David Donachie Books in Order
43 books are credited to David Donachie, published between 1993 and 2024; 1 of them appeared after David Donachie's death in 2023. The first book is The Devil's Own Luck (1993) and the newest is If I'd Known You in a Better Time (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 43
- Published
- 1993–2024
- Pages on record
- 10,052 in 29 of 43 books
- Reading time
- 168–251 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,052 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 29 of 43 titles with a page count on record.
David Donachie (1944 to 21 December 2023) was a British author of nautical historical novels, who also wrote as Tom Connery, Jack Ludlow and, from 2019, Jack Cole. The Privateersman Mysteries and John Pearce are series, and Harry Ludlow is a character named in the subjects. The catalogue lists 43 books from The Devil's Own Luck (1993) to If I'd Known You in a Better Time (2024), with Markham of the Marines, Nelson and Emma, Contraband Shore and SAS Boat Troop among the other series. Privateering, naval history and France appear in the subjects.
How many David Donachie books are there?
David Donachie has 43 books, released between 1993 and 2024. 1 of them were published after David Donachie's death in 2023. They include 8 series and 2 titles listed outside any series.
David Donachie Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 43 David Donachie 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.
- 11993–2/4
- 21993–2/4
- 319944112/4
- 419954602/4
- 519963142/4
- 619964262/4
- 719973672/4
- 819983102/4
- 919982802/4
- 101998–2/4
- 1119983282/4
- 12Direct Action1999 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/419993202/4
- 1320004162/4
- 1420044162/4
- 1520043682/4
- 1620052882/4
- 1720052882/4
- 1820072882/4
- 1920083562/4
- 2020083842/4
- 2120093522/4
- 222010–2/4
- 2320123522/4
- 2420123522/4
- 2520133202/4
- 2620143202/4
- 2720153522/4
- 2820163522/4
- 2920163202/4
- 3020173202/4
- 3120173202/4
- 322019–2/4
- 3320192882/4
- 3420193842/4
- 352020–2/4
- 362020–2/4
- 372020–2/4
- 382020–2/4
- 392021–2/4
- 402022–2/4
- 412022–2/4
- 422023–2/4
- 43If I'd Known You in a Better Time2024 · confirmed 2/42024–2/4
David Donachie series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- John Pearce books in order 18 books
David Donachie 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.
Privateersman Mysteries in order
6 booksMidshipman Wormwood in order
4 booksMarkham Of The Marines in order
3 booksNelson and Emma in order
3 booksContraband Shore in order
3 booksSAS Boat Troop in order
2 books- 1. Blood Money
- 2. Boat Troop
Armistice in order
1 bookLast Roman Trilogy in order
1 book- 3. Triumph
Standalone books
2 books2 David Donachie titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read David Donachie books in order?
You only need to read David Donachie books in order within each series: the books listed here span 8 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with David Donachie
Start with By the Mast Divided (2005), the first John Pearce book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Devil's Own Luck (1993).
What is the newest David Donachie book?
If I'd Known You in a Better Time (2024) is the newest David Donachie book released so far.
Is there a new David Donachie book coming?
No next David Donachie book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
David Donachie at a glance
- Died
- David Donachie died in 2023, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to David Donachie are still being published after David Donachie's death in 2023; the newest appeared in 2024.
- Release pace
- David Donachie books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 10,052 pages across the 29 of 43 books with a recorded length, a median of 352 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most David Donachie books, 13 of 43, were published in the 2010s.
What the David Donachie books are about
35 of the 43 David Donachie books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: great britain is tagged on 27 of 35. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Great Britain 27 of 35 books
- Historical fiction 26 of 35 books
- Sea stories 13 of 35 books
- Naval history 10 of 35 books
- History 7 of 35 books
- Harry Ludlow (Fictitious character) 6 of 35 books
- Privateering 6 of 35 books
- Action & adventure 5 of 35 books
- Mystery & detective 5 of 35 books
- War & military 5 of 35 books
- British 3 of 35 books
- France 3 of 35 books