella. Nobody has mentioned Ralph Ellison’s _Invisible Man_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-shot-great-authors/199418.md?page=2)