Cover of Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove

Larry McMurtry, 1985

American novelist, 1936–2021. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1986.

Lonesome Dove is a 1985 novel by Larry McMurtry. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1986.

Acclaimed
  • Readers' Favourite
  • Prize Winner

In historical fiction

On 3 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Larry McMurtry
First published
1985
Length
880 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Historical fiction, Adventure

Is Lonesome Dove worth reading?

3 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian).

ListPlaceOriginal
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 1986)WinnerSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 52See the list
The Great American Read (PBS, 2018)ListedSee the list

Best edition of Lonesome Dove

The edition we link to is the Picador paperback (2025), 880 pages.

Publisher
Picador (paperback, 2025)
Pages
880
ISBN
9781529099942

How critics, prizes and readers rate Lonesome Dove

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 50% of the points available on prize lists, against 31% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 0% on critics' lists.

Critics
0%
Prizes
50%
Readers and booksellers
31%

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

Books like Lonesome Dove

If you liked Lonesome Dove, try The Lord of the Rings, Dune or Noughts & Crosses.

Lists used on this page