Order of Book Series
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Colleen McCullough Books in Order

Colleen McCullough has written 24 books, published between 1974 and 2013. The first book is Tim (1974) and the newest is Bittersweet (2013). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
24
Published
1974–2013
Pages on record
10,749 in 18 of 24 books
Reading time
179–269 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,749 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 24 titles with a page count on record.

See all 24 books in order Printable Colleen McCullough checklist
Photo of Colleen McCullough, author

Colleen McCullough was an Australian novelist, born in 1937 and died in 2015, who trained as a neurophysiologist before publishing fiction. Her 24 catalogued books span 1974 to 2013, opening with Tim, written while McCullough worked as a research assistant at the Yale School of Medicine, and closing with Bittersweet. The Thorn Birds (1977) sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and was adapted as a television miniseries. Masters of Rome is her Roman historical sequence, from The First Man in Rome (1990); Carmine Delmonico is her detective. The catalogue is likely complete.

How many Colleen McCullough books are there?

Colleen McCullough has 24 books, released between 1974 and 2013. 5 of them belong to the Carmine Delmonico series.

Colleen McCullough Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 24 Colleen McCullough 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 Tim by Colleen McCullough (1974)
  2. Cover of An Indecent Obsession by Colleen McCullough (1981)
  3. Cover of A Creed for the Third Millennium by Colleen McCullough (1985)
  4. Cover of The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough (1987)
  5. Cover of The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough, book 1 of the Masters of Rome series (1990)
  6. Cover of The Grass Crown by Colleen McCullough, book 2 of the Masters of Rome series (1991)
  7. Cover of Caesar's Women by Colleen McCullough, book 4 of the Masters of Rome series (1996)
  8. Cover of Caesar by Colleen McCullough, book 5 of the Masters of Rome series (1997)
  9. Cover of The Courage and the Will by Colleen McCullough (1998)
  10. Cover of The Song of Troy by Colleen McCullough (1998)
  11. Cover of Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough (2000)
  12. Cover of The October Horse by Colleen McCullough, book 6 of the Masters of Rome series (2002)
  13. Cover of The Touch by Colleen McCullough (2003)
  14. Cover of Angel by Colleen McCullough (2004)
  15. Cover of On, Off by Colleen McCullough, book 1 of the Carmine Delmonico series (2005)
  16. Cover of Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough, book 7 of the Masters of Rome series (2007)
  17. Cover of Too Many Murders by Colleen McCullough, book 2 of the Carmine Delmonico series (2009)
  18. Cover of The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough (2009)
  19. Cover of Naked Cruelty by Colleen McCullough, book 3 of the Carmine Delmonico series (2010)
  20. Cover of The Prodigal Son by Colleen McCullough, book 4 of the Carmine Delmonico series (2012)
  21. Cover of Sins of the Flesh by Colleen McCullough, book 5 of the Carmine Delmonico series (2013)
  22. Cover of Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough (2013)
  1. 1
    Tim1974 · 282 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1974282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Thorn Birds1977 · confirmed 2/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    An Indecent Obsession1981 · 324 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981324
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Creed for the Third Millennium1985 · 458 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1985458
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Ladies of Missalonghi1987 · 189 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The First Man in RomeMasters of Rome #11990 · 1123 pages · confirmed 2/4
    19901123
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Grass CrownMasters of Rome #21991 · 1132 pages · confirmed 2/4
    19911132
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Fortune's FavoritesMasters of Rome #31993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Caesar's WomenMasters of Rome #41996 · 907 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996907
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    CaesarMasters of Rome #51997 · 1056 pages · confirmed 2/4
    19971056
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Courage and the Will1998 · 418 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998418
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Song of Troy1998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Morgan's Run2000 · 832 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000832
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The October HorseMasters of Rome #62002 · 800 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002800
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Touch2003 · 609 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2003609
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Angel2004 · 400 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2004400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    On, OffCarmine Delmonico #12005 · 372 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2005372
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Antony and CleopatraMasters of Rome #72007 · 567 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007567
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Too Many MurdersCarmine Delmonico #22009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet2009 · 449 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009449
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Naked CrueltyCarmine Delmonico #32010 · confirmed 2/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Prodigal SonCarmine Delmonico #42012 · 305 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012305
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Sins of the FleshCarmine Delmonico #52013 · confirmed 2/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Bittersweet2013 · 526 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013526
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Colleen McCullough 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.

Masters of Rome in order

7 books
  1. 1. The First Man in Rome
  2. 2. The Grass Crown
  3. 3. Fortune's Favorites
  4. 4. Caesar's Women
  5. 5. Caesar
  6. 6. The October Horse
  7. 7. Antony and Cleopatra

Carmine Delmonico in order

5 books
  1. 1. On, Off
  2. 2. Too Many Murders
  3. 3. Naked Cruelty
  4. 4. The Prodigal Son
  5. 5. Sins of the Flesh

Standalone books

12 books

12 Colleen McCullough titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Colleen McCullough Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Colleen McCullough books run from Tim (1974) to Bittersweet (2013), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Colleen McCullough in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Colleen McCullough books in order?

You only need to read Colleen McCullough books in order within the Carmine Delmonico series, which holds 5 of the 24 Colleen McCullough books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Colleen McCullough

Start with Tim (1974), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Colleen McCullough book?

Bittersweet (2013) is the newest Colleen McCullough book released so far.

Is there a new Colleen McCullough book coming?

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

Colleen McCullough at a glance

Died
Colleen McCullough died in 2015, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Colleen McCullough on record dates from 2013.
Release pace
Colleen McCullough books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
10,749 pages across the 18 of 24 books with a recorded length, a median of 492 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Colleen McCullough books, 8 of 24, were published in the 2000s.

What the Colleen McCullough books are about

23 of the 24 Colleen McCullough 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 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Historical fiction 8 of 23 books
  • History 8 of 23 books
  • Rome 6 of 23 books
  • Murder 5 of 23 books
  • Investigation 4 of 23 books
  • Police 4 of 23 books
  • Social life and customs 4 of 23 books
  • University towns 3 of 23 books
  • Carmine Delmonico (Fictitious character) 2 of 23 books
  • Delmonico, carmine (fictitious character) 2 of 23 books
  • Generals 2 of 23 books