TheWell Bookshop

Series · western

Sons of Texas

by Elmer Kelton

The Sons of Texas series by Elmer Kelton has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Sons of Texas (1989).

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
1989
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: Sons of Texas (1989) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Sons of Texas

Sons of Texas (1989)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Sons of Texas

    Novel

    Sons of Texas (1989) opens Elmer Kelton's trilogy at 533 pages, following the Lewis family siblings as settlers and Mexican authorities move toward the revolution that would create the Republic of Texas; it was originally published under the shared house pseudonym Tom Early.

    View book

  2. The Raiders: Sons of Texas

    Novel

    At 768 pages, The Raiders: Sons of Texas is the longest of the three novels, published the same year as Sons of Texas and continuing the Lewis family's story as the Texas revolution builds.

    View book

  3. The Rebels: Sons of Texas

    Novel

    The Rebels: Sons of Texas closes the trilogy in 1990 at 497 pages, the shortest of the three books Kelton wrote for the Tom Early franchise before it continued under other authors.

    View book

About the Sons of Texas series

The Sons of Texas trilogy follows the Lewis family -- brothers Andrew, Michael, and James, and their sister Annie -- as American settlers and Mexican authorities in Texas move from uneasy coexistence toward the revolution that would create the Republic of Texas in the mid-1830s. Elmer Kelton wrote all three books; they were originally published under the house pseudonym Tom Early, a franchise byline the publisher later continued with further Sons of Texas installments by other, unrelated writers.

Kelton's three books have since been reissued under his own name and are the only entries in the wider Tom Early franchise that this catalogue attributes to him.

Frequently asked questions

Did Elmer Kelton write the whole Sons of Texas series?

He wrote the first three books (the core trilogy catalogued here). The publisher continued the franchise afterward under the same Tom Early house name with further books by other writers (Frank Roderus, Will C. Knott, James Reasoner), which are not Kelton's work and are excluded here.

Why was it originally published as by "Tom Early"?

Tom Early was a shared house pseudonym the publisher used across the whole franchise, not a personal Kelton alter ego; his three books have since been reissued under his own name.

How many books are in the Sons of Texas series?

3: Sons of Texas (1989), The Raiders: Sons of Texas (1989), and The Rebels: Sons of Texas (1990).

Reading order last verified .