Order of Book Series
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Naguib Mahfouz Books in Order

62 books are credited to Naguib Mahfouz, published between 1939 and 2026; 15 of them appeared after Naguib Mahfouz's death in 2006. The first book is Khufu's Wisdom (1939) and the newest is Essays on Literature and Philosophy: The Non-Fiction of Naguib Mahfouz: Volume I (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
62
Published
1939–2026
Pages on record
11,862 in 44 of 62 books
Reading time
198–297 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,862 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 44 of 62 titles with a page count on record.

See all 62 books in order Printable Naguib Mahfouz checklist
Photo of Naguib Mahfouz, author of the Cairo Trilogy

Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature and remains the only Egyptian writer to have done so. The fiction is set largely in Cairo and in Egypt's past, from Khufu's Wisdom (1939) and Thebes at War (1944) to Midaq Alley (1947) and the Cairo Trilogy. Mahfouz was among the first writers in Egyptian literature, with Taha Hussein, to work with existentialist themes. The listing holds 62 titles dated 1939 to 2026, most of them translations into English, at a median of 184 pages.

How many Naguib Mahfouz books are there?

Naguib Mahfouz has 62 books, released between 1939 and 2026. 15 of them were published after Naguib Mahfouz's death in 2006. 3 of them belong to the Cairo Trilogy series.

Naguib Mahfouz Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 62 Naguib Mahfouz 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 Thebes at War by Naguib Mahfouz (1944)
  2. Cover of Cairo Modern by Naguib Mahfouz (1945)
  3. Cover of Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz (1947)
  4. Cover of The Mirage by Naguib Mahfouz (1948)
  5. Cover of The Beginning and the End by Naguib Mahfouz (1949)
  6. Cover of Children of Gebelaawi by Naguib Mahfouz (1959)
  7. Cover of The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (1961)
  8. Cover of Autumn Quail by Naguib Mahfouz (1962)
  9. Cover of Adrift on the Nile by Naguib Mahfouz (1966)
  10. Cover of Miramar by Naguib Mahfouz (1967)
  11. Cover of Mirrors by Naguib Mahfouz (1972)
  12. Cover of Love in the Rain by Naguib Mahfouz (1973)
  13. Cover of Fountain and Tomb by Naguib Mahfouz (1975)
  14. Cover of Respected Sir by Naguib Mahfouz (1975)
  15. Cover of The Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz (1977)
  16. Cover of Wedding Song by Naguib Mahfouz (1981)
  17. Cover of The Journey of Ibn Fattouma by Naguib Mahfouz (1983)
  18. Cover of The Day the Leader Was Killed by Naguib Mahfouz (1983)
  19. Cover of Before the Throne by Naguib Mahfouz (1983)
  20. Cover of Morning and Evening Talk by Naguib Mahfouz (1987)
  21. Cover of The Time and the Place by Naguib Mahfouz (1991)
  22. Cover of Echoes of an Autobiography by Naguib Mahfouz (1994)
  23. Cover of Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber by Naguib Mahfouz (2001)
  24. Cover of Voices from the Other World by Naguib Mahfouz (2002)
  1. 1
    Khufu's Wisdom1939 · 220 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1939220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Rhadopis of Nubia1943 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1943228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Thebes at War1944 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1944256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Marketplace Called Khan Il Khalili1945 · confirmed 1/4
    1945–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Cairo Modern1945 · 243 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1945243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Khan Al-Khalili1945 · 394 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1945394
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Midaq Alley1947 · 286 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1947286
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Madak Alley/Arabic1947 · confirmed 1/4
    1947–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Mirage1948 · 473 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1948473
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Beginning and the End1949 · confirmed 1/4
    1949–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Children of Gebelaawi1959 · 497 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1959497
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Children of the Alley1959 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1959448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Thief and the Dogs1961 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    God's World1962 · 229 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962229
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Autumn Quail1962 · 172 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962172
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Search1964 · 126 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1964126
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Whisperings on the NileArabic Novel1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Adrift on the Nile1966 · 167 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966167
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Miramar1967 · 183 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1967183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Tales of the Black Cat1969 · confirmed 1/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Road: Al Tareeq1970 · confirmed 1/4
    1970–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Honeymoon1971 · confirmed 1/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Mirrors1972 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1972185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Love in the Rain1973 · 132 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973132
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Karnak Café1974 · 101 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974101
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Stories of the Neighborhood1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Fountain and Tomb1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Heart of the Night1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Respected Sir1975 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Harafish1977 · 406 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977406
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Naguib Mahfouz 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.

Cairo Trilogy in order

3 books
  1. 1. Palace Walk
  2. 2. Palace of Desire
  3. 3. Sugar Street

Standalone books

59 books

59 Naguib Mahfouz titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Naguib Mahfouz books in order?

You only need to read Naguib Mahfouz books in order within the Cairo Trilogy series, which holds 3 of the 62 Naguib Mahfouz books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Naguib Mahfouz

Start with Khufu's Wisdom (1939), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Naguib Mahfouz book?

Essays on Literature and Philosophy: The Non-Fiction of Naguib Mahfouz: Volume I (2026) is the newest Naguib Mahfouz book released so far.

Is there a new Naguib Mahfouz book coming?

No next Naguib Mahfouz 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 Naguib Mahfouz has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Naguib Mahfouz. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Nobel Prize in Literature1988Won

Naguib Mahfouz at a glance

Died
Naguib Mahfouz died in 2006, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Naguib Mahfouz are still being published after Naguib Mahfouz's death in 2006; the newest appeared in 2026.
Release pace
Naguib Mahfouz books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
11,862 pages across the 44 of 62 books with a recorded length, a median of 184 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Naguib Mahfouz books, 11 of 62, were published in the 1970s.

What the Naguib Mahfouz books are about

45 of the 62 Naguib Mahfouz books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: arabic fiction is tagged on 14 of 45. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Arabic fiction 14 of 45 books
  • Egypt 11 of 45 books
  • Historical fiction 8 of 45 books
  • History 7 of 45 books
  • Middle eastern philology 6 of 45 books
  • Cairo (egypt) 5 of 45 books
  • Social life and customs 5 of 45 books
  • Arabic Short stories 4 of 45 books
  • Family life 4 of 45 books
  • Ficción 4 of 45 books
  • Criticism and interpretation 3 of 45 books