Dorothy Dunnett Books in Order
28 books are credited to Dorothy Dunnett, published between 1961 and 2012; 4 of them appeared after Dorothy Dunnett's death in 2001. The first book is The Game of Kings (1961) and the newest is Operation Nassau (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 1961–2012
- Confirmed
- 28 of 28 titles
- Pages on record
- 11,644 in 26 of 28 books
- Reading time
- 194–291 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,644 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 26 of 28 titles with a page count on record.
Dorothy Dunnett (1923–2001) was a Scottish novelist whose work is mostly historical fiction. The six-book Lymond Chronicles, opening with The Game of Kings (1961), follow the sixteenth-century adventurer Francis Crawford of Lymond; the eight-book House of Niccolò is a prequel sequence whose central figure is Nicholas Vander Poele. Dunnett also wrote King Hereafter (1982), a novel about Macbeth of Scotland, and the Johnson Johnson mysteries, whose detective works as a portrait painter and spy. Twenty-eight books are catalogued, at a median length of 470 pages.
How many Dorothy Dunnett books are there?
Dorothy Dunnett has 28 books, released between 1961 and 2012. 4 of them were published after Dorothy Dunnett's death in 2001. They include 4 separate series.
Dorothy Dunnett Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 28 Dorothy Dunnett 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.
- 119615433/4
- 219644323/4
- 319665033/4
- 419683113/4
- 519694863/4
- 719713623/4
- 819715813/4
- 919733623/4
- 1019756083/4
- 1119762573/4
- 1219827213/4
- 1319833153/4
- 1419864703/4
- 1519874693/4
- 1619881473/4
- 1719905343/4
- 1819913113/4
- 1919915193/4
- 201991–3/4
- 2119936883/4
- 2219956723/4
- 2319975763/4
- 2420007023/4
- 2520122563/4
- 262012–3/4
- 2720122883/4
- 2820122513/4
Dorothy Dunnett characters in order
Each character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Johnson Johnson books in order 11 books
- House of Niccolo books in order 8 books
Dorothy Dunnett 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.
House of Niccolò books in order
8 books by Dorothy DunnettJohnson Johnson books in order
7 books by Dorothy DunnettLymond Chronicles in order
6 booksJohnson Johnson Mystery in order
4 booksDorothy Dunnett Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Dorothy Dunnett Standalone Novels
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Do you have to read Dorothy Dunnett books in order?
You only need to read Dorothy Dunnett books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Dorothy Dunnett
Start with the first book of the Dorothy Dunnett series you want to read: Johnson Johnson starts with Dolly and the Singing Bird (1968) and House of Niccolo starts with Niccolò Rising (1986). The earliest catalogued title overall is The Game of Kings (1961).
What is the newest Dorothy Dunnett book?
Operation Nassau (2012) is the newest Dorothy Dunnett book released so far.
Is there a new Dorothy Dunnett book coming?
No next Dorothy Dunnett book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Dorothy Dunnett at a glance
- Died
- Dorothy Dunnett died in 2001, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Dorothy Dunnett are still being published after Dorothy Dunnett's death in 2001; the newest appeared in 2012.
- Release pace
- Dorothy Dunnett books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 11,644 pages across the 26 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 470 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Dorothy Dunnett books, 7 of 28, were published in the 1990s.
What the Dorothy Dunnett books are about
26 of the 28 Dorothy Dunnett 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 14 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- History 14 of 26 books
- Historical fiction 13 of 26 books
- Intelligence service 7 of 26 books
- Nicholas Vander Poele (Fictitious character) 7 of 26 books
- Fiction in English 6 of 26 books
- Fifteenth century 6 of 26 books
- Francis Crawford (Fictitious character) 6 of 26 books
- Great Britain 6 of 26 books
- Merchants 6 of 26 books
- Soldiers of fortune 6 of 26 books
- Adventure stories 5 of 26 books
- Thrillers 5 of 26 books