The books which he wrote afterwards were far
Another interesting case is J. D. Salinger. His
from being artistic failures. One of them, Rites of
first novel, Catcher in the Rye, achieved such iconic
Passage, won the Booker Prize in 1980. His body of
status that it sealed his reputation forever, as the
work, without Lord of the Flies, would have been
recluse who retired from literature after writing one
enough to earn him a reputation as a fine writer. If
brilliant book. In fact, he published a number of
Lord had been his last book, it would have been seen
books afterward, whose very existence has been
as the culmination of a brilliant career. However,
denied by the cult of Catcher...
standing as a towering achievement at the beginning
It may have been to avoid this fate that Harper
of his career, it created an impression that his life was
Lee really did refuse to publish another book after To
actually a story of decline and diminishing talent. It is
Kill a Mockingbird. It is reported that she told her
understandable that he would have complicated
niece she would never write another book, because
feelings about his first great success.
“When you’re at the top, there’s only one way you
Golding dreaded the idea that he would be
remembered only for his first book. Yet that seemed
can go...”
It is understandable that a creative artist would
to be his fate, when the major biography by John
find it difficult to acknowledge that their best work is
Carey was published in 2009 – with the subtitle “The
far behind them. Or that they would want to continue
Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies.”
to strive to produce something better in future. Only
Another author who suffered from the aftermath
with hindsight, after the life or career has ended, can
of early success was Richard Yates. His first book
we try to assess the place of individual works in their
was Revolutionary Road, published in 1961 to great
entire opus. But are these authors justified in their
acclaim. It was a finalist for the National Book
ambivalence about their early success? Surely, to
Award. Its bleak, uncompromising outlook on
have produced a work that stands as one of the great
contemporary life in America was praised by many of
artistic achievements of their time, at any stage of
the most distinguished authors of the time. But the
their career, would be enough to feel contented
works that followed did not have the same impact.
about... even if they never produced anything else.
Yates wrote slowly, and kept true to his own dark
Joseph Heller’s first book was Catch-22, which
vision, while the literary fashions were changing
was not only a classic, but added a new phrase to the
around him. His reputation faded away during his
language. He went on to write several others
lifetime, until he was almost forgotten. After his
(including a sequel to Catch-22) that didn’t reach the
death, his books went out of print. He remained in
same heights. When somebody told him later in life
deep obscurity, until a revival of interest in his work
that he hadn’t written anything as good since
in recent years, marked by a film version of
Catch-22, Heller had a nice answer:
Revolutionary Road starring Leonardo DiCaprio and
Kate Winslet. It didn’t alter his reputation as an
author who “wrote his best book first.”
“Neither has anyone else.”