Before you go...
Check Out
The Bestselling Books of All Time
See the List

Welcome to Hard Times

A Novel

A Novel

A Novel

By E.L. Doctorow

By E.L. Doctorow

By E.L. Doctorow

By E.L. Doctorow

By E.L. Doctorow
Read by John Rubinstein

By E.L. Doctorow
Read by John Rubinstein

Best Seller
Paperback $16.00

Sep 11, 2007 | ISBN 9780812978223

Ebook $8.99

Nov 17, 2010 | ISBN 9780307762979

Audiobook Download $20.00

Jun 03, 2014 | 388 Minutes

All Formats
+
    Welcome to Hard Times by E.L. Doctorow
    Paperback $16.00
    Sep 11, 2007 | ISBN 9780812978223

    Also available from:

    See All Formats (2) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.00

      Sep 11, 2007 | ISBN 9780812978223

      Also available from:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Nov 17, 2010 | ISBN 9780307762979

      Available from:

    Audio
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About Welcome to Hard Times

    Here is E. L. Doctorow’s debut novel, a searing allegory of frontier life that sets the stage for his subsequent classics.

    Hard Times is the name of a town in the barren hills of the Dakota Territory. To this town there comes one day one of the reckless sociopaths who wander the West to kill and rape and pillage. By the time he is through and has ridden off, Hard Times is a smoking ruin. The de facto mayor, Blue, takes in two survivors of the carnage–a boy, Jimmy, and a prostitute, Molly, who has suffered unspeakably–and makes them his provisional family. Blue begins to rebuild Hard Times, welcoming new settlers, while Molly waits with vengeance in her heart for the return of the outlaw.

    Praise for Welcome to Hard Times

    “A forceful, credible story of cowardice and evil.”—The Washington Post

    “We are caught up with these people as real human beings.”—Chicago Sun-Times
    “Dramatic and exciting.”—The New York Times
    “Terse and powerful.”—Newsweek
    “A taut, bloodthirsty read.”—The Times Literary Supplement

    “A superb piece of fiction.”—The New Republic

    About Welcome to Hard Times

    Here is E. L. Doctorow’s debut novel, a searing allegory of frontier life that sets the stage for his subsequent classics.

    Hard Times is the name of a town in the barren hills of the Dakota Territory. To this town there comes one day one of the reckless sociopaths who wander the West to kill and rape and pillage. By the time he is through and has ridden off, Hard Times is a smoking ruin. The de facto mayor, Blue, takes in two survivors of the carnage–a boy, Jimmy, and a prostitute, Molly, who has suffered unspeakably–and makes them his provisional family. Blue begins to rebuild Hard Times, welcoming new settlers, while Molly waits with vengeance in her heart for the return of the outlaw.

    Praise for Welcome to Hard Times

    “A forceful, credible story of cowardice and evil.”—The Washington Post

    “We are caught up with these people as real human beings.”—Chicago Sun-Times
    “Dramatic and exciting.”—The New York Times
    “Terse and powerful.”—Newsweek
    “A taut, bloodthirsty read.”—The Times Literary Supplement

    “A superb piece of fiction.”—The New Republic

    About Welcome to Hard Times

    Here is E. L. Doctorow’s debut novel, a searing allegory of frontier life that sets the stage for his subsequent classics.

    Hard Times is the name of a town in the barren hills of the Dakota Territory. To this town there comes one day one of the reckless sociopaths who wander the West to kill and rape and pillage. By the time he is through and has ridden off, Hard Times is a smoking ruin. The de facto mayor, Blue, takes in two survivors of the carnage–a boy, Jimmy, and a prostitute, Molly, who has suffered unspeakably–and makes them his provisional family. Blue begins to rebuild Hard Times, welcoming new settlers, while Molly waits with vengeance in her heart for the return of the outlaw.

    Praise for Welcome to Hard Times

    “A forceful, credible story of cowardice and evil.”—The Washington Post

    “We are caught up with these people as real human beings.”—Chicago Sun-Times
    “Dramatic and exciting.”—The New York Times
    “Terse and powerful.”—Newsweek
    “A taut, bloodthirsty read.”—The Times Literary Supplement

    “A superb piece of fiction.”—The New Republic

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by E.L. Doctorow

    Doctorow: Collected Stories
    Andrew's Brain
    City of God
    All the Time in the World
    Drinks Before Dinner
    See all books by E.L. Doctorow

    Also by E.L. Doctorow

    Doctorow: Collected Stories
    Andrew's Brain
    City of God
    All the Time in the World
    Drinks Before Dinner
    See all books by E.L. Doctorow

    Also by E.L. Doctorow

    Doctorow: Collected Stories
    Andrew's Brain
    City of God
    All the Time in the World
    Drinks Before Dinner
    See all books by E.L. Doctorow

    About E.L. Doctorow

    E. L. Doctorow’s works of fiction include Andrew’s Brain, Homer & Langley, The March, Billy Bathgate, Ragtime, The Book of Daniel, City of God, Welcome to Hard Times, Loon Lake, World’s Fair, The Waterworks, and All the Time in the… More about E.L. Doctorow

    About E.L. Doctorow

    E. L. Doctorow’s works of fiction include Andrew’s Brain, Homer & Langley, The March, Billy Bathgate, Ragtime, The Book of Daniel, City of God, Welcome to Hard Times, Loon Lake, World’s Fair, The Waterworks, and All the Time in the… More about E.L. Doctorow

    About E.L. Doctorow

    E. L. Doctorow’s works of fiction include Andrew’s Brain, Homer & Langley, The March, Billy Bathgate, Ragtime, The Book of Daniel, City of God, Welcome to Hard Times, Loon Lake, World’s Fair, The Waterworks, and All the Time in the… More about E.L. Doctorow

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction | Western Fiction

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    Sep 11, 2007 | 224 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780812978223

    Category: Literary Fiction | Western Fiction

    Ebook | $8.99
    Published by Random House
    Nov 17, 2010 | 224 Pages | ISBN 9780307762979

    Category: Literary Fiction | Western Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $20.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jun 03, 2014 | 388 Minutes | ISBN 9780804163842

    People Who Read Welcome to Hard Times Also Read

    ‹ ›
    An American Dream
    The Bad Seed
    Dark Back of Time
    Snow
    The Rebels
    David Golder, The Ball, Snow in Autumn, The Courilof Affair
    The Complete Novels of Flann O'Brien
    The Giant's House
    Away from Her
    The Road
    Batman: Year One
    The Smoke Thief
    them
    Kaputt
    44 Scotland Street
    Contempt
    Tar Baby
    Envy
    Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?
    The White Lioness
    Ghostwritten
    A Way of Life, Like Any Other
    Perdido Street Station
    Up at the Villa
    The Daydreamer
    The Conformist
    After the Banquet
    Fly Away Peter
    The Zebra-Striped Hearse
    Swimming Lessons
    The Folded Leaf
    Three Plays
    Buddenbrooks
    The Butcher Boy
    Running in the Family
    The Famished Road
    Brightness Falls
    At Play in the Fields of the Lord
    Stories
    The Beginning and the End
    Cities of Salt
    Mama Day
    Dragonquest
    Ringworld Engineers
    A Canticle for Leibowitz

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Praise

    “A forceful, credible story of cowardice and evil.”—The Washington Post

    “We are caught up with these people as real human beings.”—Chicago Sun-Times

    “Dramatic and exciting.”—The New York Times

    “Terse and powerful.”—Newsweek

    “A taut, bloodthirsty read.”—The Times Literary Supplement

    “A superb piece of fiction.”—The New Republic

    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    TASTE img

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    LitFlash

    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

    Read it Forward

    Read it first. Pass it on!