A master of historical fiction, The NYT called Doctorow a “literary time traveller,” and paging through his oeuvre, it’s obvious why. If you’re unfamiliar with Doctorow’s work, here’s a list of the essentials:

Ragtime (1975)

Arguably the book for which Doctorow was best known, Ragtime is a subversive novel about a wealthy New York family in the early 1900s, as these fictional characters mingle with historical figures from Houdini to Freud.

World’s Fair (1985)

In this novel, which the LA Times called “something close to magic,” we see the world through the eyes of a young boy growing up in the ’30s in a sensory work of art that builds to the 1939 World’s Fair.

Billy Bathgate (1989)

For this tale of a 15-year-old Bronx boy who falls in with a mobster, Doctorow won the 1990 PEN/Faulkner prize and Hofmann and Kidman starred in the movie.

The Book of Daniel (1971)

Daniel’s parents—fictionalized versions of the Rosenbergs—were executed long ago, but Daniel is still affected despite having a life and child of his own. And his younger sister might be even more radical. While he is supposed to be writing his doctorate at Columbia University, Daniel instead authors this book of memories and confessions.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This is one for the grownups and the children

Coming soon

Cormac McCarthy