Order of Book Series
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Ann Swinfen Books in Order

Ann Swinfen has written 29 books, published between 1984 and 2018. The first book is In Defence of Fantasy (1984) and the newest is The Stonemason's Tale (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
29
Published
1984–2018
Pages on record
4,703 in 17 of 29 books
Reading time
78–118 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,703 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 29 titles with a page count on record.

See all 29 books in order Printable Ann Swinfen checklist

Ann Swinfen wrote historical fiction and literary criticism. The catalogue opens with In Defence of Fantasy (1984) and reaches The Stonemason's Tale (2018), 29 books in all, with the 2010s the heaviest decade. Christoval Alvarez carries the Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez; Oxford Medieval Mysteries and Fenland are the other series. The Testament of Mariam (2009), A Running Tide (1998) and The Travellers (1997) sit outside them. Great Britain, London, history and fantasy fiction recur as subjects.

How many Ann Swinfen books are there?

Ann Swinfen has 29 books, released between 1984 and 2018. They include 3 series and 12 titles listed outside any series.

Ann Swinfen Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 29 Ann Swinfen 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 In Defence of Fantasy by Ann Swinfen (1984)
  2. Cover of The Testament of Mariam by Ann Swinfen (2009)
  3. Cover of Flood by Ann Swinfen, book 1 of the Fenland series (2014)
  4. Cover of The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez by Ann Swinfen, book 1 of the Chronicles Of Christoval Alvarez series (2014)
  5. Cover of The Enterprise of England by Ann Swinfen, book 2 of the Chronicles Of Christoval Alvarez series (2014)
  6. Cover of Bartholomew Fair by Ann Swinfen, book 4 of the Chronicles Of Christoval Alvarez series (2014)
  7. Cover of The Bookseller's Tale by Ann Swinfen, book 1 of the Oxford Medieval Mysteries series (2016)
  8. Cover of The Novice's Tale by Ann Swinfen, book 2 of the Oxford Medieval Mysteries series (2016)
  9. Cover of The Play's the Thing by Ann Swinfen, book 7 of the Chronicles Of Christoval Alvarez series (2016)
  10. Cover of The Huntsman's Tale by Ann Swinfen, book 3 of the Oxford Medieval Mysteries series (2017)
  11. Cover of The Troubadour's Tale by Ann Swinfen, book 5 of the Oxford Medieval Mysteries series (2018)
  12. Cover of The Stonemason's Tale by Ann Swinfen, book 6 of the Oxford Medieval Mysteries series (2018)
  1. 1
    In Defence of Fantasy1984 · 253 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984253
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Anniversary1996 · confirmed 2/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Travellers1997 · confirmed 2/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Running Tide1998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Mere Incidents of War1999 · confirmed 2/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Testament of Mariam2009 · 314 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009314
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Envy2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    FloodFenland #12014 · 282 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Secret World of Christoval AlvarezChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #12014 · 292 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    A Mutual Silence2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Enterprise of EnglandChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #22014 · 312 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014312
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Portuguese AffairChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #32014 · 246 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014246
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Scent of Oranges2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Bartholomew FairChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #42014 · 294 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2014294
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Secret of Santa Fabriata2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    A Walk in the Woods2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    BetrayalFenland #22015 · 274 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Suffer the Little ChildrenChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #52015 · confirmed 2/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    This Rough Ocean2015 · confirmed 2/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Voyage to MuscovyChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #62015 · 254 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015254
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Bookseller's TaleOxford Medieval Mysteries #12016 · 258 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016258
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Novice's TaleOxford Medieval Mysteries #22016 · 264 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Play's the ThingChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #72016 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    That Time May CeaseChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #82016 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Huntsman's TaleOxford Medieval Mysteries #32017 · 262 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Merchant's TaleOxford Medieval Mysteries #42017 · 282 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Lopez AffairChronicles Of Christoval Alvarez #92017 · confirmed 2/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Troubadour's TaleOxford Medieval Mysteries #52018 · 280 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Stonemason's TaleOxford Medieval Mysteries #62018 · 286 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2018286
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Ann Swinfen series and characters in order

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Ann Swinfen books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.

Chronicles Of Christoval Alvarez books in order

9 books by Ann Swinfen
  1. 1. The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez
  2. 2. The Enterprise of England
  3. 3. The Portuguese Affair
  4. 4. Bartholomew Fair
  5. 5. Suffer the Little Children
  6. 6. Voyage to Muscovy
  7. 7. The Play's the Thing
  8. 8. That Time May Cease
  9. 9. The Lopez Affair

Oxford Medieval Mysteries in order

6 books
  1. 1. The Bookseller's Tale
  2. 2. The Novice's Tale
  3. 3. The Huntsman's Tale
  4. 4. The Merchant's Tale
  5. 5. The Troubadour's Tale
  6. 6. The Stonemason's Tale

Fenland in order

2 books
  1. 1. Flood
  2. 2. Betrayal

Standalone books

12 books

12 Ann Swinfen titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Ann Swinfen books in order?

You only need to read Ann Swinfen books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Ann Swinfen

Start with The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez (2014), the first Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez book. The earliest catalogued title overall is In Defence of Fantasy (1984).

What is the newest Ann Swinfen book?

The Stonemason's Tale (2018) is the newest Ann Swinfen book released so far.

Is there a new Ann Swinfen book coming?

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

Ann Swinfen at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Ann Swinfen title on record dates from 2018, 8 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Ann Swinfen books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,703 pages across the 17 of 29 books with a recorded length, a median of 278 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Ann Swinfen books, 23 of 29, were published in the 2010s.

What the Ann Swinfen books are about

11 of the 29 Ann Swinfen books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: historical fiction is tagged on 8 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.