The Duane Moore Series in Order

About the Duane Moore series

Series Premise

The books trace the arc of Duane Moore from restless high-school senior in the 1950s through middle age, prosperity, midlife crisis, widowhood, and old age in the fading oil-boom town of Thalia, Texas. Starting with youthful friendships, romances, and the end of an era in The Last Picture Show, the series evolves into explorations of marriage, family chaos, business success/failure, depression, reinvention, erotic awakenings, aging, loss, and the search for meaning amid personal and communal decline. Later books delve into Duane's psychological depths, relationships with women (including affairs and therapy), encounters with younger generations, and attempts to adapt to a changing world—often with wry observations on Texas masculinity, oil culture, and small-town stagnation.

Main Characters

Duane Moore — The central figure throughout; introduced as a popular, athletic high-school senior in The Last Picture Show (best friend to > Sonny Crawford, in love with Jacy Farrow). He grows into a successful but restless oilman/roughneck-turned-businessman, husband, father of four, grandfather, and eventually a widower in his 60s–70s. Complex and flawed—charismatic yet depressive, loyal but prone to affairs, hardworking but searching for purpose—he embodies McMurtry's archetypal Texas man grappling with life's disappointments.

> Karla Moore — Duane's long-suffering, vibrant, outspoken wife (introduced in later books); chaotic, loving, larger-than-life matriarch of their large, dysfunctional family.

> Supporting/recurring figures: Early books feature Sonny Crawford (Duane's sensitive best friend, the original protagonist), Jacy Farrow (beautiful, fickle love interest), Ruth Popper (older woman in an affair), and others in the teen circle. Later installments shift to Duane's extended family (children like Dickie, Nellie; grandchildren), lovers/therapists (e.g., Annie Cameron in Duane's Depressed), business associates, and townsfolk who highlight Thalia's fading vitality.



Core books in the Duane Moore/Thalia arc (chronological/publication order):

The Last Picture Show (1966) — Focuses on teens Duane and Sonny.

Texasville (1987) — Duane in midlife, centennial celebrations.

Duane's Depressed (1999) — Duane's mid-60s crisis (often considered the series' emotional peak).

When the Light Goes (2007) — Post-widowhood reinvention.

Setting

The fictional small town of Thalia, Texas (modeled on McMurtry's hometown of Archer City in North Texas), a dusty, declining oil-patch community on the plains. It evolves across eras—from the austere 1950s (post-WWII/Korean War, with a dying movie theater and pool hall as social hubs) through oil-boom prosperity in the 1980s, to post-bust stagnation in the 1990s–2000s. The landscape is stark: flat plains, oil rigs, pickup trucks, modest homes, and a sense of isolation amid vast emptiness, reflecting broader shifts in rural American life.

Tone & Themes

Elegiac, bittersweet, wryly humorous, and introspective—McMurtry's signature blend of sharp wit, dry comedy, unflinching realism about human flaws (infidelity, regret, restlessness), and poignant melancholy. It's character-driven literary fiction with emotional depth, occasional bawdiness/sexuality, and a sense of quiet tragedy in everyday life, avoiding melodrama while capturing the absurdities of aging and change. The humor is understated and observational, the pathos genuine but never overwrought.

This series is celebrated for its deep character study, authentic Texas voice, and unflinching portrait of American life—often compared to McMurtry's own reflections on growing up in Archer City. It's more introspective literary fiction than genre mystery or adventure, appealing to fans of character-driven novels like those of Richard Ford or John Updike, with a strong Southwestern flavor.