Order of Book Series
0

Ariana Franklin Books in Order

21 books are credited to Ariana Franklin, published between 1970 and 2020; 2 of them appeared after Ariana Franklin's death in 2011. The first book is Stately Ghosts of England (1970) and the newest is Death and the Maiden (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
21
Published
1970–2020
Pages on record
6,976 in 18 of 21 books
Reading time
116–174 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,976 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 21 titles with a page count on record.

See all 21 books in order Printable Ariana Franklin checklist

Ariana Franklin is the pen name of Mary Diana Norman (1933-2011), a British author and journalist who wrote historical crime fiction. The catalogue lists 21 titles across 1970 to 2020, opening with Stately Ghosts of England (1970) and closing with Death and the Maiden (2020). Subjects run to medieval England, women forensic pathologists and the character Adelia Aguilar, and the Makepeace Hedley series also appears under this name. The 2000s were the heaviest decade, and the run is likely complete.

How many Ariana Franklin books are there?

Ariana Franklin has 21 books, released between 1970 and 2020. 2 of them were published after Ariana Franklin's death in 2011. 3 of them belong to the Makepeace Hedley series.

Ariana Franklin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 21 Ariana Franklin 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 Stately Ghosts of England by Ariana Franklin (1970)
  2. Cover of Fitzempress' Law by Ariana Franklin (1980)
  3. Cover of Terrible Beauty by Ariana Franklin (1988)
  4. Cover of Daughter of Lir by Ariana Franklin (1988)
  5. Cover of The Vizard Mask by Ariana Franklin (1994)
  6. Cover of Blood Royal by Ariana Franklin (1998)
  7. Cover of A Catch of Consequence by Ariana Franklin, book 1 of the Makepeace Hedley series (2002)
  8. Cover of Taking Liberties by Ariana Franklin, book 2 of the Makepeace Hedley series (2003)
  9. Cover of The Sparks Fly Upward by Ariana Franklin, book 3 of the Makepeace Hedley series (2006)
  10. Cover of City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin (2006)
  11. Cover of Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, book 1 of the Mistress of the Art of Death series (2007)
  12. Cover of The Serpent's Tale / Death Maze by Ariana Franklin, book 2 of the Mistress of the Art of Death series (2008)
  13. Cover of Relics of the Dead / Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin, book 3 of the Mistress of the Art of Death series (2009)
  14. Cover of A Murderous Procession / The Assassin's Prayer by Ariana Franklin, book 4 of the Mistress of the Art of Death series
  15. Cover of Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin, book 5 of the Mistress of the Art of Death series (2020)
  1. 1
    Stately Ghosts of England1970 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1970191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Road From Singapore1979 · 238 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979238
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Fitzempress' Law1980 · 284 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    King of the Last Days1981 · 189 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Morning Gift1985 · 285 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985285
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Terrible Beauty1988 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Daughter of Lir1988 · 512 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1988512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Pirate Queen1991 · 691 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991691
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Vizard Mask1994 · 704 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994704
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Shores of Darkness1996 · confirmed 2/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Blood Royal1998 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Catch of ConsequenceMakepeace Hedley #12002 · 386 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002386
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Taking LibertiesMakepeace Hedley #22003 · 464 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003464
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Sparks Fly UpwardMakepeace Hedley #32006 · 423 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006423
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    City of Shadows2006 · 432 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Mistress of the Art of DeathMistress of the Art of Death #12007 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Serpent's Tale / Death MazeMistress of the Art of Death #22008 · confirmed 2/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Relics of the Dead / Grave GoodsMistress of the Art of Death #32009 · 368 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    A Murderous Procession / The Assassin's PrayerMistress of the Art of Death #42010 · 337 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010337
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Siege Winter2014 · confirmed 2/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Death and the MaidenMistress of the Art of Death #52020 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Ariana Franklin 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.

Mistress of the Art of Death in order

5 books
  1. 1. Mistress of the Art of Death
  2. 2. The Serpent's Tale / Death Maze
  3. 3. Relics of the Dead / Grave Goods
  4. 4. A Murderous Procession / The Assassin's Prayer
  5. 5. Death and the Maiden

Makepeace Hedley in order

3 books
  1. 1. A Catch of Consequence
  2. 2. Taking Liberties
  3. 3. The Sparks Fly Upward

Standalone books

13 books

13 Ariana Franklin titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Ariana Franklin books in order?

You only need to read Ariana Franklin books in order within the Makepeace Hedley series, which holds 3 of the 21 Ariana Franklin books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Ariana Franklin

Start with Stately Ghosts of England (1970), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Ariana Franklin book?

Death and the Maiden (2020) is the newest Ariana Franklin book released so far.

Is there a new Ariana Franklin book coming?

No next Ariana Franklin 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 Ariana Franklin has won

Wikidata records 1 award and 1 nomination for Ariana Franklin. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Dagger in the Library2010Won
  • Dagger in the Library2009Shortlisted

Ariana Franklin at a glance

Died
Ariana Franklin died in 2011, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Ariana Franklin are still being published after Ariana Franklin's death in 2011; the newest appeared in 2020.
Release pace
Ariana Franklin books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
6,976 pages across the 18 of 21 books with a recorded length, a median of 377 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Ariana Franklin books, 7 of 21, were published in the 2000s.

What the Ariana Franklin books are about

17 of the 21 Ariana Franklin 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 5 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.