John Champlin Gardner

Author

John Champlin Gardner

16 books0 series

John Champlin Gardner, Jr. (1933–1982) was a well-known and controversial American novelist and university professor, best known for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth. John Gardner's best known novels include: The Sunlight Dialogues, a novel about a brooding, disenchanted policeman…

Read moreShow less

John Champlin Gardner, Jr. (1933–1982) was a well-known and controversial American novelist and university professor, best known for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth.

John Gardner's best known novels include: The Sunlight Dialogues, a novel about a brooding, disenchanted policeman who is asked to engage a madman fluent in classical mythology; Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf legend from the monster's point of view; and October Light, a novel about an aging and embittered brother and sister living and feuding together in rural Vermont. This last novel won the National Book Critics' Circle Award in 1976. Each book features brutish, isolated figures struggling for integrity and understanding in an unforgiving society.

AUTHOR CAREER

Publication timeline

Published and upcoming books by publication year. Undated TBA titles are excluded.

1966–198416 cataloged publications

Select a year to see its books and known publication months.

THE AUTHOR’S WRITING

Writing profile

Genres are based on books catalogued in Risingshadow’s English-language database. A book may belong to multiple genres.

Main classification

Fantasy9 (56%)
Horror1 (6%)
Other6 (38%)

Each book counts once. Multiple primary genres use the shared presentation order; books without a primary genre are Other.

Genres and themes

Fantasy9 / 16 books
Mainstream7 / 16 books
Childrens3 / 16 books
Historical Fiction3 / 16 books
Horror2 / 16 books
Greek Mythology1 / 16 books
Mythology1 / 16 books