Order of Book Series
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James Clavell Books in Order

10 books are credited to James Clavell, published between 1962 and 1995; 1 of them appeared after James Clavell's death in 1994. The first book is King Rat (1962) and the newest is Escape (1995). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
10
Published
1962–1995
Confirmed
9 of 10 titles
Pages on record
5,760 in 7 of 10 books
Reading time
96–144 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,760 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 10 titles with a page count on record.

See all 10 books in order Printable James Clavell checklist

Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell (1921-1994), known as James Clavell, was a British and American writer and filmmaker who served as a British Army officer in the Second World War. The Asian Saga novels, some adapted for film and television, are the work he is best known for. The catalogue lists 10 books from King Rat (1962) to Escape (1995), including Tai-Pan (1966), Shogun (1975), Noble House (1981), Whirlwind (1986) and Gai-Jin (1993). Clavell also wrote the screenplays for The Fly (1958) and The Great Escape (1963), and wrote and directed To Sir, with Love (1967). Subjects include prisoners of war, Hong Kong and World War II.

The Asian Saga spans centuries, with settings that include samurai-era Japan and the opium trade in China.

How many James Clavell books are there?

James Clavell has 10 books, released between 1962 and 1995. 1 of them were published after James Clavell's death in 1994. 7 of them belong to the Asian Saga series.

James Clavell Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 10 James Clavell 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.

  1. Cover of King Rat by James Clavell, book 1 of the Asian Saga (1962)
  2. Cover of Tai-Pan by James Clavell, book 2 of the Asian Saga (1966)
  3. Cover of The Children's Story by James Clavell, book 1 of the James Clavell Short Story series (1981)
  4. Cover of Noble House by James Clavell, book 4 of the Asian Saga (1981)
  5. Cover of Whirlwind by James Clavell, book 5 of the Asian Saga (1986)
  6. Cover of Gai-Jin by James Clavell, book 6 of the Asian Saga (1993)
  1. 1
    King RatAsian Saga #11962 · 490 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1962490
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Tai-PanAsian Saga #21966 · 736 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1966736
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    ShogunAsian Saga #31975 · confirmed 3/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Shogun, Part Two1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Children's StoryJames Clavell Short Story #11981 · 96 pages · confirmed 3/4
    198196
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Noble HouseAsian Saga #41981 · 1370 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19811370
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Thrump-O-MotolJames Clavell Short Stories/Novellas #11986 · confirmed 3/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    WhirlwindAsian Saga #51986 · 1248 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19861248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Gai-JinAsian Saga #61993 · 1236 pages · confirmed 3/4
    19931236
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    EscapeAsian Saga #71995 · 584 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995584
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

James Clavell 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.

Asian Saga in order

7 books
  1. 1. King Rat
  2. 2. Tai-Pan
  3. 3. Shogun
  4. 4. Noble House
  5. 5. Whirlwind
  6. 6. Gai-Jin
  7. 7. Escape

James Clavell Short Story

1 book

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

James Clavell Short Stories/Novellas

1 book

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

Standalone books

1 book

1 James Clavell title here is not listed as part of any series.

James Clavell Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the James Clavell books run from King Rat (1962) to Escape (1995), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for James Clavell in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read James Clavell books in order?

You only need to read James Clavell books in order within the Asian Saga series, which holds 7 of the 10 James Clavell books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

What order should you read James Clavell books in?

Read them in publication order, starting with King Rat (1962), the earliest published title. After it come Tai-Pan (1966), Shogun (1975), Shogun, Part Two (1975), The Children's Story (1981), Noble House (1981), Thrump-O-Motol (1986), Whirlwind (1986), Gai-Jin (1993) and Escape (1995).

What is the newest James Clavell book?

Escape (1995) is the newest James Clavell book released so far.

Is there a new James Clavell book coming?

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

James Clavell at a glance

Died
James Clavell died in 1994, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to James Clavell are still being published after James Clavell's death in 1994; the newest appeared in 1995.
Release pace
James Clavell books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
Length
5,760 pages across the 7 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 736 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most James Clavell books, 4 of 10, were published in the 1980s.

What the James Clavell books are about

7 of the 10 James Clavell books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: historical fiction is tagged on 2 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other Historical Fiction authors

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