First Novels: The English Teacher Looks at Some Great (And Not So Great) Beginnings - Page 4

Our maverick English Teacher looks at the first novels of 136 well-known writers, and is fascinated by the range of titles, which run the gamut from world renown to total obscurity. He wants to point out that first novel is not necessarily the same as first book; "Dubliners", for example, is Joyce's first book, but it's a collection of short stories, not a novel. Several were originally published under pseudonyms ( Gill Hunt was indeed John Brunner), and one author, Kenneth Millar, is better known by his pseudonym, Ross MacDonald.