George Bellairs Books in Order

George Bellairs has written 62 books, published between 1941 and 1980. The first book is Littlejohn on Leave (1941) and the newest is An Old Man Dies (1980). Publication order is the reading order below.

George Bellairs is the pen name of Harold Blundell.

Books: 62
Published: 1941–1980
Pages on record: 3,841 in 16 of 62 books

See all 62 books in order Printable George Bellairs checklist

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George Bellairs was the pen name of Harold Blundell (1902-1982), a Lancashire bank manager who wrote detective fiction throughout a career at Martins Bank. Inspector Thomas Littlejohn appears in most of the books, 62 of which are catalogued, from Littlejohn on Leave (1941) to An Old Man Dies (1980). The novels are short, near 221 pages, and belong to the golden age of the English police and village mystery. Blundell published four further novels as Hilary Landon and wrote the radio comedy The Legacy, broadcast in 1951.

Source: Wikidata

How many George Bellairs books are there?

George Bellairs has 62 books, released between 1941 and 1980.

George Bellairs 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.

Thomas Littlejohn in order

53 books

1. Littlejohn on Leave
2. The Four Unfaithful Servants
5. The Case of the Seven Whistlers
6. He'd Rather Be Dead
7. Calamity at Harwood
8. Death in the Night Watches
9. The Case of the Scared Rabbits
10. The Crime at Halfpenny Bridge
11. Death on the Last Train
12. Outrage on Gallows Hill
13. The Case of the DeMented Spiv
14. The Case of the Famished Parson
and 41 more in the table above

British Library Crime Classics in order

4 books

49. Death of a Busybody
50. The Dead Shall be Raised & Murder of a Quack
75. The Body in the Dumb River
77. Surfeit of Suspects

Standalone books

5 books

5 George Bellairs titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read George Bellairs books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 62 George Bellairs books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with George Bellairs

Start with Littlejohn on Leave (1941), the earliest published title.

What is the newest George Bellairs book?

An Old Man Dies (1980) is the newest George Bellairs book released so far.

Is there a new George Bellairs book coming?

No next George Bellairs book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

George Bellairs at a glance

Died: George Bellairs died in 1982, according to Wikidata.
Last book: The newest book credited to George Bellairs on record dates from 1980.
Release pace: George Bellairs books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length: 3,841 pages across the 16 of 62 books with a recorded length, a median of 221 pages each.
Busiest decade: Most George Bellairs books, 18 of 62, were published in the 1950s.

When George Bellairs books were published

Publication distribution by decade, showing when George Bellairs titles appeared. 1940s was the most productive decade with 18 titles.

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

62 books total across 5 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.

What the George Bellairs books are about

13 of the 62 George Bellairs books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: england is tagged on 5 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

England 5 of 13 books
Mystery & detective 5 of 13 books
Crime 4 of 13 books
English literature 2 of 13 books
Golden Age mystery 2 of 13 books
Investigation 2 of 13 books
Murder 2 of 13 books
Mystery & detective, police procedural 2 of 13 books
Mystery & detective, private investigators 2 of 13 books
Mystery & detective, traditional 2 of 13 books