Van Wyck Brooks published 2 novels, 21 non-fiction books, 2 poetry collections and 5 other books, beginning with Emerson and Others (1900). The best-known is The Times of Melville and Whitman (1947).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Van Wyck Brooks
Start here
The Times of Melville and Whitman
Van Wyck Brooks's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
The World of H.g. Wells (1915)
Writers at Work (1963)
Non-fiction in order
Emerson and Others (1900)
John Addington Symonds (1914)
Letters and Leadership. -- (1918)
The Ordeal of Mark Twain (1920)
The Pilgrimage of Henry James (1925)
The Life of Emerson (1932)
Three Essays on America (1934)
The Flowering of New England, 1815-1865 (1936)
New England (1940)
Opinions of Oliver Allston (1941)
The World of Washington Irving (1944)
The Times of Melville and Whitman (1947)
A Chilmark Miscellany (1948)
The Confident Years: 1885-1915 (1952)
The Writer in America (1953)
John Sloan (1955)
Our Literary Heritage (1956)
Days of the Phoenix (1957)
The Dream of Arcadia (1958)
Howells (1959)
From the Shadow of the Mountain (1961)
Poetry in order
The Malady of the Ideal (1913)
America's Coming-of-age (1956)
Other books in order
The Wine of the Puritans (1908)
Sketches in Criticism (1932)
From a Writer's Notebook (1955)
Helen Keller (1956)
Van Wyck Brooks, the Early Years (1968)
About Van Wyck Brooks
Van Wyck Brooks was an American literary critic, biographer, and historian.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Van Wyck Brooks FAQ
- How many books has Van Wyck Brooks written?
- Van Wyck Brooks published 2 novels, 21 non-fiction books, 2 poetry collections and 5 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Van Wyck Brooks's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Times of Melville and Whitman.
- What is Van Wyck Brooks's last book?
- Writers at Work (1963).
- What is Van Wyck Brooks's most famous book?
- The Times of Melville and Whitman (1947) is Van Wyck Brooks's most widely read book.
- Can I read Van Wyck Brooks's books for free?
- Yes. 2 books by Van Wyck Brooks are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like Van Wyck Brooks
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.