Cover of Billy Bathgate

Billy Bathgate

E. L. Doctorow, 1989

American novelist, 1931–2015. Won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1986.

Billy Bathgate is a 1989 novel by E. L. Doctorow. It was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in 1989.

In historical fiction, coming of age

On 2 of the 18 lists it was eligible for.

The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.

At a glance

Author
E. L. Doctorow
First published
1989
Length
320 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Historical fiction, Crime, Coming of age, Class and society

Is Billy Bathgate worth reading?

2 of the 18 best-of lists it could have made include it: the National Book Award for Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

ListPlaceOriginal
National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 1989)ShortlistSee the list
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 1990)ShortlistSee the list

Best edition of Billy Bathgate

The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2016), 320 pages.

Publisher
Penguin Classics (paperback, 2016)
Pages
320
ISBN
9780241256428

How critics, prizes and readers rate Billy Bathgate

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 44% of the points available on prize lists, against 0% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
0%
Prizes
44%
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like Billy Bathgate

If you liked Billy Bathgate, try Ragtime or The March.

Lists used on this page