A Firsthand Look at Second Novels

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A view of Boston and the Charles River from the 26th floor of my daughter Maria’s sophomore-year dorm. (Photo by me, taken yesterday.)

My wife Laurel and I were in Boston from Friday to this afternoon moving in our daughter Maria for her second year of college. Not as much time as usual to think of and write my weekly Sunday book post, so I decided to stick with a second theme and write about some of my favorite second novels by authors. I’ll also mention a few not-favorite second novels.

A second novel can be excellent because an author has “practiced” with one published novel and is perhaps ready to move on to greater things. Or, in some cases, an author has been working up to that first novel for years and poured all kinds of effort and pent-up elements into it – creating the conditions to maybe disappoint somewhat with the next book.

I’ll only be mentioning authors whose first and second novels I’ve both read, so these will be my personal opinions and not necessarily the overall critical opinions. 🙂

One great second novel was Anne Bronte’s proto-feminist The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – whose quality was just a step below the Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights classics written by her sisters Charlotte and Emily. Unfortunately, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall would be Anne’s last novel because of her early death.

Nathaniel Hawthorne also hit a home run with his second novel: The Scarlet Letter. That came out a whopping 22 years after his little-known first novel Fanshawe; during the time between the two books, Hawthorne focused on writing short stories.

George Eliot? Her very good first novel Adam Bede was followed by her brilliant The Mill on the Floss. Some consider that semi-autobiographical work to be her best book, though fans of Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda might have something to say about that.

Mark Twain co-wrote his uneven debut novel The Gilded Age with Charles Dudley Warner. Twain’s second novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, of course became a classic.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s debut novel The Hobbit is delightful, even as his iconic follow-up The Lord of the Rings trilogy nearly two decades later has more sweep and depth. 

In the not-great-but-very-good category of second novels, we have Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. It’s certainly well-done and memorable, but a bit of a letdown after Dickens entered the fiction realm with his hilarious The Pickwick Papers.

Carson McCullers’ novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter was a stunning debut for an author in her early 20s, but her somewhat-less-impressive (and much shorter) second novel Reflections in a Golden Eye is still quite riveting in its quirky way.

Your favorite second novels? Any you’re not particularly fond of?

Misty the cat asks: “If this bouquet is from 1-800-Flowers, where are the other 799?”

My comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for the book features a talking cat: 🙂 Not my voice. 🙂

I’m also the author of a 2017 literary-trivia book…

…and a 2012 memoir that focuses on cartooning and more, including many encounters with celebrities.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece – about the vicious ICE agency detaining two restaurant employees who worked in my town — is here.

105 thoughts on “A Firsthand Look at Second Novels”

  2. Congratulations on your daughter being a sophomore. Hard work does pay off 🙂 and I love her view! She can certainly aim high 😉

    Book-wise, I will move from your literary fiction examples to crime writers if that’s okay as the only examples I can think of right now are by Romanian authors.

    Tess Gerritsen has at least two series I’ve read. In The Rizzoli and Isles books (nothing like the TV series that’s based on her work), I liked books 2, 3, and so on much more than the first one where she introduces the main characters. Her other book series is The Martini Club. Here book 1 was engaging and I found is surprisingly exciting to discover new characters and a whole new premise (for me) in crime fiction, but I found book 2 not rising to my expectations. I’m still debating book 3.

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    • Thank you, Patricia! I appreciate the congratulations for my daughter, and I agree about the view from the top of her dorm building. 🙂 Her actual room is on the third floor, with the 26th floor a wonderful study area.

      Crime writers are welcome in this discussion! I agree with what you’re alluding to; the first in a crime series can sometimes be a bit clunky as the author introduces characters, the setting, etc. — and then things often kick into higher gear in subsequent books. But there are of course exceptions, as you note with “The Martini Club.” 🙂

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    • Thank you, Darlene! I agree that “The Red Tent” is excellent — a very interesting novelistic look at Biblical characters. It’s the only Anita Diamant book I’ve read; sorry that it seems like that author couldn’t match it with her other work.

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  4. You know… I’ve only thought that once.

    Kiss Mommy Goodbye was the first novel of Joy’s that I read. Until recently, I thought it was the first novel she ever wrote. Turns out it was her 4th.

    To me, when I read it, I thought it was a good story, but felt a bit short… undeveloped.

    The 2nd novel I read was her 9th – See Jane Run. I was blown away at the difference.

    Her 5th novel The Deep End was the 3rd one I read, and the story is a lot more developed than the 4th.

    So, as usual, I am in a scattered order, but the out come is what you are talking about here. The writer got better with each book.

    Of course not every book is better than the one before, but when the catalogue is as large as Joy’s, it’s hard to keep track.

    WOW! Second year of college. Congrats Dad!

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  5. Hi Dave!

    Your post this week has me scratching my head a bit! Very curious!

    Like some of the other comments I don’t often think in terms of second novels by authors. I’m not that consistent! That said, I have read most novels by Nicholas Evans, the writer of ‘The Horse Whisperer’, and found that he wrote to a standard that did not fail to engage me! I can recommend, ‘The Smoke Jumper’.

    Interestingly, I don’t know which scenario would be preferable: to write a first novel that is considered their best work, or to steadily improve with each subsequent offering! I hope this makes sense 😀

    A very interesting post, with some great classic books I’m yet to read!

    Ps: A very lovely family affair moving your daughter back to college for another year! Hasn’t September crepted up fast!!

    Thanks Dave,

    😊

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    • Thank you, Sharon! September did creep up fast; always seems to do that. 🙂

      After seeing your enthusiasm about Nicholas Evans’ books, I’m going to have to try to read his work! Will see what my local library has.

      I suppose the ideal scenario would be to write a great debut novel to get on readers’ radar, and then follow that up with an equally great second novel. 🙂

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      • You are right about that Dave, September definitely seems to come around fast!

        Please do let me know if you manage to find anything by Nicholas Evans. It was sad when he died.

        I like your idea about writing great first novels to get on the radar, then followed by good second novels! I think most successful writers aim for that. It’s certainly the ideal!

        Incidentally Dave, have you read ‘Carrie’ by Stephen King? I haven’t so far.

        Thank you for your feedback, it’s much appreciated.

        Happy September!

        😊

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  6. I didn’t realise that ‘The Mill on the Floss’ was Eliot’s second novel, Dave, but it’s up there at the top of my list as a book that gave me a watershed moment, as well as wringing more emotion out of me than any book had done before – all at the tender age of 14! I still re-read it periodically, and the ending still has me in floods – which can’t be bettered by a book, film or anything, in my view. I don’t have any particular thoughts on second novels; I tend to read books without looking to see where they come in the author’ list. I do know that my own 2nd novel was and still is the favourite of many of my readers, which is gratifying as it’s possibly my favourite too! Sorry I’m not too on-topic today, too much else going on and scrambling my brain! Have a good week. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Laura! Yes, quite a second novel by George Eliot. I can imagine how much impact it would have on an age-14 reader, especially a female. For some reason, I didn’t read it until maybe 15 years ago, and it is indeed riveting, heartbreaking, psychologically brilliant, etc. — with that unforgettable ending.

      Glad your second novel is a reader favorite. 🙂

      Have a good week, too!

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  7. My brain is not working well at the moment. But you give some very good examples.
    I did like Colson Whitehead’s John Henry Days better than The Intuitionist. But I think in many cases for contemporary writers I may not have read their first or second books at all. (K)

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  9. Hmmm….I’ll need to think about your question about other examples, Dave. I had no idea
    Mark Twain co-wrote The Gilded Age with Charles Dudley Warner. I love all the tidbits I pick up from you — so much I have no clue about!
    All the best to you, Laurel and Maria. College move-in weekends can be exhausting, but that view?
    Wowza! 💝💝💝

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  10. Fun twist on this – I actually wrote my second published novel lonnnng before I wrote my debut published novel! 🙂 I wonder how often that’s the case with other authors. I think the only “second” that I’ve read of those you mentioned was LOTR. Which I did like a bit better than the Hobbit, although all four books are fabulous.

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    • Thank you, M.B.! Interesting question about how many authors, such as yourself, wrote their “second” books before their “first” ones. I guess Harper Lee is vaguely in that category, although her “second” novel “Go Set a Watchman” was probably an early draft of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

      Yes, “The Hobbit” was wonderful — a little more comedic/less serious than the deeper “The Lord of the Rings.”

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  11. Hi Dave, because I don’t always read an authors lesser known works, I haven’t read that much that fits into this topic. I can add that Jane Eyre was Charlotte Bronte’s second novel. The first, the professor, being unsuccessful. In my experience the first book in a series is usually the best which is why I generally don’t read series. The Clan of the cave Bear was the best Earth Child series book. The same can be said for Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon in my opinion. The Scarlet Letter was certainly amazing.

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  12. Great view from Maria’s dorm. I agree with you that the success of a second novel can be quite tricky for the reasons you’ve stated. I haven’t read some of the first classics you’ve mentioned, but have enjoyed their second novels. It’s been several years since I’ve read Khaled Hosseini’s second novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (2007). While it was well written and an engaging read, I did not enjoy it as much as his debut novel “The Kite Runner” (2003). I suppose, not every great story has the same appeal.

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  14. What a fascinating post! It’s a great reflection on the ‘second novel’ challenge.

    Speaking of brilliant second novels, Italy’s Umberto Eco did it perfectly: after the massive success of The Name of the Rose, his second novel Foucault’s Pendulum was another absolute masterpiece!

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  15. Well, I was thinking about your books, Dave. Okay, I have not read your first one, although I should put this in my list. I certainly enjoyed your second one (v. nice). But that third one is defo the best, but of course, Misty mostly wrote it anyway. Are we all in agreement? Hey Misty, you are right, eh?

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    • Thank you, Chris! I appreciate very much the kind words about those books. 🙂 Yes, Misty mostly wrote the third one. 😂 He used Word software, and thought he was being adventurous when keyboarding more than one Word…

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    • Thank you, Ada! Maria seems to be settling in well; the second year is of course less of a culture shock than the first year. 🙂

      “Adam Bede” is a VERY good book for a debut novel, and among its memorable characters is a woman preacher — unusual profession at the time for someone of her gender.

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  18. My reading is pretty random, so most of the time I don’t know whether a book is its author’s first, second, or subsequent. And even when I do, those details don’t stay in my memory in the long term.

    It’s not surprising that second novels are often disappointing if the first is considered brilliant. Three-book publishing contracts must feel like both a blessing and a curse to authors “lucky” enough to snare them.

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  19. Dave, great post. I didn’t know about Nathaniel Hawthorne! Guess those years of short stories really honed the young man’s craft 😉

    Geez unreal view. My dorm view from the third floor was … shall we say … somewhat less spectacular. The garbage dumpsters with the attendant FL heat (and no A/C) drive me to the library for study time 😂 Really breathtaking.

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    • Thank you, Darryl! Yes, an odd career arc for Nathaniel Hawthorne. Some of his short stories were pretty amazing, and did seem to “prepare” him for “The Scarlet Letter.”

      I hear you; I also never had a view like that when I was in college (in New Jersey and Illinois). Florida weather can be beastly when it gets really hot.

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  22. Dave, what a magnificent view Maria has of Boston and the Charles River! It immediately made me think of Emerson, Thoreau and the Transcendentalists and all that wonderful literary history associated with the area. What a place for Maria to spend her sophomore year!

    Your question also had me thinking about books that continue beyond a first or second novel. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was wonderful but my heart belongs to Huckleberry Finn. Lately I’ve become particularly interested in series and trilogies, where a writer has the opportunity to deepen a story over several books. Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy, set in the Outer Hebrides, is one I especially enjoyed. Sometimes I think we need more than one book to fully enter a writer’s world. Another wonderful discussion, Dave! I’m looking forward to coming back and reading the follow-up discussion.

    “When you are young a year is a big part of your life and seems to last for ever. When you are old, there have been too many of them gone before and they pass all too fast. We move so slowly away from birth, and rush so quickly to death”. Peter May, “The Lewis Man” (Lewis Trilogy # 2)

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    • Thank you, Rebecca! I agree about the amazing 26th-floor view from Maria’s dorm building. That entire floor is a study area — not a bad place to do homework and such. 🙂

      Yes, “Huckleberry Finn” — a sort of sequel to “Tom Sawyer” of course — is a much deeper novel. Twain obviously became a more mature fiction writer as he continued the story of those two characters, although Tom was a rather annoying presence in his minor “Huckleberry Finn” role. So true that “sometimes…we need more than one book to fully enter a writer’s world.”

      I read the first two novels in the Peter May trilogy you mentioned, and they were riveting. That’s a terrific/profound passage you cited from that author!

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  23. Ken Keesy wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest first. I enjoyed that very much. His second book, Sometimes a Great Notion, was widely acclaimed but I found it hard to read. I’m not sure I finished it.

    Welcome home, and good luck to your daughter on year two. Is she still part of the crew?

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    • Thank you, Dan! I agree that “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was better. “Sometimes a Great Notion” had a number of great moments, but was kind of uneven.

      Maria will continue on the crew team, and she’s actually in a suite in her dorm with seven rowing teammates. 🙂 Thanks for the good-luck wishes for her!

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