10 Classic One Hit Wonder Authors

This video looks at 10 classic authors who have written only one book, which is classed amongst the classic books. Whilst some of the authors have written essays, novellas and poems, they have only produced one fully fledged book.
So grab a coffee or tea and sit back for a quick precis of these famous works. How many have you read? Which other books would you add to the list?
https//: tristan_and_the_classics

[@thefont4345]

Such a good video 👍 I don't know what's more tragic- great authors that only wrote one book or crap authors that couldn't stop writing 🤔😁

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

It's a close call, but I think the worse tragedy is authors who just won't stop. They degrade vulnerable minds, waste good trees and chivvy indigenous peoples from their homes. I also suspect that they may also be behind the Kennedy assassination.😂

[@thefont4345]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Yesica1993]

Hahaha! An excellent point. I would love to write One Brilliant Book and then disappear forever. Alas, I have zero writing skills.

[@prilljazzatlanta5070]

Lol. Umm…the latter

[@MrSyntheticSmile]

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is a fabulously entertaining book. Why is it not as well known and appreciated as his stories of claustrophobia is a mystery!

[@nedludd7622]

I was teaching English in a French university many years ago and had "Catcher in the Rye" on the reading list for literature-based classes where it was always very popular. A couple of my favorites are "The Golden Ass" by Apuleius in Roman times and, if you consider it one book, "Gargagntua" and "Pantagruel". Another, rather arbitrary, category you might consider is exophonic writers, ones who write in a language other than their first.

[@vincentandlolav5183]

Thank you Tristan, Love your channel.

[@mgabrielbenitez]

Nice video! Initially, I thought this was about authors who wrote several novels but are known mainly for only one of them. (such as Anthony Burgess) That could be another fun idea for a video. I like your channel, by the way!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks Gabriel!!! That's an excellent idea.

[@citizenscommissiononnation681]

I noticed that a few commenters mentioned "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, which would have been my #1 pick, to which I would add "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole.

[@johnford6967]

Great stuff!

[@csd8204]

Great video and commentary.

[@leeah8419]

Black Beauty! That brings back memories...I remember a TV series I used to watch growing up 😊

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

So do I. I want to see if I can get the series for my daughter.

[@donlevy1375]

Salinger wrote Franney and Zooey, which was a novel. I would have chosen Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Go to a Watchman was published after she died.

[@gaildoughty6799]

Franny is a short story and Zooey is a separate, although related and published in the same book, novella. But you’re right about Harper Lee. That second “novel” published under her name was simply a first draft of the novel that was To Kill a Mockingbird, a fine book, much better than Gone with the Wind.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks for this feedback Don. I really appreciate it. Like Gail, I was under the impression it was a novella as opposed to a full novel, although the distinction can be somewhat arbitrary. You are right about To Kill A Mockingbird. It was on my extended list and you are spot on to suggest it should have been in this list. AI definitely shouldn't have left it off.👍😀

[@MichaelRomeoTalksBooks]

A fun list. Thanks for compiling it.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks Michael. I enjoyed making this one.

[@taaptee]

absolutely wonderful to listen to you, thank you

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks Tee, that means a lot. Can you think of any other topics that you or others might😀 like to hear discussed?

[@tuttsclumpcottage7911]

Loved the movie Dr. Zhivago tried to read the book but as you said the name changing got the better of me. Fast forward 55 years and maybe I should give it another try. As for Black Beauty it was beautifully written. Reading it outloud to my children was very hard. I could barely speak for sobbing. I still can't watch the movie.

[@charmainesaliba5546]

Years ago I have seen an Italian adaption of Doctor Zhivago but haven't read the book yet. It is on my classics must read list. I have only read Withering heights from this list. I add all the books to my Tbr list. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I have a few to add to my TBR as well. The only problem with my TBR list is that, when all of the books are laid end to end, they cross the Atlantic.😂

[@IntimateCabaret]

Excellent, informative and v interesting. If you do another one hit wonder video, can you include The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressel. Excellent commentary on exploitation of the working class.

[@duffypratt]

Chekhov’s only full fledged novel was The Shooting Party. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo. The Leopard by Lampudusa. And of course, The Take of Genjii by Murasaki.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Superb! You should make a video too. I've not come across Juan Rulfo. I forgot about the Leopard. And Japanese classics are something I really want to start dipping into. Murakami is someone I am hoping to start with.

[@MichaelRomeoTalksBooks]

FYI. John Kennedy Toole also wrote The Neon Bible.

[@Whatever_Happy_People]

Hullo did you like the confederacy of duncers? I loved that book. Peace Lara.

[@susprime7018]

Peter Pan was a one hit wonder for Barrie. Apparently his work on his Mother used to be a collectible, according to either The Haunted Bookshop or Parnassus on Wheels, can't remember which one by Morley. Got excited for a hot minute because I have a first edition but later found out it is no longer so collectible. I love The Picture of Dorian Grey. Mitchell had another short book, but most thought it should have stayed lost. What happened to the books that were supposed to come out after Salinger's death? Poe, some short stories, give me a break, including the very first mystery, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Wilke Collin's Woman in White (not the first mystery, nothing personal my British cousin). I loved Dr. Zhivago book and movie. Read The Invisible Man in college. Loved Black Beauty but liked King of the the Wind better. Liked The Bell Jar and Plath's stories.

[@troytradup]

Gone with the Wind is worth a read. It surprised me. The racial politics are problematic, of course, but otherwise it's a pretty full literary meal.

[@wyominghome4857]

What? No To Kill a Mockingbird? Harper Lee had one great book, which was essentially pared down by her editor from a much longer draft. The second book was what was cut out, proving the editor to be absolutely correct.

[@rebeccabsomanybooks3558]

Great video. Love Oscar Wilde -Dorian Gray and his Ghost story. Marcel Proust sits on my night stand-not committed yet. You really should read Gone With The Wind-it is wonderful. I love Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte is brilliant. It took great courage to write this book and the backlash she experienced must have been tremendous during that time period. Her book blew me away. Thanks for the video.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you Rebecca. Dorian Gray is a pretty tasty morsel isn't it. I do love Lord Henry, despite his roguish nature. I am looking forwards to reading Wuthering Heights again. As for Gone With The Wind ... I shall get to it, but scars from childhood are a devil to rid oneself of😂 Perhaps next year. You may need to remind me though.

[@Yesica1993]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Aw, I hope you eventually do read and enjoy it. The book goes way more in depth than the movie ever could. Sure, it's a romanticized version of that time period. But it does give you the view from the South that you don't always get. You really do feel like you are there, seeing all these events. It's much more than a silly romance, if that's what people think. (I personally can't stand that sort of thing.) It's a wonderful story, all the way around.

[@gaildoughty6799]

Love your description of Zhivago. I only saw the movie which was visually beautiful but shatteringly boring. Of the others I’ve read all but the Proust. Black Beauty broke my ten-year-old heart. Gone with the Wind is a compelling but very prejudiced book. This is a fun video.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Black Beauty is incredible, as indeed is Peter Pan, another children's classic. As for Proust, I haven't tackled him yet either. I keep wondering whether I should try and read through his work all in one year, or spread it out.

[@alidabaxter5849]

I had terrible problems with Doctor Zhivago and every time I got to a certain point I gave up. Yet I adore The Master and Margarita, although of course that author wrote other masterpieces. I loved and still love Black Beauty (heartbreaking), The Picture of Dorian Gray, I like Gone With The Wind but think Scarlett far more of a bitch in the book than the film portrays, love Wuthering Heights although finding it heart rending, loved and still love The Catcher in the Rye. And I have never got past the first volume of In Search of Lost Time and didn't want to. Thank you for all the wonderful videos.

[@rickcroucher]

In '63 THE CATCHER IN THE RYE was banned from our reading list.. for Senior English.

[@nicole73551]

I haven't read The Bell Jar. But your description, be it suggestive, of what happens to the author with a connection to the book reminds me of reading Caribbean classic author Edgar Mittelholzer. I read his Kaywana dynasty which holds a lot of history of the region of his birth and in my opinion he had an intense grasp of the human spirit. I was quite struck by his books, so I had to ponder and do some research on the man that wrote them. His drama in his exploration of suffering and depression has been said to have been experiments of thought leading toward his own dramatic suicide (that detail struck me too). Sometimes I wonder about the universe bringing connections to attention. But given how I felt a bit shaken after my read, gripping as I found it, your comments on the Bell Jar have left me sitting on the fence wondering whether I should read it or not. A part of me wants to read it for comparative thought but another part of me wants to avoid not wanting to feel shaken up again. I think the universe is saying to me "Not now but you'll pick this up later when you are ready".

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

First of all, thank you Nicole for taking the time to share your thoughts and the connection to Edgar Mittelholzer. I have not read his work, but now shall go and find him out. As for your idea of taking a break between the two works, I think that you are wise. One can easily fatigue oneself with these books. They take a toll on our spirit which, can forge its strength in the crucible, but leave it fragile and exhausted when overstrained. Let me know what other books you move on to.

[@jmsl910]

the bell jar is not uplifting but it is a seminal feminist work of Art

[@user-yd8gx4rp5n]

Please review Steinbeck’s The Winter our Discontent. Thank you.

[@marthacanady9441]

Gone with the Wind is a magnificent book.

[@latavarma6980]

Well, I thought the film Dr Zhivago was great. It did justice to the book. David Lean was class apart as a director. Different folks different strokes, so they say. I don’t know why I feel bad when someone’s hard work is brushed aside in a sentence.

[@SophiaClef]

The first 100 pages from Doctor Zhivago were amazing, so I really thought: ok, this is going to be on my best Russian classics list. Unfortunately, it got worse and worse. I think that The Golden Ass by Apuleius was his only novel. Other one-hit wonders, as far as I know at least, are Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa with his novel "The Leopard",Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, with "Les Liasons Dangereuses", Kate Chopin, with "The Awakening".

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Brilliant one hit wonders Sophia. I had forgotten about The Leopard.

[@richardrose2606]

You could argue that JRR Tolkien only wrote one (adult) novel, The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was book for children and all of his other writings, including The Silmarillion, cannot be considered a novel.

[@mikedl1105]

Thank you, I am excessively diverted

[@purplesprigs]

Tristan's "smoked weed beforehand" video: sings, laughs, loses the tie, collar sticking out - a fun time. Now go scarf some biscuits.

[@Yesica1993]

I adore Gone With the Wind, both book and film. (Though I don't know that it's the best thing for a 10 year old boy.) I used to read it every year. It's long, but doesn't feel that way. My oldest copy is from 8th grade and is now in pieces, preserved in a plastic bag. A few years ago I bought new editions of both the book and the DVD, in case the lunatics of today decide to ban it for being "offensive" or some such nonsense. It's wonderful!

[@christophercurdo4384]

To me, the term one hit wonder suggests somebody who could only come up with one good work. Sometimes death gets in the way of another work being produced such as with Emily Brontë; and come on, how can you put Proust on the list? That one hit of his is one of the greatest novels written, and in many ways it is multiple works and there is more substance to it than a vast majority of writers' entire oeuvres. Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" better hits the mark. She did write a bunch of other books that are rather unknown...

[@lorrainesambo6534]

I have only read Wuthering Heights, and started Catcher in the Rye, but never finished. Now I want to read all of them! I agree with another commenter..To Kill a Mocking Bird and I would also add A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Technically Betty Smith wrote four books, but this one was by far her most popular.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Hi Lorraine! Thanks for leaving a comment, I appreciate it a lot. You are right about Mockingbird. I am beginning to kick myself for excluding it.😂

[@richardrose2606]

Actually Harper Lee eventually published a second novel near the end of her life. It was not well received.

[@Jimbodisfan]

Good evening/morning my British cousin! I've read The Catcher in the Rye, Wuthering Heights, Gone With The Wind, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I thought Catcher was LOL funny and that the characters in Wuthering Heights all deserved to be autopsied alive. I remember Gone With the Wind being really good and reading later that Clark Gable got in trouble for "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" in the movie. I read Dorian Gray a few years ago and remember thinking it weird.

[@stephaniewhittle6269]

Gone With The Wind is a much much better book than your synopsis would suggest...I highly, highly recommend it.

[@pandittroublejr]

👍🏾📚💗

[@jmsl910]

to kill a mockingbird?

[@thesisypheanjournal1271]

I can't believe you didn't do "A Confederacy of Dunces."

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

There were so many I couldn't do!!!

[@patrickellsworth5427]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 The Neon Bilbe is a novel.

[@peregrinearc]

"Gone with the Wind is a massive 1000 page book, which means if you got a dead body to weigh down in a river, you could use this after reading it." 🤣🤣🤣

[@aliyasirpm]

Do you know 'the catcher in the rye' inspired the John Lennon's Killer.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I had heard that before but had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder. I bet Mr Salinger wouldn't have been best pleased though.😬

[@patrickellsworth5427]

What about Frankenstein?

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

There's a glaring one! Not sure what I was thinking. It was so long ago.😅

[@patrickellsworth5427]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I thought that maybe I was losing my mind and that Shelley had actually written an extensive list of books I didn't know about.

[@Yesica1993]

Oh, goodness, what is it with Russians and the names thing! Drives me insane!