Cover of Housekeeping

Housekeeping

Marilynne Robinson, 1980

American novelist, born 1943. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005 and the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2009.

Housekeeping is a 1980 novel by Marilynne Robinson. It was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1982.

Acclaimed
  • Critics' Darling

In family saga

On 5 of the 17 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
Marilynne Robinson
First published
1980
Length
224 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Family saga

Is Housekeeping worth reading?

5 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian) and All-Time 100 Novels.

ListPlaceOriginal
All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005)ListedSee the list
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 1982)ShortlistSee the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 43See the list
The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015)ListedSee the list
The 100 greatest novels of all time (The Observer, 2003)ListedSee the list

Best edition of Housekeeping

The edition we link to is the Faber & Faber paperback (2005), 224 pages.

Publisher
Faber & Faber (paperback, 2005)
Pages
224
ISBN
9780571230082

How critics, prizes and readers rate Housekeeping

Critics and prize juries rate it about equally: it earned 35% on critics' lists and 33% on prize lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
35%
Prizes
33%
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 Housekeeping

If you liked Housekeeping, try Gilead or Home.

Lists used on this page