Order of Book Series
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Dorothy L. Sayers Books in Order

68 books are credited to Dorothy L. Sayers, published between 1923 and 2024; 45 of them appeared after Dorothy L. Sayers's death in 1957. The first book is Whose Body? (1923) and the newest is Education's Not the Point (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
68
Published
1923–2024
Confirmed
68 of 68 titles
Pages on record
8,256 in 30 of 68 books
See all 68 books in order Printable Dorothy L. Sayers checklist
Photo of Dorothy L. Sayers, author

Lord Peter Wimsey, a private investigator, is the figure Dorothy L. Sayers is known for. Whose Body? (1923) opens the series, followed by Clouds of Witness (1926), Unnatural Death (1927), Strong Poison (1930) and Five Red Herrings (1931). Sayers wrote English detective fiction, short stories and non-fiction; the catalogue holds 68 titles, with collections dated as late as 2024.

How many Dorothy L. Sayers books are there?

Dorothy L. Sayers has 68 books, released between 1923 and 2024. 45 of them were published after Dorothy L. Sayers's death in 1957. They include 2 separate series.

Dorothy L. Sayers Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 68 Dorothy L. Sayers books in the order they were released, 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 Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 1 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1923)
  2. Cover of Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 2 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1926)
  3. Cover of The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 5 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1928)
  4. Cover of The Documents In The Case by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 1 of the Dorothy L Sayers Standalone Novels series (1930)
  5. Cover of Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 6 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1930)
  6. Cover of Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 7 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1931)
  7. Cover of Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 8 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1932)
  8. Cover of Hangman's Holiday by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 9 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1933)
  9. Cover of Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 10 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1933)
  10. Cover of The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 11 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1934)
  11. Cover of Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 12 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1935)
  12. Cover of In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 14 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1939)
  13. Cover of The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 1 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1941)
  14. Cover of The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 1 of the Standalone Plays series (1943)
  15. Cover of Creed or Chaos? by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 3 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1947)
  16. Cover of The Emperor Constantine by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 1 of the Chap series (1951)
  17. Cover of Further Papers on Dante by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 4 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1957)
  18. Cover of Are Women Human? by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 5 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1959)
  19. Cover of A Matter of Eternity by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 7 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1973)
  20. Cover of Striding Folly by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 15 of the Lord Peter Wimsey series (1973)
  21. Cover of Two Plays about God and Man by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 2 of the Dorothy L Sayers Short Story series (1985)
  22. Cover of The Whimsical Christian by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 9 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1987)
  23. Cover of Spiritual Writings by Dorothy L. Sayers, book 10 of the Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction series (1993)
  24. Cover of The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers. Vol. 1, 1899-1936 by Dorothy L. Sayers (1996)
  1. 1
    Whose Body?Lord Peter Wimsey #11923 · 212 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1923212
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Clouds of WitnessLord Peter Wimsey #21926 · 279 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1926279
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Unnatural DeathLord Peter Wimsey #31927 · 264 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1927264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Lord Peter Views the BodyLord Peter Wimsey #41928 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1928336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Unpleasantness at the Bellona ClubLord Peter Wimsey #51928 · 243 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1928243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Documents In The CaseDorothy L Sayers Standalone Novels #11930 · 285 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1930285
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Strong PoisonLord Peter Wimsey #61930 · confirmed 3/4
    1930–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Five Red HerringsLord Peter Wimsey #71931 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1931368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Have His CarcaseLord Peter Wimsey #81932 · 448 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1932448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Hangman's HolidayLord Peter Wimsey #91933 · 191 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1933191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Murder Must AdvertiseLord Peter Wimsey #101933 · 368 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1933368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Nine TailorsLord Peter Wimsey #111934 · 397 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1934397
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Gaudy NightLord Peter Wimsey #121935 · 512 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1935512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Busman's HoneymoonLord Peter Wimsey #131937 · 403 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1937403
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Wimsey PapersDorothy L Sayers Short Stories/Novellas #11939 · confirmed 3/4
    1939–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    In the Teeth of the EvidenceLord Peter Wimsey #141939 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1939304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Mind of the MakerDorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #11941 · 186 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1941186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Man Born to Be KingStandalone Plays #11943 · 337 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1943337
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Unpopular OpinionsDorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #21946 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1946192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Lost Tools of LearningDorothy L Sayers Short Stories/Novellas #21947 · confirmed 3/4
    1947–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Creed or Chaos?Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #31947 · 116 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1947116
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Emperor ConstantineChap #11951 · 191 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1951191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Further Papers on DanteDorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #41957 · 214 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1957214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    A Treasury of Sayers StoriesDorothy L Sayers Short Story #11958 · confirmed 3/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Are Women Human?Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #51959 · 75 pages · confirmed 3/4
    195975
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Days of Christ's ComingDorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #61960 · confirmed 3/4
    1960–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    A Matter of EternityDorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #71973 · 139 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1973139
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Striding FollyLord Peter Wimsey #151973 · 124 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1973124
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Wilkie Collins a Critical and Biographical StudyDorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction #81977 · confirmed 3/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Two Plays about God and ManDorothy L Sayers Short Story #21985 · 223 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1985223
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Dorothy L. Sayers series and characters in order

Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.

Dorothy L. Sayers 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.

Dorothy L Sayers Non-Fiction

17 books

17 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Dorothy L Sayers Short Story

3 books

3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Dorothy L Sayers Short Stories/Novellas

2 books

2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Dorothy L Sayers Standalone Novels

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Standalone Plays

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Chap in order

1 book
  1. 1. The Emperor Constantine

Do you have to read Dorothy L. Sayers books in order?

You only need to read Dorothy L. Sayers books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Dorothy L. Sayers

Start with the first book of the Dorothy L. Sayers series you want to read: Lord Peter Wimsey starts with Whose Body? (1923) and Peter Wimsey starts with Whose Body? (1923). The earliest catalogued title overall is Whose Body? (1923).

What is the newest Dorothy L. Sayers book?

Education's Not the Point (2024) is the newest Dorothy L. Sayers book released so far.

Is there a new Dorothy L. Sayers book coming?

No next Dorothy L. Sayers 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 L. Sayers at a glance

Died
Dorothy L. Sayers died in 1957, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Dorothy L. Sayers are still being published after Dorothy L. Sayers's death in 1957; the newest appeared in 2024.
Release pace
Dorothy L. Sayers books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
8,256 pages across the 30 of 68 books with a recorded length, a median of 270 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Dorothy L. Sayers books, 17 of 68, were published in the 2010s.

What the Dorothy L. Sayers books are about

34 of the 68 Dorothy L. Sayers books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: private investigators is tagged on 16 of 34. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.