Order of Book Series
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Niall Williams Books in Order

Niall Williams has written 17 books, published between 1987 and 2024. The first book is O Come Ye Back to Ireland (1987) and the newest is Time of the Child (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Niall Williams also publishes as Sarah Reynolds.

Books
17
Published
1987–2024
Pages on record
3,777 in 14 of 17 books
Reading time
63–94 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,777 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 17 titles with a page count on record.

See all 17 books in order Printable Niall Williams checklist
Photo of Niall Williams, author of the Boy series

Ireland runs through Niall Williams's work, in fiction and non-fiction alike. O Come Ye Back to Ireland (1987) opens a catalogue of 17 books that holds travel and biographical titles from the early years and novels including Four Letters of Love (1997), As It Is in Heaven (1999) and The Fall of Light (2001). Time of the Child arrived in 2024, and titles appear about two years apart.

How many Niall Williams books are there?

Niall Williams has 17 books, released between 1987 and 2024. 2 of them belong to the Boy series.

Niall Williams Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 17 Niall Williams 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.

  1. Cover of O Come Ye Back to Ireland by Niall Williams (1987)
  2. Cover of The Pipes are Calling by Niall Williams (1990)
  3. Cover of The Luck of the Irish by Niall Williams (1995)
  4. Cover of Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams (1997)
  5. Cover of The Way You Look Tonight by Niall Williams (2000)
  6. Cover of The Fall of Light by Niall Williams (2001)
  7. Cover of Only Say the Word by Niall Williams (2005)
  8. Cover of John by Niall Williams (2008)
  9. Cover of History of the Rain by Niall Williams (2014)
  10. Cover of This Is Happiness by Niall Williams (2019)
  11. Cover of The Unrequited by Niall Williams (2021)
  1. 1
    O Come Ye Back to Ireland1987 · 233 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987233
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    When Summer's in the Meadow1989 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Pipes are Calling1990 · 222 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990222
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Luck of the Irish1995 · 236 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995236
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Four Letters of Love1997 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    As It Is in Heaven1999 · 310 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999310
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Way You Look Tonight2000 · 91 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200091
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Fall of Light2001 · 350 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001350
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Only Say the Word2005 · 345 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005345
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Boy in the WorldBoy #12007 · 344 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007344
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Boy and ManBoy #22008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    John2008 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    History of the Rain2014 · confirmed 1/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    This Is Happiness2019 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2019400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Unrequited2021 · 62 pages · confirmed 1/4
    202162
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    In Kiltumper2021 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2021304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Time of the Child2024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Niall Williams 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.

Boy in order

2 books
  1. 1. Boy in the World
  2. 2. Boy and Man

Standalone books

15 books

15 Niall Williams titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Niall Williams books in order?

You only need to read Niall Williams books in order within the Boy series, which holds 2 of the 17 Niall Williams books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Niall Williams

Start with O Come Ye Back to Ireland (1987), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Niall Williams book?

Time of the Child (2024) is the newest Niall Williams book released so far.

Is there a new Niall Williams book coming?

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

Award nominations for Niall Williams

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

Niall Williams at a glance

Still publishing
Niall Williams published a book as recently as 2024.
Release pace
Niall Williams books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,777 pages across the 14 of 17 books with a recorded length, a median of 296 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Niall Williams books, 6 of 17, were published in the 2000s.

What the Niall Williams books are about

13 of the 17 Niall Williams books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: ireland is tagged on 2 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Ireland 2 of 13 books
  • Ireland, description and travel 2 of 13 books