Arthur Upfield Books in Order
42 books are credited to Arthur Upfield, published between 1928 and 2021; 8 of them appeared after Arthur Upfield's death in 1964. The first book is The House of Cain (1928) and the newest is Walkabout (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 42
- Published
- 1928–2021
- Pages on record
- 7,872 in 34 of 42 books
- Reading time
- 131–197 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,872 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 42 titles with a page count on record.
Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 - 12 February 1964) wrote detective fiction set in Australia. Born in England, Upfield moved to Australia in 1911, fought with the Australian military in the First World War, and afterwards travelled widely across the country, gathering the knowledge of Aboriginal Australian culture that runs through the novels. Detective Inspector Napoleon 'Bony' Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a mixed-race Indigenous Australian, leads the series, and the character reached screens in the 1970s Australian series Boney, a 1990 telemovie and a 1992 spin-off. The House of Cain (1928) opens a catalogue of 42 titles.
How many Arthur Upfield books are there?
Arthur Upfield has 42 books, released between 1928 and 2021. 8 of them were published after Arthur Upfield's death in 1964. 29 of them belong to the Inspector Bonaparte series.
Arthur Upfield Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 42 Arthur Upfield 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 House of Cain1928 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/419282782/4
- 21929–2/4
- 3The Beach of Atonement1930 · 264 pages · confirmed 2/419302642/4
- 419312302/4
- 5The Great Melbourne Cup Mystery1932 · confirmed 2/41932–2/4
- 6Gripped by Drought1932 · confirmed 2/41932–2/4
- 7A Royal Abduction1932 · 252 pages · confirmed 2/419322522/4
- 8Murchison Murders1934 · confirmed 2/41934–2/4
- 9Wings Above the Diamantina / Wings Above the ClaypanInspector Bonaparte #31936 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/419362722/4
- 1019372182/4
- 1119372562/4
- 1219383002/4
- 1319392682/4
- 14Bushranger of the Skies / No Footprints in the BushInspector Bonaparte #81940 · 185 pages · confirmed 2/419401852/4
- 1519452242/4
- 1619462882/4
- 1719482242/4
- 1819481912/4
- 1919502542/4
- 2019512562/4
- 2119511732/4
- 2219522582/4
- 2319531912/4
- 2419542332/4
- 2519541922/4
- 2619562252/4
- 2719562142/4
- 28Bony Buys a Woman / The Bushman Who Came BackInspector Bonaparte #221957 · 187 pages · confirmed 2/419571872/4
- 2919591872/4
- 3019591552/4
- 31Bony and the Kelly Gang / Valley of SmugglersInspector Bonaparte #251960 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/419601912/4
- 321961–2/4
- 3319622242/4
- 3419631762/4
- 3519661602/4
- 36Breakaway House1987 · confirmed 2/41987–2/4
- 37Up and Down Australia2008 · confirmed 2/42008–2/4
- 38The Gifts of Frank Cobbold2008 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/420082782/4
- 39Up and Down the Real Australia2009 · 248 pages · confirmed 2/420092482/4
- 40Up and Down Australia Again2010 · 298 pages · confirmed 2/420102982/4
- 41Beyond the Mirage2020 · 322 pages · confirmed 2/420203222/4
- 42Walkabout2021 · confirmed 2/42021–2/4
Arthur Upfield 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.
Inspector Bonaparte in order
29 books- 1. The Barrakee Mystery / The Lure of the Bush
- 2. The Sands of Windee
- 3. Wings Above the Diamantina / Wings Above the Claypan
- 4. Mr. Jelly's Business/Murder Down Under
- 5. Winds of Evil
- 6. The Bone is Pointed
- 7. The Mystery of Swordfish Reef
- 8. Bushranger of the Skies / No Footprints in the Bush
- 9. Death of a Swagman
- 10. The Devil's Steps
- 11. An Author Bites the Dust
- 12. The Mountains Have a Secret
- and 17 more in the table above
Standalone books
13 books13 Arthur Upfield titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Arthur Upfield books in order?
You only need to read Arthur Upfield books in order within the Inspector Bonaparte series, which holds 29 of the 42 Arthur Upfield books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Arthur Upfield
Start with The House of Cain (1928), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Arthur Upfield book?
Walkabout (2021) is the newest Arthur Upfield book released so far.
Is there a new Arthur Upfield book coming?
No next Arthur Upfield book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Arthur Upfield at a glance
- Died
- Arthur Upfield died in 1964, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Arthur Upfield are still being published after Arthur Upfield's death in 1964; the newest appeared in 2021.
- Release pace
- Arthur Upfield books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 7,872 pages across the 34 of 42 books with a recorded length, a median of 228 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Arthur Upfield books, 12 of 42, were published in the 1950s.
What the Arthur Upfield books are about
30 of the 42 Arthur Upfield books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: australia is tagged on 17 of 30. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Australia 17 of 30 books
- Aboriginal Australians 16 of 30 books
- Police 15 of 30 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 13 of 30 books
- Crime 5 of 30 books
- Fiction in English 5 of 30 books
- Australia, history 4 of 30 books
- Murder 3 of 30 books
- Aboriginal Australian police 2 of 30 books
- Australian Short stories 2 of 30 books
- Australiens (Aborigènes) 2 of 30 books
- Country life 2 of 30 books