Order of Book Series
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John Marsden Books in Order

John Marsden has written 41 books, published between 1987 and 2023. The first book is So Much to Tell You (1987) and the newest is The Tagus Campaign of 1809 (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
41
Published
1987–2023
Pages on record
2,913 in 18 of 41 books
See all 41 books in order Printable John Marsden checklist
Photo of John Marsden, author

John Marsden (27 September 1950 to 18 December 2024) was an Australian writer and teacher who wrote more than 40 books. Marsden started writing for children while teaching, and So Much to Tell You (1987) was the first published book. The young adult novel Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993) started a series of seven books. In 2006 Marsden founded Candlebark School, an alternative school, and cut back on writing; the arts-focused Alice Miller School followed in 2016, both in Victoria's Macedon Ranges. Other titles include Letters from the Inside (1991) and The Dead of Night (1994), and the Ellie Chronicles also appear in the catalogue.

How many John Marsden books are there?

John Marsden has 41 books, released between 1987 and 2023. They include 3 series and 25 titles listed outside any series.

John Marsden Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 41 John Marsden 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 So Much to Tell You by John Marsden, book 1 of the So Much to Tell You series (1987)
  2. Cover of Letters from the Inside by John Marsden (1991)
  3. Cover of Take My Word For It by John Marsden, book 2 of the So Much to Tell You series (1992)
  4. Cover of Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, book 1 of the Tomorrow series (1993)
  5. Cover of The Dead of Night by John Marsden, book 2 of the Tomorrow series (1994)
  6. Cover of A Killing Frost / The Third Day, the Frost by John Marsden, book 3 of the Tomorrow series (1995)
  7. Cover of Cool School by John Marsden (1995)
  8. Cover of Checkers by John Marsden (1996)
  9. Cover of Darkness, Be My Friend by John Marsden, book 4 of the Tomorrow series (1996)
  10. Cover of Looking For Trouble by John Marsden (1996)
  11. Cover of Burning For Revenge by John Marsden, book 5 of the Tomorrow series (1997)
  12. Cover of Dear Miffy by John Marsden (1997)
  13. Cover of Norton's Hut by John Marsden (1998)
  14. Cover of Prayer for the Twenty-First Century by John Marsden (1998)
  15. Cover of The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden, book 7 of the Tomorrow series (1999)
  16. Cover of Winter by John Marsden (2000)
  17. Cover of A Day in the Life of Me by John Marsden (2002)
  18. Cover of While I Live by John Marsden, book 1 of the Ellie Chronicles (2003)
  19. Cover of Incurable by John Marsden, book 2 of the Ellie Chronicles (2005)
  20. Cover of Circle Of Flight by John Marsden, book 3 of the Ellie Chronicles (2006)
  21. Cover of Home and Away by John Marsden (2008)
  22. Cover of Hamlet by John Marsden (2008)
  23. Cover of Hamlet & Ophelia by John Marsden (2009)
  24. Cover of A Roomful of Magic by John Marsden (2020)
  1. 1
    So Much to Tell YouSo Much to Tell You #11987 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Great Gatenby1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Illustrated Bede1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Letters from the Inside1991 · 146 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991146
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Take My Word For ItSo Much to Tell You #21992 · 113 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992113
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Tomorrow, When the War BeganTomorrow #11993 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1993304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Everything I Know About Writing1993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Dead of NightTomorrow #21994 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    A Killing Frost / The Third Day, the FrostTomorrow #31995 · 275 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995275
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Cool School1995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Checkers1996 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Darkness, Be My FriendTomorrow #41996 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Staying Alive in Year Five1996 · confirmed 2/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Looking For Trouble1996 · 130 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996130
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Burning For RevengeTomorrow #51997 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1997272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Dear Miffy1997 · confirmed 2/4
    1997–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The RabbitsShaun Tan Picture #11998 · 32 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199832
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Norton's Hut1998 · 32 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199832
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Night is for HuntingTomorrow #61998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Secret Men's Business1998 · 174 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998174
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Prayer for the Twenty-First Century1998 · confirmed 2/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Other Side of DawnTomorrow #71999 · 336 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Marsden on Marsden2000 · 123 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000123
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Winter2000 · confirmed 2/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Head Book2001 · confirmed 2/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    A Day in the Life of Me2002 · 32 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    While I LiveEllie Chronicles #12003 · confirmed 2/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    IncurableEllie Chronicles #22005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Circle Of FlightEllie Chronicles #32006 · confirmed 2/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Home and Away2008 · 48 pages · confirmed 2/4
    200848
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

John Marsden series and characters in order

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

John Marsden 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.

Tomorrow books in order

7 books by John Marsden
  1. 1. Tomorrow, When the War Began
  2. 2. The Dead of Night
  3. 3. A Killing Frost / The Third Day, the Frost
  4. 4. Darkness, Be My Friend
  5. 5. Burning For Revenge
  6. 6. The Night is for Hunting
  7. 7. The Other Side of Dawn

So Much to Tell You in order

3 books
  1. 1. So Much to Tell You
  2. 2. Take My Word For It
  3. 3. So Much to Tell You: The Play

Ellie Chronicles in order

3 books
  1. 1. While I Live
  2. 2. Incurable
  3. 3. Circle Of Flight

From Reason to Revolution in order

2 books
  1. 51. Napoleon’s Stolen Army: How the Royal Navy Rescued a Spanish Army in the Baltic
  2. 92. The Tagus Campaign of 1809

Shaun Tan Picture in order

1 book
  1. 1. The Rabbits

Standalone books

25 books

25 John Marsden titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read John Marsden books in order?

You only need to read John Marsden books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with John Marsden

Start with Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993), the first Tomorrow book. The earliest catalogued title overall is So Much to Tell You (1987).

What is the newest John Marsden book?

The Tagus Campaign of 1809 (2023) is the newest John Marsden book released so far.

Is there a new John Marsden book coming?

No next John Marsden 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 Marsden at a glance

Died
John Marsden died in 2024, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to John Marsden on record dates from 2023.
Release pace
John Marsden books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
2,913 pages across the 18 of 41 books with a recorded length, a median of 138 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most John Marsden books, 19 of 41, were published in the 1990s.

What the John Marsden books are about

25 of the 41 John Marsden books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 12 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.