Reading order · 3 books · 1940 to 1959 · Set in the fictional Jefferson, Mississippi
Snopes Books in Order
The Snopes trilogy follows the rise of Flem Snopes, a cold, cunning man from a family of poor whites, from the village of Frenchman’s Bend to the bank of Jefferson.
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Series facts
- Books
- 3
- Published
- 1940 to 1959
- First book
- The Hamlet
- Latest
- The Mansion (1959)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional Jefferson, Mississippi
The reading order
Every Snopes book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
3 books · Set in the fictional Jefferson, Mississippi
- 1The Hamlet1940Flem Snopes arrives in the village of Frenchman’s Bend and begins to take over its trade and its people, watched by the sharp sewing-machine salesman V.Buy on Amazon
- 2The Town1957Flem Snopes moves to Jefferson and rises through the town, to the dismay of the lawyer Gavin Stevens.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Mansion1959Mink Snopes is released after decades in prison, and sets out for Jefferson to kill his cousin Flem.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read The Hamlet, The Town and The Mansion in order.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Flem Snopes | V. K. Ratliff | Eula Varner | Mink Snopes | Gavin Stevens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Hamlet | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 2 The Town | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 3 The Mansion | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Snopes books
6 characters from William Faulkner’s chart, with the number of Snopes books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Flem SnopesRuthless rising man | 3 | The Hamlet 1940 |
| V. K. RatliffSewing-machine salesman | 3 | The Hamlet 1940 |
| Eula VarnerFlem's wife | 2 | The Hamlet 1940 |
| Mink SnopesFlem's vengeful cousin | 2 | The Hamlet 1940 |
| Gavin StevensCounty attorney | 2 | The Town 1957 |
| Jason CompsonBitter Compson son | 1 | The Mansion 1959 |