
Billy Bathgate
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.
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At a glance
- Author
- E. L. Doctorow
- First published
- 1989
- Length
- 320 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- National Book Award for Fiction shortlist, 1989
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction shortlist, 1990
- 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.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 1989) | Shortlist | See the list |
| Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 1990) | Shortlist | See 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.
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.

