Order of Book Series
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Kate Grenville Books in Order

Kate Grenville has written 18 books, published between 1984 and 2023. The first book is Bearded Ladies (1984) and the newest is Restless Dolly Maunder (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1984–2023
Pages on record
3,980 in 15 of 18 books
Reading time
66–100 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,980 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Kate Grenville checklist
Photo of Kate Grenville, author

Kate Grenville, born in 1950, is an Australian author of fiction, non-fiction, biography and books about the writing process. The Idea of Perfection took the Orange Prize in 2001, and The Secret River won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2006 and reached the Man Booker shortlist; Andrew Bovell adapted The Secret River for the stage and the Sydney Theatre Company toured it in 2019. Three of Grenville's novels have become feature films. Eighteen titles are catalogued, from Bearded Ladies (1984) to Restless Dolly Maunder (2023), the Singer Family and Thornhill Family among them.

How many Kate Grenville books are there?

Kate Grenville has 18 books, released between 1984 and 2023. They include 2 series and 12 titles listed outside any series.

Kate Grenville Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Kate Grenville 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 Bearded Ladies by Kate Grenville (1984)
  2. Cover of Lilian's Story by Kate Grenville, book 1 of the Singer Family series (1984)
  3. Cover of Dreamhouse by Kate Grenville (1987)
  4. Cover of Joan Makes History by Kate Grenville, book 2 of the Singer Family series (1988)
  5. Cover of The Writing Book: A Workbook for Fiction Writers by Kate Grenville (1993)
  6. Cover of Dark Places / Albion's Story by Kate Grenville, book 3 of the Singer Family series (1994)
  7. Cover of The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville (1999)
  8. Cover of Writing from Start to Finish: A Six-Step Guide by Kate Grenville (2001)
  9. Cover of The Secret River by Kate Grenville, book 1 of the Thornhill Family series (2005)
  10. Cover of Searching for the Secret River by Kate Grenville (2006)
  11. Cover of The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville, book 2 of the Thornhill Family series (2007)
  12. Cover of Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville, book 3 of the Thornhill Family series (2011)
  13. Cover of One Life: My Mother's Story by Kate Grenville (2015)
  14. Cover of A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville (2020)
  1. 1
    Bearded Ladies1984 · 168 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Lilian's StorySinger Family #11984 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Dreamhouse1987 · 170 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987170
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Joan Makes HistorySinger Family #21988 · 279 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988279
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Making Stories1993 · 293 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993293
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Writing Book: A Workbook for Fiction Writers1993 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Dark Places / Albion's StorySinger Family #31994 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Idea of Perfection1999 · confirmed 1/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Writing from Start to Finish: A Six-Step Guide2001 · 216 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001216
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Secret RiverThornhill Family #12005 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Searching for the Secret River2006 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The LieutenantThornhill Family #22007 · 307 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Sarah ThornhillThornhill Family #32011 · 307 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2011307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    One Life: My Mother's Story2015 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Case Against Fragrance2017 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    A Room Made of Leaves2020 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Always Greener2021 · confirmed 1/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Restless Dolly Maunder2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Kate Grenville 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.

Singer Family in order

3 books
  1. 1. Lilian's Story
  2. 2. Joan Makes History
  3. 3. Dark Places / Albion's Story

Thornhill Family in order

3 books
  1. 1. The Secret River
  2. 2. The Lieutenant
  3. 3. Sarah Thornhill

Standalone books

12 books

12 Kate Grenville titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Kate Grenville books in order?

You only need to read Kate Grenville books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Kate Grenville

Start with Bearded Ladies (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Kate Grenville book?

Restless Dolly Maunder (2023) is the newest Kate Grenville book released so far.

Is there a new Kate Grenville book coming?

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

Awards Kate Grenville has won

Wikidata records 3 awards and 1 nomination for Kate Grenville. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Christina Stead Prize for Fiction2021Won
  • Christina Stead Prize for Fiction2006Won
  • Women's Prize for Fiction2001Won
  • Booker Prize2006Shortlistedfor The Secret River

Kate Grenville at a glance

Paused
No new Kate Grenville title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Kate Grenville books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,980 pages across the 15 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 279 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Kate Grenville books, 4 of 18, were published in the 2000s.

What the Kate Grenville books are about

14 of the 18 Kate Grenville books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: australia is tagged on 2 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.