Edith Pargeter Books in Order
53 books are credited to Edith Pargeter, published between 1936 and 2006; 1 of them appeared after Edith Pargeter's death in 1995. The first book is Iron Bound (1936) and the newest is The Trinity Cat (2006). Publication order is the reading order below.
Edith Pargeter also publishes as Ellis Peters books in order. Ellis Peters books in order are published under that name.
- Books
- 53
- Published
- 1936–2006
- Confirmed
- 28 of 53 titles
- Pages on record
- 10,433 in 40 of 53 books
- Reading time
- 174–261 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,433 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 40 of 53 titles with a page count on record.
Edith Pargeter (28 September 1913 to 14 October 1995) was an English author who also wrote as Ellis Peters. Pargeter worked across many categories, above all history and historical fiction, and received honours for translating Czech classics. Murder mysteries set in both medieval and modern times form a large part of the work, led by the medieval detective series featuring Brother Cadfael. Series in the catalogue include Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, Inspector Felse, Brothers of Gwynedd, the Second World War Trilogy and Heaven Tree. The listing holds 53 books dated from Iron Bound (1936) to The Trinity Cat (2006).
How many Edith Pargeter books are there?
Edith Pargeter has 53 books, released between 1936 and 2006. 1 of them were published after Edith Pargeter's death in 1995. They include 5 series and 15 titles listed outside any series.
Edith Pargeter Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 53 Edith Pargeter 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.
- 1Iron Bound1936 · confirmed 1/41936–1/4
- 2Hortensius, Friend of Nero1937 · confirmed 1/41937–1/4
- 3Ordinary People1941 · confirmed 1/41941–1/4
- 419452861/4
- 519462951/4
- 619473621/4
- 7By This Strange Fire1948 · confirmed 1/41948–1/4
- 8By Firelight1948 · 310 pages · confirmed 1/419483101/4
- 9The Coast of Bohemia1950 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/419502561/4
- 1019513364/4
- 11Lost Children1951 · confirmed 1/41951–1/4
- 12Most Loving Mere Folly1953 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/419532881/4
- 13The Soldier at the Door1954 · 217 pages · confirmed 1/419542171/4
- 14A Means of Grace1956 · 312 pages · confirmed 1/419563121/4
- 151960–1/4
- 1619622881/4
- 1719632881/4
- 18The Lily Hand and Other Stories1965 · confirmed 1/41965–1/4
- 191966–4/4
- 2019691924/4
- 21The City Lies Four-Square1969 · confirmed 1/41969–1/4
- 2219701924/4
- 23A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury1972 · 378 pages · confirmed 1/419723781/4
- 2419722214/4
- 2519732484/4
- 2619743401/4
- 2719763401/4
- 2819763401/4
- 2919771974/4
- 3019773411/4
- 3119782024/4
- 3219792244/4
- 33The Marriage of Meggotta1979 · confirmed 1/41979–1/4
- 3419802244/4
- 3519822084/4
- 3619832124/4
- 3719832764/4
- 3819842754/4
- 3919842564/4
- 4019852244/4
- 4119862404/4
- 4219862404/4
- 431987–4/4
- 4419881964/4
- 4519881504/4
- 46She Goes to War1989 · confirmed 1/41989–1/4
- 4719892564/4
- 4819892244/4
- 4919912454/4
- 5019922374/4
- 511993–3/4
- 5219942554/4
- 5320062623/4
Edith Pargeter series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Inspector Felse books in order 13 books
- Brother Cadfael books in order 23 books
- Felse books in order 13 books
Edith Pargeter 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.
Chronicles of Brother Cadfael in order
20 books- 1. A Morbid Taste for Bones
- 2. One Corpse Too Many
- 3. Monk's Hood
- 6. The Virgin in the Ice
- 7. The Sanctuary Sparrow
- 8. The Devil's Novice
- 9. Dead Man's Ransom
- 10. The Pilgrim of Hate
- 11. An Excellent Mystery
- 12. The Raven in the Foregate
- 13. The Rose Rent
- 14. The Hermit of Eyton Forest
- and 8 more in the table above
Brothers of Gwynedd in order
4 booksSecond World War Trilogy in order
3 booksHeaven Tree in order
3 booksEllis Peters Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Standalone books
15 books15 Edith Pargeter titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Edith Pargeter books in order?
You only need to read Edith Pargeter books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Edith Pargeter
Start with the first book of the Edith Pargeter series you want to read: Inspector Felse starts with Fallen Into the Pit (1951), Brother Cadfael starts with A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) and Felse starts with Fallen Into the Pit (1951). The earliest catalogued title overall is Iron Bound (1936).
What is the newest Edith Pargeter book?
The Trinity Cat (2006) is the newest Edith Pargeter book released so far.
Is there a new Edith Pargeter book coming?
No next Edith Pargeter book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Edith Pargeter has won
Wikidata records 2 awards for Edith Pargeter. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Cartier Diamond Dagger1993Won
- Edgar Awards1963Wonfor Death and the Joyful Woman
Edith Pargeter at a glance
- Died
- Edith Pargeter died in 1995, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Edith Pargeter are still being published after Edith Pargeter's death in 1995; the newest appeared in 2006.
- Release pace
- Edith Pargeter books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 10,433 pages across the 40 of 53 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Edith Pargeter books, 15 of 53, were published in the 1980s.
- Corroboration
- 26 of the 53 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and 28 in at least three.
What the Edith Pargeter books are about
44 of the 53 Edith Pargeter 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 27 of 44. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- History 27 of 44 books
- Brother Cadfael (Fictitious character) 19 of 44 books
- Herbalists 19 of 44 books
- Monks 17 of 44 books
- England 10 of 44 books
- Mystery & detective 9 of 44 books
- Cadfael, brother (fictitious character) 7 of 44 books
- Felse, george (fictitious character) 7 of 44 books
- Historical fiction 7 of 44 books
- Mystery & detective, traditional 7 of 44 books
- George Felse (Fictitious character) 6 of 44 books
- Police 6 of 44 books