Alistair Moffat Books in Order
Alistair Moffat has written 35 books, published between 1978 and 2024. The first book is The Edinburgh Fringe (1978) and the newest is The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 35
- Published
- 1978–2024
- Pages on record
- 7,086 in 24 of 35 books
- Reading time
- 118–177 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,086 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 24 of 35 titles with a page count on record.
Alistair Moffat, born 1950, is a Scottish writer and journalist who directed the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and later served as Rector of the University of St Andrews. Scottish history is the main subject: Kelsae (1985), The Sea Kingdoms (2001), The Borders (2002), Before Scotland (2005) and Tyneside (2005) each take one place or region from its earliest times. Travel writing, human genetics and memoir also appear, Homing (2003) among them. The 35 catalogued titles begin with The Edinburgh Fringe (1978) and reach The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History (2024).
How many Alistair Moffat books are there?
Alistair Moffat has 35 books, released between 1978 and 2024.
Alistair Moffat Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 35 Alistair Moffat books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Edinburgh Fringe1978 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/419781281/4
- 2Kelsae: A History of Kelso from Earliest Times1985 · 215 pages · confirmed 1/419852151/4
- 3Remembering Charles Rennie Mackintosh1990 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/419901601/4
- 4Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms1999 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/419993041/4
- 5The Sea Kingdoms: The History of Celtic Britain & Ireland2001 · 316 pages · confirmed 1/420013161/4
- 6The Borders: A History of the Borders from Earliest Times2002 · 586 pages · confirmed 1/420025861/4
- 7Homing: A Memoir2003 · 214 pages · confirmed 1/420032141/4
- 8Heartland: Images of the Scottish Borders2004 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/420041761/4
- 9Tyneside: A History of Newcastle and Gateshead from Earliest Times2005 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/420054481/4
- 10Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History2005 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/420053521/4
- 11East Lothian in Photographs2006 · confirmed 1/42006–1/4
- 12Edinburgh: A New History2008 · confirmed 1/42008–1/4
- 13The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier2009 · 270 pages · confirmed 1/420092701/4
- 14Tuscany2009 · 269 pages · confirmed 1/420092691/4
- 15The Highland Clans2010 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/420101761/4
- 16The Faded Map: The Story of the Lost Kingdoms of Scotland2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 17The Scots: A Genetic Journey2011 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/420112561/4
- 18The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers2011 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/420112721/4
- 19Britain's Last Frontier: A Journey Along the Highland Line2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 20The Great Tapestry of Scotland2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 21British: A Genetic Journey2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 22Hawick: A History from Earliest Times2014 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/420142081/4
- 23Bannockburn2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 24Scotland: A History from Earliest Times2015 · 544 pages · confirmed 1/420155441/4
- 25Scotland's Last Frontier: A Journey Along the Highland Line2016 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420162881/4
- 27To the Island of Tides: A Journey to Lindisfarne2019 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/420193361/4
- 28Britain's DNA Journey: Our Incredible Genetic Story2019 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420193041/4
- 29The Secret History of Here: A Year in the Valley2020 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/420203841/4
- 30In Search of Angels: Travels to the Edge of the World2020 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420202881/4
- 31The Night Before Morning2022 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/420222561/4
- 32Islands of the Evening: Journeys to the Edge of the World2022 · confirmed 1/42022–1/4
- 33Scotland's Forgotten Past2023 · confirmed 1/42023–1/4
- 34War Paths2023 · confirmed 1/42023–1/4
- 35The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History2024 · confirmed 1/42024–1/4
Alistair Moffat books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Standalone books
35 books35 Alistair Moffat titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Alistair Moffat books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 35 Alistair Moffat books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Alistair Moffat
Start with The Edinburgh Fringe (1978), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Alistair Moffat book?
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: A New History (2024) is the newest Alistair Moffat book released so far.
Is there a new Alistair Moffat book coming?
No next Alistair Moffat book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Alistair Moffat at a glance
- Still publishing
- Alistair Moffat published a book as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- Alistair Moffat books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 7,086 pages across the 24 of 35 books with a recorded length, a median of 280 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Alistair Moffat books, 14 of 35, were published in the 2010s.
What the Alistair Moffat books are about
25 of the 35 Alistair Moffat books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: history is tagged on 14 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- History 14 of 25 books
- Scotland, history 8 of 25 books
- Great Britain, history 6 of 25 books
- Scotland, description and travel 3 of 25 books
- Social life and customs 3 of 25 books
- Travel 2 of 25 books
- Human genetics 2 of 25 books
- Manners and customs 2 of 25 books