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. 53 of the 62 books listed here are in the Thomas Littlejohn series, which has its own page: Thomas Littlejohn books in order.
George Bellairs is the pen name of Harold Blundell.
- Books
- 62
- Published
- 1941–1980
- Pages on record
- 3,841 in 16 of 62 books
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.
How many George Bellairs books are there?
George Bellairs has 62 books, released between 1941 and 1980. 53 of them belong to the Thomas Littlejohn series.
George Bellairs Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 62 George Bellairs 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.
- 11941–2/4
- 21942–2/4
- 31942–2/4
- 41942–2/4
- 5Death Stops the Frolic / Turmoil In Zion1943 · confirmed 2/41943–2/4
- 61944–2/4
- 719451862/4
- 81945–2/4
- 91946–2/4
- 101946–2/4
- 111946–2/4
- 12Murder at Morning Prayers (As: Hilary Landon)1947 · confirmed 2/41947–2/4
- 13Circle Round a Corpse (As:Hilary Landon)1948 · confirmed 2/41948–2/4
- 1419482182/4
- 15Choose Your Own Verdict (As:Hilary Landon)1949 · confirmed 2/41949–2/4
- 161949–2/4
- 1719492122/4
- 181949–2/4
- 19Exit Sir Toby Belch (As:Hilary Landon)1950 · confirmed 2/41950–2/4
- 201950–2/4
- 211950–2/4
- 221951–2/4
- 231952–2/4
- 241952–2/4
- 251953–2/4
- 261954–2/4
- 2719542962/4
- 281955–2/4
- 291956–2/4
- 3019564122/4
- 311957–2/4
- 321957–2/4
- 331958–2/4
- 3419582662/4
- 3519592582/4
- 361959–2/4
- 371960–2/4
- 381960–2/4
- 391961–2/4
- 401961–2/4
- 4119612242/4
- 421962–2/4
- 4319622122/4
- 441963–2/4
- 451964–2/4
- 4619642242/4
- 471965–2/4
- 4819662972/4
- 491966–2/4
- 501967–2/4
- 511967–2/4
- 521968–2/4
- 5319681922/4
- 5419702922/4
- 5519711922/4
- 561971–2/4
- 5719721922/4
- 581973–2/4
- 591975–2/4
- 6019771682/4
- 611979–2/4
- 621980–2/4
George Bellairs series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Thomas Littlejohn books in order 57 books
George Bellairs 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.
Thomas Littlejohn books in order
53 books by George Bellairs- 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 booksStandalone books
5 books5 George Bellairs titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read George Bellairs books in order?
You only need to read George Bellairs books in order within the Thomas Littlejohn series, which holds 53 of the 62 George Bellairs books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with George Bellairs
Start with Littlejohn on Leave (1941), the first Thomas Littlejohn book. It is also the earliest catalogued 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.
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