| 1955 | The Ginger Man. Published in France by Maurice Girodias's Olympia Press, Donleavy's first novel chronicles the bawdy picaresque adventures of the likable, amoral Sebastian Dangerfield, who helps define the archetype of the romantic rebel for the era. The book becomes a cult hit and college favorite, published in an expurgated edition in the United States in 1958 and an unexpurgated edition in 1965. Born in Brooklyn, Donleavy was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and became an Irish citizen in 1967. |
| 1963 | A Singular Man. Donleavy's second novel treats the obsession of the wealthy George Smith to construct a grand mausoleum, suggesting the dead end associated with dreams of material success. The book gets bad reviews, and Donleavy does additional damage to his reputation by following the novel with one of his weakest books, the story collection Meet My Maker the Mad Molecule (1964). |
| 1966 | The Saddest Summer of Samuel S. Donleavy's novel treats a man trapped in his isolation, prevented from positive relationships by excessive self-analysis. |
| 1968 | The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B. This novel of education follows the career of a young French nobleman with Irish ancestry from innocence to experience. Many consider it one of Donleavy's finest efforts, mixing serious themes with his characteristic manic inventiveness. It would be followed by one of Donleavy's weakest efforts, The Onion Eaters (1971), a surrealistic fantasy featuring a hero with "three glands." |
| 1977 | The Destinies of Darcy Dancer. Launching what has been called his greatest sustained achievement as a novelist, Donleavy presents a modern version of the eighteenth-century picaresque novel in the career of a rogue hero, set in Ireland. Two sequels would follow: Leila (1983) and That Darcy, That Dancer, That Gentleman (1990). |
