Order of Pat Conroy Books
Pat Conroy (1945-2016) was an American author of literary fiction and non-fiction. His novels The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini were adapted into Academy Award-nominated films. His fiction is based on his real-life experiences, such as being a military brat and growing up with an abusive, domineering father. Despite the fact that it was fiction, The Great Santini was real enough that it caused serious friction in his family, although it actually helped repair his relationship with his father.
Pat Conroy became a published author in 1970 with his debut novel The Boo. Below is a list of Pat Conroy’s books in order of when they were originally published:
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| The Boo | (1970) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Great Santini | (1976) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Lords of Discipline | (1980) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Prince of Tides | (1986) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Beach Music | (1995) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| South of Broad | (2009) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The Water is Wide | (1972) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| My Losing Season | (2002) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Pat Conroy Cookbook | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| My Life in Books / My Reading Life | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Death of Santini | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| A Lowcountry Heart | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Anthologies
Note: My Life in Books is alternatively titled My Reading Life.
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Beach Music is one of my all time fave books. It covered so much of my life …the 60s, beaches, sea turtles. I’ve read his other books & enjoyed them but I felt like Beach Music was telling my life story.
Rest in peace, Mr. Conroy. You will be terribly missed.
I just finished reading South Of Broad! I’ve found a new favorite author! The characters in this book are so real…I want to marry Leo!
Actually, South Of Broad was my least favorite. The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and Beach Music were my favorites. Both The Great Santini were made into movies, this one staring Robert Duval, and The Prince of Tides, staring Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. Pat writes with so much emotion, sometimes it is hard to read. Especially knowing that some of his books are based on what happened in his life. The Great Santini is an excellent example of that. So, the book is listed as fiction, but it clearly wasn’t. It caused a lot of strife between he and his father, but towards the end of his father’s life, they did come to terms with it.
My daughter, a former Marine, was stationed at the MCAS in Beaufort, and Pat’s father (the Great Santini) would come and visit the CO of MCAS. He may have been a great Marine, but he was a very abusive husband and father.
I lived in Beaufort, SC, Pat was a neighbor of mine. IMHO, he is the greatest southern author of our times, bar none.
Dear ConsrvYank1: I loved reading “The Great Santini”, “The Prince of Tides”, “Beach Music”,”South of Broad”, and “The Lords of Discipline”. “The Lords of Discipline” was the first Pat Conroy book I read, and it is so absolutely excellent. As one Pat Conroy fan to another, I recommend reading “The Lords of Discipline”, and “South of Broad.”, and may Mr. Conroy rest in peace!