Ken Follett Books in Order
Ken Follett has written 39 books, published between 1974 and 2025. The first book is The Big Black (1974) and the newest is Circle of Days (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 39
- Published
- 1974–2025
- Confirmed
- 39 of 39 titles
- Pages on record
- 7,884 in 19 of 39 books
Ken Follett is a Welsh writer of thrillers and historical novels, born on 5 June 1949. The catalogue holds 39 books running from The Big Black (1974) to Circle of Days (2025). The Pillars of the Earth (1989) opened the Kingsbridge series and moved Follett from spy fiction into historical fiction; the earlier commercial breakthrough was the spy thriller Eye of the Needle (1978). Other headings include Piers Roper, the Apples Carstairs books published as Simon Myles, and a non-fiction list. Ken Follett is still publishing.
The Kingsbridge series follows generations of people connected to the fictional English town of Kingsbridge, opening with the building of a cathedral in the Middle Ages. Each book is set in a different historical period, tracing kings, builders, peasants and merchants as the town changes across centuries.
How many Ken Follett books are there?
Ken Follett has 39 books, released between 1974 and 2025. They include 4 separate series.
Ken Follett Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 39 Ken Follett books in the order they were released, 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.
- 11974–4/4
- 219751574/4
- 31975–4/4
- 41975–3/4
- 51976–4/4
- 61976–4/4
- 71976–4/4
- 81976904/4
- 919772724/4
- 10The Heist of the Century / Under the Streets of Nice / The Gentleman of 16 JulyKen Follett Non-Fiction #11978 · 165 pages · confirmed 4/419781654/4
- 1119782193/4
- 1219784454/4
- 131979–4/4
- 141980–4/4
- 1519821414/4
- 1619823424/4
- 171984–4/4
- 1819863734/4
- 1919899834/4
- 201991–4/4
- 2119935684/4
- 2219954504/4
- 2319964694/4
- 2419984364/4
- 2520004664/4
- 262001–4/4
- 272002–4/4
- 2820043744/4
- 29200710564/4
- 302010–4/4
- 312012–4/4
- 322014–4/4
- 332017–4/4
- 342017–4/4
- 352019624/4
- 362020–4/4
- 3720218164/4
- 382023–4/4
- 392025–4/4
Ken Follett series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
- Kingsbridge books in order 5 books
- Pillars of Earth books in order 5 books
Ken Follett 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.
Ken Follett Standalone Novels
22 books22 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Ken Follett Non-Fiction
4 books4 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Apples Carstairs Series as Simon Myles in order
3 booksCentury Trilogy in order
3 booksPiers Roper in order
2 books- 1. Shakeout
- 2. The Bear Raid
Ken Follett Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Ken Follett books run from The Big Black (1974) to Circle of Days (2025), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Ken Follett in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Ken Follett books in order?
You only need to read Ken Follett books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
What order should you read Ken Follett books in?
Read Ken Follett one series at a time, each in its own publication order: Kingsbridge starts with The Pillars of the Earth (1989) and Pillars of Earth starts with The Pillars of the Earth (1989). The earliest catalogued title overall is The Big Black (1974).
What is the newest Ken Follett book?
Circle of Days (2025) is the newest Ken Follett book released so far.
Is there a new Ken Follett book coming?
No next Ken Follett 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 Ken Follett has won
Wikidata records 5 awards for Ken Follett. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- The Grand Master2013Won
- International Thriller Writers Awards2010Won
- Corine Literature Prize2003Wonfor Jackdaws
- Bancarella Literary Prize1999Wonfor The Hammer of Eden
- Edgar Awards1979Wonfor Eye of the Needle
Ken Follett at a glance
- Still publishing
- Ken Follett published a book as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Ken Follett books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 7,884 pages across the 19 of 39 books with a recorded length, a median of 374 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Ken Follett books, 13 of 39, were published in the 1970s.
- Corroboration
- 37 of the 39 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Ken Follett books are about
32 of the 39 Ken Follett books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: history is tagged on 7 of 32. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- History 7 of 32 books
- Fiction in English 5 of 32 books
- English literature 4 of 32 books
- Historical fiction 4 of 32 books
- World War, 1939-1945 4 of 32 books
- Suspense 3 of 32 books
- Thrillers 3 of 32 books
- Twentieth century 3 of 32 books
- Cathedrals 2 of 32 books
- Children's fiction 2 of 32 books
- Great Britain 2 of 32 books