Cover of Ragtime

Ragtime

E.L. Doctorow, 1975

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

Ragtime is a 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow.

Acclaimed
  • Critics' Darling

In historical fiction, family saga

On 3 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
E.L. Doctorow
First published
1975
Length
288 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Historical fiction, Political, Class and society, Family saga

Is Ragtime worth reading?

3 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library) and All-Time 100 Novels.

ListPlaceOriginal
100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library, 1998)No. 86See the list
All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005)ListedSee the list
The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026)No. 90See the list

Best edition of Ragtime

The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2006), 288 pages.

Publisher
Penguin Classics (paperback, 2006)
Pages
288
ISBN
9780141188171

How critics, prizes and readers rate Ragtime

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 29% of the points available on critics' lists, against 0% on prize lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
29%
Prizes
0%
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 Ragtime

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

Lists used on this page