Add to this list: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

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Deleted (with enormous regret) "The Princess Bride." Not only was William Goldman already an Academy Award-decorated screenwriter by the time of this book's publication; he'd already published several novels and other works of fiction by this time as well. ("The Temple of Gold" - 1957; "Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow" - 1958; "Soldier in the Rain" - 1960; "Boys and Girls Together" - 1964; "No Way to Treat a Lady" - 1964; "The Thing of It Is..." - 1967; and "Father's Day" - 1971).

Also: should "Jane Eyre" really be on this list? It, too, is a wonderful and tremendously important book, but it was written after (albeit published before) "The Professor," and also after "The Green Dwarf" (1833) and after the collection of poetry which the Bronte sisters (a/k/a Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell) had published in 1846.

Next question: What about Sylvia Plath's "Bell Jar"? It's her first (and only) novel, yes, but she'd published at least one collection of poetry before ("The Colossus," 1960).

Should Torrents of Spring be on here? I was under the impression that Sun Also Rises was Hemingway's first novel.

You're probably right -- I wasn't sure which one was published first (they're both from 1926), so I listed them both ... ;)

Hm. Good question. The blurb on Sun Also Rises says "first big novel," not first novel. So I dunno.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torr...

"The Torrents of Spring is a novella written by Ernest Hemingway published in 1926. Hemingway's first novel, it was written as a parody of Sherwood Anderson. Subtitled "A Romantic Novel in Honor of the Passing of a Great Race" Hemingway used the work as a spoof of the world of writers.

The Torrents of Spring was Hemingway's first novel, though The Sun Also Rises was his first successful novel. Hemingway wrote The Torrents of Spring as means to cause his publisher, Horace Liveright of Boni & Liveright, to refuse publication.

(...)

According to the contract Boni and Liveright were to publish Hemingway's next three books, one of which was to be a novel, with the proviso that if a newly submitted work were to be rejected the contract would be terminated. Written in ten days, The Torrents of Spring was a satirical treatment of pretentious writers. Hemingway submitted the manuscript early in December 1925, and it was rejected by the end of the month. In January Max Perkins at Scribner's agreed to publish The Torrents of Spring in addition to Hemingway's future work."

And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_... :

"In July 1925 Hemingway went to the San Fermin fiesta in Pamplona. It was his third visit to the fiesta and became the inspiration for The Sun Also Rises. (...) Hemingway realized the fiesta of 1925 was the stuff of a novel. He decided to use a first person narrator and began to write as soon as the fiesta ended. By September, about six weeks after beginning the novel, he was done with the first draft.

(...)

After he was finished with the first draft, in order to maintain perspective, he started work on a new manuscript. In the fall of 1925 Hemingway wrote the satiric novel The Torrents of Spring which his publisher immediately rejected. Within a month Charles Scribner's Sons agreed to publish both The Torrents of Spring and The Sun Also Rises."

So ... which one do we leave on the list -- "Torrents of Spring," or "Sun Also Rises," or both? I don't care one way or the other!

I'd say leave them both on, as he seems to have written one first, but the second was published first? Weird case.

Themis-Athena wrote: "Next question: What about Sylvia Plath's "Bell Jar"? It's her first (and only) novel, yes, but she'd published at least one collection of poetry before ("The Colossus," 1960)."

I think we should leave it on since poetry is such a different genre.

As to Jane Eyre, I'll leave that up to the experts.

Yeah, I agree on the poetry being a very different genre.

I'd say if we allow both Sun Also Rises/Torrents of Spring, we should allow both Jane Eyre/The Professor, under the same rule (or so it sounds to me).

FOOTNOTE: Heinlein's first-written novel, For Us the Living, was a lightly disguised lecture not published in his lifetime.

FOOTNOTE: The Stone Blaster, Henning Mankell's first novel, not available in English.

Susanna wrote: "Yeah, I agree on the poetry being a very different genre.

I'd say if we allow both Sun Also Rises/Torrents of Spring, we should allow both Jane Eyre/The Professor, under the same rule (or so it sounds to me)."

Fair comment on all of the above!

Thom wrote: "FOOTNOTE: The Stone Blaster, Henning Mankell's first novel, not available in English."

But Goodreads has it in Swedish: Bergsprängaren (if that's the book you're looking for -- according to the English Wikipedia page for Mankell -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henning_... -- this is allegedly a play). The first book that Wiki is oddly listing as both a novel and a play is Vettvillingen (1977 -- translated as "The Maniac").

Themis-Athena wrote: "Thom wrote: "FOOTNOTE: The Stone Blaster, Henning Mankell's first novel, not available in English."

But Goodreads has it in Swedish: Bergsprängaren (if that's the book you're looking ..."

You mean....Wikipedia has inaccurate information ? Hard to believe isn't it.

Shocking!

Canary wrote: "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle was such a strange book. I am not sure about it being a great debut.
Alice"

Agreed, not a great book IMO, but maybe a great DEBUT, coming out with trumpets blaring, etc. Similarly, I'm for overlooking juveninalia and half-baked failures resurrected after the author made a serious debut.

Maybe he will do better next time. I did read it all and that says something. So many books I start and then put down like Strange Brew which I just have out from the library.

Agreed, not a great book IMO, but maybe a great DEBUT, coming out with trump..."

ARTEMIS FOWL is not a debut. Eoin Colfer had written many more books before that