Order of Book Series
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Paul Scott Books in Order

20 books are credited to Paul Scott, published between 1952 and 2011; 7 of them appeared after Paul Scott's death in 1978. The first book is Johnnie Sahib (1952) and the newest is Behind Paul Scott's Raj Quartet: A Life in Letters: Volume II: The Quartet and Beyond: 1966-1978 (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
20
Published
1952–2011
Pages on record
4,114 in 14 of 20 books
Reading time
69–103 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,114 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 20 titles with a page count on record.

See all 20 books in order Printable Paul Scott checklist

The Raj Quartet is the defining work of Paul Mark Scott, an English novelist who lived from 25 March 1920 to 1 March 1978. Staying On won Scott the 1977 Booker Prize, and Granada Television adapted the Quartet in the 1980s. Born in suburban London, Scott served in India, Burma and Malaya in the Second World War and worked as a literary agent before writing full time from 1960. The catalogue lists 20 books from Johnnie Sahib (1952), including The Jewel in the Crown (1966), plus a 2011 volume of Scott's letters.

How many Paul Scott books are there?

Paul Scott has 20 books, released between 1952 and 2011. 7 of them were published after Paul Scott's death in 1978. 4 of them belong to the Raj Quartet series.

Paul Scott Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 20 Paul Scott 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 Six Days in Marapore by Paul Scott (1953)
  2. Cover of The Alien Sky by Paul Scott (1953)
  3. Cover of A Male Child by Paul Scott (1956)
  4. Cover of The Chinese Love Pavilion by Paul Scott (1960)
  5. Cover of The Birds of Paradise by Paul Scott (1962)
  6. Cover of The Bender by Paul Scott (1963)
  7. Cover of The Corrida at San Feliu by Paul Scott (1964)
  8. Cover of The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott, book 1 of the Raj Quartet (1966)
  9. Cover of The Day of the Scorpion by Paul Scott, book 2 of the Raj Quartet (1968)
  10. Cover of The Towers of Silence by Paul Scott, book 3 of the Raj Quartet (1971)
  11. Cover of A Division of the Spoils by Paul Scott, book 4 of the Raj Quartet (1975)
  12. Cover of Staying On by Paul Scott (1977)
  13. Cover of The Making of the Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott (1983)
  14. Cover of My Appointment with the Muse: Essays, 1961-75 by Paul Scott (1986)
  15. Cover of On Writing and the Novel: Essays by Paul Scott (1987)
  1. 1
    Johnnie Sahib1952 · confirmed 1/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Six Days in Marapore1953 · 284 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1953284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Alien Sky1953 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1953208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Male Child1956 · 220 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1956220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Chinese Love Pavilion1960 · 255 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1960255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Birds of Paradise1962 · 237 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1962237
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Bender1963 · confirmed 1/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Corrida at San Feliu1964 · 226 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1964226
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Jewel in the CrownRaj Quartet #11966 · 462 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966462
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Day of the ScorpionRaj Quartet #21968 · 483 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1968483
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Towers of SilenceRaj Quartet #31971 · 392 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971392
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Division of the SpoilsRaj Quartet #41975 · 597 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975597
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Staying On1977 · 215 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977215
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Mark of the Warrior1979 · confirmed 1/4
    1979–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    After the Funeral1979 · confirmed 1/4
    1979–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Making of the Jewel in the Crown1983 · 134 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983134
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    My Appointment with the Muse: Essays, 1961-751986 · 175 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986175
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    On Writing and the Novel: Essays1987 · 226 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987226
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Behind Paul Scott's Raj Quartet: A Life in Letters: Volume I: The Early Years: 1940-19652011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Behind Paul Scott's Raj Quartet: A Life in Letters: Volume II: The Quartet and Beyond: 1966-19782011 · confirmed 1/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Paul Scott 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.

Raj Quartet in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Jewel in the Crown
  2. 2. The Day of the Scorpion
  3. 3. The Towers of Silence
  4. 4. A Division of the Spoils

Standalone books

16 books

16 Paul Scott titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Paul Scott books in order?

You only need to read Paul Scott books in order within the Raj Quartet series, which holds 4 of the 20 Paul Scott books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Paul Scott

Start with Johnnie Sahib (1952), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Paul Scott book?

Behind Paul Scott's Raj Quartet: A Life in Letters: Volume II: The Quartet and Beyond: 1966-1978 (2011) is the newest Paul Scott book released so far.

Is there a new Paul Scott book coming?

No next Paul Scott 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 Paul Scott has won

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

Paul Scott at a glance

Died
Paul Scott died in 1978, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Paul Scott are still being published after Paul Scott's death in 1978; the newest appeared in 2011.
Release pace
Paul Scott books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
4,114 pages across the 14 of 20 books with a recorded length, a median of 232 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Paul Scott books, 6 of 20, were published in the 1960s.

What the Paul Scott books are about

18 of the 20 Paul Scott books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: india is tagged on 9 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • India 9 of 18 books
  • Fiction in English 6 of 18 books
  • British 5 of 18 books
  • History 5 of 18 books
  • 20th century 3 of 18 books
  • Historical fiction 3 of 18 books
  • Mystery & detective 3 of 18 books
  • Authorship 2 of 18 books
  • Correspondence 2 of 18 books
  • Authors 2 of 18 books
  • English literature 2 of 18 books
  • In literature 2 of 18 books