Pat Conroy

Author profile

born

October 26, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia, The United States

website

http://www.patconroy.com/

genre

Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction

About this author

edit data

The first of seven children born into a military family, Pat Conroy was the victim of his father’s violence and abuse from a young age. The family moved constantly during his youth. After attending The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, South Carolina, Conroy wrote and published his first book, The Boo, about a legendary school administrator.
Conroy became a teacher after graduation, taking a job in a one-room schoolhouse on Dafuskie Island, SC. The racism and deplorable conditions he witnessed became the subject of his next work, 1972’s The Water is Wide. The book earned wide critical praise and was made into a film starring John Voigt. His next book, The Great Santini, delved head first into Conroy’s past and examined the mix of lo...more

combine editions
Books by Pat Conroy

Average rating: 3.99 · 95,401 ratings · 8,353 reviews · 31 distinct works

	The Prince of Tides 4.11 avg rating — 40,979 ratings — published 1980 — 48 editions	My rating:
	Beach Music 4.04 avg rating — 13,548 ratings — published 1995 — 24 editions	My rating:
	South of Broad 3.63 avg rating — 13,782 ratings — published 2009 — 24 editions	My rating:
	The Lords of Discipline 4.18 avg rating — 7,516 ratings — published 1980 — 36 editions	My rating:
	The Great Santini 3.98 avg rating — 7,386 ratings — published 1976 — 35 editions	My rating:
	The Water is Wide 3.93 avg rating — 5,264 ratings — published 1969 — 34 editions	My rating:
	My Losing Season 3.69 avg rating — 2,944 ratings — published 2002 — 21 editions	My rating:
	My Reading Life 3.85 avg rating — 1,614 ratings — published 2010 — 8 editions	My rating:
	The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes of My Life by Pat Conroy, Suzanne Williamson Pollak 4.01 avg rating — 473 ratings — published 2004 — 8 editions	My rating:
	The Boo 3.34 avg rating — 458 ratings — published 1970 — 10 editions	My rating:

More books by Pat Conroy…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by Pat Conroy

“You get a little moody sometimes but I think that's because you like to read. People that like to read are always a little fucked up.”
― Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides

tags: books , reading

3,346 people liked it

“Music could ache and hurt, that beautiful music was a place a suffering man could hide.”
― Pat Conroy, Beach Music

tags: music

172 people liked it

“Without music and dance, life is a journey through a desert.”
― Pat Conroy

tags: dance-music

80 people liked it

See all Pat Conroy's quotes »

Polls

The 2009 Goodreads Choice Awards: FICTION

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Goodreads Author)

1160 votes 17.1%

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

696 votes 10.2%

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (Goodreads Author)

334 votes 4.9%

Shanghai Girls A Novel by Lisa See (Goodreads Author)

328 votes 4.8%

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

315 votes 4.6%

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

303 votes 4.5%

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

286 votes 4.2%

Fool A Novel by Christopher Moore

246 votes 3.6%

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (Goodreads Author)

237 votes 3.5%

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

232 votes 3.4%

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet A Novel by Jamie Ford (Goodreads Author)

230 votes 3.4%

Juliet, Naked A Novel by Nick Hornby

214 votes 3.2%

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

198 votes 2.9%

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

151 votes 2.2%

Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

150 votes 2.2%

The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman

148 votes 2.2%

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

146 votes 2.1%

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

140 votes 2.1%

Let the Great World Spin A Novel by Colum McCann (Goodreads Author)

138 votes 2.0%

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

132 votes 1.9%

Brooklyn A Novel by Colm Tóibín

124 votes 1.8%

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

118 votes 1.7%

Drood by Dan Simmons

112 votes 1.6%

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

106 votes 1.6%

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

103 votes 1.5%

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (Goodreads Author)

91 votes 1.3%

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

83 votes 1.2%

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

74 votes 1.1%

Await Your Reply A Novel by Dan Chaon (Goodreads Author)

71 votes 1.0%

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

64 votes 0.9%

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (Goodreads Author)

62 votes 0.9%

6792 total votes

35 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: By Blood or Marriage (25.2)	41	223	Aug 24, 2009 02:23pm
The Next Best Boo...: Favourite Authors from your native country	45	335	Sep 20, 2009 10:54am
Novel Ladies: 15 books you will always treasure	39	50	Oct 12, 2009 07:59pm
Novel Ladies: Page 30, Last 3 Lines...What does it say?	249	81	Nov 19, 2009 09:44pm
The Book Addicts!: Need suggestions for one of my goals	45	103	Nov 21, 2009 03:15pm
The Seasonal Read...: FALL CHALLENGE 2009 COMPLETED TASKS	4046	2551	Nov 30, 2009 09:01pm
Novel Ladies: Book Cover Hunt	394	85	Dec 01, 2009 07:08am
GR-101: Book Appr...: Laurie's 2010 Reading Log	19	9	Dec 26, 2009 06:51pm

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Pat to Goodreads.

Add New
Videos

Pat's Fans (684)

Pat Conroy

Author profile

combine editions
Books by Pat Conroy

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Pat Conroy

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add NewVideos

Pat's Fans (684)

Pat Conroy

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Pat Conroy

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Pat Conroy

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

combine editions
Books by Pat Conroy