Order of Book Series
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John Bellairs Books in Order

23 books are credited to John Bellairs, published between 1966 and 2015; 12 of them appeared after John Bellairs's death in 1991. The first book is St. Fidgeta And Other Parodies (1966) and the newest is The Gargoyle in the Dump (2015). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
23
Published
1966–2015
Pages on record
2,057 in 11 of 23 books
See all 23 books in order Printable John Bellairs checklist

John Bellairs (John Anthony Bellairs, January 17, 1938 to March 8, 1991) was an American writer of the fantasy novel The Face in the Frost (1969) and Gothic mysteries for children. Lewis Barnavelt, Rose Rita Pottinger, Johnny Dixon and Anthony Monday are the recurring characters, and Edward Gorey illustrated most of the books. Catalogued titles include The House with a Clock in Its Walls (1973) and The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn (1978). By 1991 the books had sold a quarter of a million hardcovers and over one and a half million paperbacks.

How many John Bellairs books are there?

John Bellairs has 23 books, released between 1966 and 2015. 12 of them were published after John Bellairs's death in 1991. 4 of them belong to the Anthony Monday Mysteries series.

John Bellairs Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 23 John 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.

  1. Cover of The Pedant and the Shuffly by John Bellairs (1968)
  2. Cover of The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs (1969)
  3. Cover of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, book 1 of the Lewis Barnavelt series (1973)
  4. Cover of The Letter, the Witch and the Ring by John Bellairs, book 3 of the Lewis Barnavelt series (1976)
  5. Cover of The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn by John Bellairs, book 1 of the Anthony Monday Mysteries series (1978)
  6. Cover of The Dark Secret of Weatherend by John Bellairs, book 2 of the Anthony Monday Mysteries series (1984)
  7. Cover of The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost by John Bellairs, book 4 of the Johnny Dixon series (1985)
  8. Cover of The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb by John Bellairs, book 3 of the Anthony Monday Mysteries series (1988)
  9. Cover of The Mansion in the Mist by John Bellairs, book 4 of the Anthony Monday Mysteries series (1992)
  10. Cover of The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder, book 4 of the Lewis Barnavelt series (1993)
  11. Cover of The Doom of the Haunted Opera, book 6 of the Lewis Barnavelt series (1995)
  12. Cover of Magic Mirrors by John Bellairs (2009)
  1. 1
    St. Fidgeta And Other Parodies1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Pedant and the Shuffly1968 · 74 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196874
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Face in the Frost1969 · 162 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969162
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The House with a Clock in Its WallsLewis Barnavelt #11973 · 179 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973179
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Figure in the ShadowsLewis Barnavelt #21975 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Letter, the Witch and the RingLewis Barnavelt #31976 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Treasure of Alpheus WinterbornAnthony Monday Mysteries #11978 · confirmed 1/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Dark Secret of WeatherendAnthony Monday Mysteries #21984 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Revenge of the Wizard's GhostJohnny Dixon #41985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Lamp from the Warlock's TombAnthony Monday Mysteries #31988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Secret of the Underground RoomJohnny Dixon #81990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Mansion in the MistAnthony Monday Mysteries #41992 · 170 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992170
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Vengeance of the Witch-FinderLewis Barnavelt #41993 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Ghost in the MirrorLewis Barnavelt #51993 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Doom of the Haunted OperaLewis Barnavelt #61995 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Specter From the Magician's Museum1998 · confirmed 1/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge2000 · confirmed 1/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Tower at the End of the World2001 · confirmed 1/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Whistle, the Grave, and the Ghost2003 · confirmed 1/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The House Where Nobody Lived2006 · confirmed 1/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer2008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Magic Mirrors2009 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Gargoyle in the Dump2015 · confirmed 1/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

John 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.

Lewis Barnavelt in order

6 books
  1. 1. The House with a Clock in Its Walls
  2. 2. The Figure in the Shadows
  3. 3. The Letter, the Witch and the Ring
  4. 4. The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder
  5. 5. The Ghost in the Mirror
  6. 6. The Doom of the Haunted Opera

Anthony Monday Mysteries in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn
  2. 2. The Dark Secret of Weatherend
  3. 3. The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb
  4. 4. The Mansion in the Mist

Johnny Dixon in order

2 books
  1. 4. The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost
  2. 8. The Secret of the Underground Room

Standalone books

11 books

11 John Bellairs titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read John Bellairs books in order?

You only need to read John Bellairs books in order within the Anthony Monday Mysteries series, which holds 4 of the 23 John Bellairs books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with John Bellairs

Start with St. Fidgeta And Other Parodies (1966), the earliest published title.

What is the newest John Bellairs book?

The Gargoyle in the Dump (2015) is the newest John Bellairs book released so far.

Is there a new John Bellairs book coming?

No next John 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.

John Bellairs at a glance

Died
John Bellairs died in 1991, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to John Bellairs are still being published after John Bellairs's death in 1991; the newest appeared in 2015.
Release pace
John Bellairs books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
2,057 pages across the 11 of 23 books with a recorded length, a median of 162 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most John Bellairs books, 6 of 23, were published in the 2000s.

What the John Bellairs books are about

14 of the 23 John Bellairs books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: magic is tagged on 9 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.