Mary Doria Russell Books in Order
Mary Doria Russell has written 7 books, published between 1996 and 2019. The first book is The Sparrow (1996) and the newest is The Women of the Copper Country (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 7
- Published
- 1996–2019
- Pages on record
- 2,513 in 6 of 7 books
- Reading time
- 42–63 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,513 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 6 of 7 titles with a page count on record.
Mary Doria Russell is an American novelist, born in 1950 and since retired from writing. The Sparrow (1996) and Children of God (1998) form one pair, sending a Jesuit priest to a distant planet and setting belief against what he finds. Historical novels make up the rest: A Thread of Grace (2005), Dreamers of the Day (2008), and Doc (2011) with Epitaph (2015) on Doc Holliday. The Women of the Copper Country (2019) closes a catalogue of seven books.
How many Mary Doria Russell books are there?
Mary Doria Russell has 7 books, released between 1996 and 2019. They include 2 series and 3 titles listed outside any series.
Mary Doria Russell Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 7 Mary Doria Russell 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.
- 11996–1/4
- 219984381/4
- 3A Thread of Grace2005 · 442 pages · confirmed 1/420054421/4
- 4Dreamers of the Day2008 · 270 pages · confirmed 1/420082701/4
- 520114321/4
- 620155921/4
- 7The Women of the Copper Country2019 · 339 pages · confirmed 1/420193391/4
Mary Doria Russell 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.
Sparrow in order
2 booksDoc Holliday in order
2 booksStandalone books
3 books3 Mary Doria Russell titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Mary Doria Russell books in order?
You only need to read Mary Doria Russell 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 Mary Doria Russell
Start with The Sparrow (1996), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Mary Doria Russell book?
The Women of the Copper Country (2019) is the newest Mary Doria Russell book released so far.
Is there a new Mary Doria Russell book coming?
No next Mary Doria Russell 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 Mary Doria Russell has won
Wikidata records 4 awards and 7 nominations for Mary Doria Russell. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Arthur C. Clarke Award1998Wonfor The Sparrow
- Astounding Award for Best New Writer1998Won
- BSFA Award for Best Novel1997Wonfor The Sparrow
- Otherwise Award1996Wonfor The Sparrow
- Hugo Award for Best Novel1999Shortlistedfor Children of God
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1999Shortlistedfor Children of God
- BSFA Award for Best Novel1999Shortlistedfor Children of God
- Arthur C. Clarke Award1998Shortlistedfor The Sparrow
- Otherwise Award1998Shortlistedfor Children of God
- Locus Award for Best First Novel1997Shortlistedfor The Sparrow
- Otherwise Award1996Shortlistedfor The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Mary Doria Russell title on record dates from 2019, 7 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Mary Doria Russell books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
- Length
- 2,513 pages across the 6 of 7 books with a recorded length, a median of 435 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Mary Doria Russell books, 3 of 7, were published in the 2010s.
What the Mary Doria Russell books are about
All 7 Mary Doria Russell books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: biography is tagged on 2 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Biography 2 of 7 books
- Historical fiction 2 of 7 books
- Jesuits 2 of 7 books
- Science fiction 2 of 7 books
- Twenty-first century 2 of 7 books