Francis Vivian Books in Order
Francis Vivian has written 11 books, published between 1941 and 1959. The first book is The Death of Mr. Lomas (1941) and the newest is Dead Opposite the Church: A Golden Age Mystery (1959). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 11
- Published
- 1941–1959
Francis Vivian was the pen name of Arthur Ernest Ashley, born in 1906 at East Retford in Nottinghamshire. Ashley was the younger brother of the photographer Hallam Ashley, and spent ten years as a painter and decorator before turning to popular fiction in 1932. The catalogue holds 11 books from The Death of Mr. Lomas (1941) to Dead Opposite the Church: A Golden Age Mystery (1959), and lists the Inspector Knollis Mysteries as Vivian's series. Sable Messenger (1947), The Laughing Dog (1949) and The Sleeping Island (1951) are among the titles.
Source: Open Library
How many Francis Vivian books are there?
Francis Vivian has 11 books, released between 1941 and 1959. 10 of them belong to the Inspector Knollis Mysteries series.
Francis Vivian Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 11 Francis Vivian books in the order they were published, with the release year and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of October 2026.
- 11941–1/4
- 21947–1/4
- 31947–1/4
- 41948–1/4
- 51949–1/4
- 61950–1/4
- 71951–1/4
- 81951–1/4
- 91953–1/4
- 101956–1/4
- 11Dead Opposite the Church: A Golden Age Mystery1959 · confirmed 1/41959–1/4
Francis Vivian 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.
Inspector Knollis Mysteries in order
10 booksStandalone books
1 book1 Francis Vivian title here is not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Francis Vivian books in order?
You only need to read Francis Vivian books in order within the Inspector Knollis Mysteries series, which holds 10 of the 11 Francis Vivian books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Francis Vivian
Start with The Death of Mr. Lomas (1941), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Francis Vivian book?
Dead Opposite the Church: A Golden Age Mystery (1959) is the newest Francis Vivian book released so far.
Is there a new Francis Vivian book coming?
No next Francis Vivian book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Francis Vivian at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Francis Vivian title on record dates from 1959, 67 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Francis Vivian books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Busiest decade
- Most Francis Vivian books, 6 of 11, were published in the 1950s.
When Francis Vivian books were published
Publication distribution by decade, showing when Francis Vivian titles appeared. 1950s was the most productive decade with 6 titles.
11 books total across 2 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.