Completes The Naked and the Dead while living at 49 Remsen Street in Brooklyn, around the corner from his parents' home. Turns in the completed manuscript to Rinehart in September.

On 3 October, he and Bea leave on RMS Queen Elizabeth for Europe. Both study French language and culture at the Sorbonne on the G.I. Bill.

In Paris, he begins Barbary Shore, and meets Jean Malaquais, who later becomes his lifelong friend and mentor on Marxism and the Russian Revolution. For most of their time in Paris, the Mailers live at 11 Rue Bréa. They are joined in Paris by Mailer's parents and sister, and they later travel to southern France and Italy.