Who Wrote The Catcher in the Rye, When, and How Long Is It?
J. D. Salinger wrote The Catcher in the Rye, and Little, Brown and Company published it on 16 July 1951. Editions run to roughly 230 pages, depending on the printing.
Parts of Holden's story had appeared in magazines in the mid-1940s, years before the novel.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | J. D. Salinger |
| Published | 16 July 1951 |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Length | About 230 pages; editions listed from 214 to 277 |
| Earlier Holden material | Magazine stories, 1945-46 |
| Next book | Nine Stories, 1953 |
Who was J. D. Salinger?
Jerome David Salinger was an American writer, born in New York in 1919. He published little after The Catcher in the Rye and became famous for avoiding public attention.
↑ Back to the topWhen did he write it?
Salinger had written about characters like Holden before the novel existed. In 1946 The New Yorker accepted a 90-page manuscript about Holden Caulfield, but Salinger later withdrew it. Material connected to the book was also published in magazines in 1945 and 1946.
The finished novel appeared in 1951. Its first cover was designed by E. Michael Mitchell.
↑ Back to the topHow long is it?
Page counts depend on the edition. One standard record lists 234 pages, and other editions are listed at 214 and 277. The text is divided into 26 chapters and is generally short enough to read in a weekend.
↑ Back to the topWhat did Salinger write afterwards?
His next book was Nine Stories in 1953. The Catcher in the Rye remained his only novel.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Catcher in the Rye
This guide covers the novel only. Details such as page counts vary by edition.