Order of Book Series
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Angela Carter Books in Order

35 books are credited to Angela Carter, published between 1966 and 2022; 10 of them appeared after Angela Carter's death in 1992. The first book is Shadow Dance (1966) and the newest is Wrong Turn Punished (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
35
Published
1966–2022
Pages on record
5,485 in 29 of 35 books
Reading time
91–137 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,485 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 35 titles with a page count on record.

See all 35 books in order Printable Angela Carter checklist
Photo of Angela Carter, author of the Bristol series

Angela Carter was the writing name of Angela Olive Pearce (1940-1992), an English novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist whose work is read as feminist, magical realist and picaresque. Her story The Company of Wolves became a film in 1984, and Nights at the Circus was later named the best winner in the history of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. The Times placed Carter tenth among the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. The catalogue holds 35 books opening with Shadow Dance (1966), The Magic Toyshop (1967) and Heroes and Villains (1969), at a median of 158 pages.

How many Angela Carter books are there?

Angela Carter has 35 books, released between 1966 and 2022. 10 of them were published after Angela Carter's death in 1992. 3 of them belong to the Bristol series.

Angela Carter Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 35 Angela Carter 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.

  1. Cover of The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter (1967)
  2. Cover of Several Perceptions by Angela Carter, book 2 of the Bristol series (1968)
  3. Cover of The Donkey Prince by Angela Carter (1970)
  4. Cover of Love by Angela Carter, book 3 of the Bristol series (1971)
  5. Cover of The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter (1972)
  6. Cover of Expletives Deleted by Angela Carter (1974)
  7. Cover of Fireworks by Angela Carter (1974)
  8. Cover of The Sadeian Woman by Angela Carter (1978)
  9. Cover of The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter (1979)
  10. Cover of Nothing Sacred by Angela Carter (1982)
  11. Cover of Moonshadow by Angela Carter (1982)
  12. Cover of Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (1984)
  13. Cover of Come Unto These Yellow Sands by Angela Carter (1985)
  14. Cover of Artificial Fire by Angela Carter (1988)
  15. Cover of Shaking a Leg by Angela Carter (1990)
  16. Cover of Wise Children by Angela Carter (1991)
  17. Cover of American Ghosts & Old World Wonders by Angela Carter (1993)
  18. Cover of Burning Your Boats by Angela Carter (1995)
  19. Cover of Unicorn by Angela Carter, book 2 of the Chap series (1996)
  20. Cover of Sea-Cat and Dragon King by Angela Carter (2000)
  21. Cover of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella & Other Classic Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault by Angela Carter (2008)
  22. Cover of Bluebeard by Angela Carter (2011)
  1. 1
    Shadow DanceBristol #11966 · 182 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Magic Toyshop1967 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1967199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Several PerceptionsBristol #21968 · 148 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1968148
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Heroes and Villains1969 · 150 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969150
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Donkey Prince1970 · 40 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197040
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Miss Z,The Dark Young Lady1970 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197032
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    LoveBristol #31971 · 120 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman1972 · 220 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Expletives Deleted1974 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Fireworks1974 · 133 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974133
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Passion of New Eve1977 · 191 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Sadeian Woman1978 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Comic and Curious Cats1979 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197932
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    The Music People1980 · confirmed 1/4
    1980–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    Black Venus's Tale1981 · confirmed 1/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    Nothing Sacred1982 · 226 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982226
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Moonshadow1982 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    Nights at the Circus1984 · 294 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984294
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    Come Unto These Yellow Sands1985 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    Black Venus/Saints and Strangers1985 · 126 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985126
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    Artificial Fire1988 · 236 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988236
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 23
    Images of Frida Kahlo1989 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198924
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    Shaking a Leg1990 · 641 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990641
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 25
    Wise Children1991 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    American Ghosts & Old World Wonders1993 · 146 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993146
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 27
    Burning Your Boats1995 · 480 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    Lizzie BordenChap #11996 · confirmed 1/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 29
    UnicornChap #21996 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 30
    The Curious Room1996 · 544 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 31
    Sea-Cat and Dragon King2000 · 93 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200093
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 32
    Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella & Other Classic Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault2008 · 78 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200878
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  32. 33
    Bluebeard2011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  33. 34
    The Lady of the House of Love and its Feminist Aspects2017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  34. 35
    Wrong Turn Punished2022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Angela Carter 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.

Bristol in order

3 books
  1. 1. Shadow Dance
  2. 2. Several Perceptions
  3. 3. Love

Chap in order

2 books
  1. 1. Lizzie Borden
  2. 2. Unicorn

Standalone books

30 books

30 Angela Carter titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Angela Carter books in order?

You only need to read Angela Carter books in order within the Bristol series, which holds 3 of the 35 Angela Carter books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Angela Carter

Start with Shadow Dance (1966), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Angela Carter book?

Wrong Turn Punished (2022) is the newest Angela Carter book released so far.

Is there a new Angela Carter book coming?

No next Angela Carter book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Angela Carter has won

Wikidata records 3 awards and 4 nominations for Angela Carter. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize1984Wonfor Nights at the Circus
  • Somerset Maugham Award1969Won
  • John Llewellyn Rhys Prize1968Wonfor The Magic Toyshop
  • World Fantasy Award for Best Collection1986Shortlistedfor Black Venus
  • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel1985Shortlistedfor Nights at the Circus
  • BSFA Award for Best Novel1984Shortlistedfor Nights at the Circus
  • BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction1982Shortlistedfor Overture and Incidental Music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Angela Carter at a glance

Died
Angela Carter died in 1992, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Angela Carter are still being published after Angela Carter's death in 1992; the newest appeared in 2022.
Release pace
Angela Carter books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
5,485 pages across the 29 of 35 books with a recorded length, a median of 158 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Angela Carter books, 10 of 35, were published in the 1970s.

What the Angela Carter books are about

30 of the 35 Angela Carter books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: english fiction is tagged on 6 of 30. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.