Order of Book Series
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Penelope Lively Books in Order

Penelope Lively has written 65 books, published between 1970 and 2021. The first book is Astercote (1970) and the newest is Metamorphosis (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
65
Published
1970–2021
Pages on record
8,485 in 53 of 65 books
Reading time
141–212 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,485 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 53 of 65 titles with a page count on record.

See all 65 books in order Printable Penelope Lively checklist
Photo of Penelope Lively, author

Penelope Lively, born in 1933, is a British writer of fiction for children and for adults, and holds the title Dame. Moon Tiger took the Booker Prize in 1987, and The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973) won the Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Her catalogue runs to 65 titles published between 1970 and 2021, from Astercote (1970) to Metamorphosis (2021), taking in The Whispering Knights (1971), The Driftway (1972), The House in Norham Gardens (1974) and A Stitch in Time (1976). Ghost stories, English social life, the Second World War, and space and time recur as subjects.

How many Penelope Lively books are there?

Penelope Lively has 65 books, released between 1970 and 2021. They include 2 series and 50 titles listed outside any series.

Penelope Lively Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 65 Penelope Lively 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 Astercote by Penelope Lively (1970)
  2. Cover of The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy by Penelope Lively (1971)
  3. Cover of The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively (1973)
  4. Cover of The House in Norham Gardens by Penelope Lively (1974)
  5. Cover of Going Back by Penelope Lively (1975)
  6. Cover of Fanny's Sister by Penelope Lively, book 1 of the Fanny series (1976)
  7. Cover of The Stained Glass Window by Penelope Lively, book 2 of the Chapter series (1976)
  8. Cover of A Stitch in Time by Penelope Lively (1976)
  9. Cover of The Road to Lichfield by Penelope Lively (1977)
  10. Cover of Nothing Missing But The Samovar by Penelope Lively (1978)
  11. Cover of Judgment Day by Penelope Lively (1980)
  12. Cover of Treasures of Time by Penelope Lively (1980)
  13. Cover of Next to Nature, Art by Penelope Lively (1982)
  14. Cover of Corruption by Penelope Lively (1984)
  15. Cover of Dragon Trouble by Penelope Lively, book 3 of the Chapter series (1984)
  16. Cover of Uninvited Ghosts by Penelope Lively (1984)
  17. Cover of Pack of Cards by Penelope Lively (1986)
  18. Cover of Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (1987)
  19. Cover of A House Inside Out by Penelope Lively, book 4 of the Chapter series (1988)
  20. Cover of City of the Mind by Penelope Lively (1988)
  21. Cover of Passing On by Penelope Lively (1989)
  22. Cover of Judy and the Martian by Penelope Lively, book 5 of the Chapter series (1992)
  23. Cover of Princess By Mistake by Penelope Lively (1993)
  24. Cover of Oleander, Jacaranda by Penelope Lively (1994)
  1. 1
    Astercote1970 · 166 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970166
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Whispering Knights1971 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy1971 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Driftway1972 · confirmed 1/4
    1972–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Ghost of Thomas Kempe1973 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The House in Norham Gardens1974 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Boy Without a NameChapter #11975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Going Back1975 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Fanny's SisterFanny #11976 · 56 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197656
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Presence Of The Past1976 · 223 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976223
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Stained Glass WindowChapter #21976 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197648
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Stitch in Time1976 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Road to Lichfield1977 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Nothing Missing But The Samovar1978 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Voyage of QV661978 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Fanny And The MonstersFanny #21979 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197948
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Fanny and the Battle of Potter's PieceFanny #31980 · 45 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198045
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Judgment Day1980 · 210 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980210
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Treasures of Time1980 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Revenge of Samuel Stokes1981 · confirmed 1/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Next to Nature, Art1982 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Perfect Happiness1983 · 234 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983234
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Corruption1984 · 135 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984135
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Dragon TroubleChapter #31984 · 44 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198444
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Uninvited Ghosts1984 · 119 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984119
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    According to Mark1984 · 217 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984217
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Pack of Cards1986 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Moon Tiger1987 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    A House Inside OutChapter #41988 · 127 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988127
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    City of the Mind1988 · 231 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988231
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Penelope Lively 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.

Chapter in order

11 books
  1. 1. Boy Without a Name
  2. 2. The Stained Glass Window
  3. 3. Dragon Trouble
  4. 4. A House Inside Out
  5. 5. Judy and the Martian
  6. 6. The Cat, the Crow, and the Banyan Tree
  7. 7. A Martian Comes to Stay
  8. 8. Staying with Grandpa
  9. 9. Ghostly Guests
  10. 10. Debbie and the Little Devil
  11. 11. A Martian in the Supermarket

Fanny in order

3 books
  1. 1. Fanny's Sister
  2. 2. Fanny And The Monsters
  3. 3. Fanny and the Battle of Potter's Piece

Gillian Cross in order

1 book
  1. 9. Spooky Stories

Standalone books

50 books

50 Penelope Lively titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Penelope Lively Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Penelope Lively books run from Astercote (1970) to Metamorphosis (2021), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Penelope Lively in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Penelope Lively books in order?

You only need to read Penelope Lively 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 Penelope Lively

Start with Astercote (1970), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Penelope Lively book?

Metamorphosis (2021) is the newest Penelope Lively book released so far.

Is there a new Penelope Lively book coming?

No next Penelope Lively 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 Penelope Lively has won

Wikidata records 2 awards and 2 nominations for Penelope Lively. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Penelope Lively at a glance

Paused
No new Penelope Lively title has appeared for 5 years. The last was published in 2021.
Release pace
Penelope Lively books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
8,485 pages across the 53 of 65 books with a recorded length, a median of 166 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Penelope Lively books, 18 of 65, were published in the 1990s.

What the Penelope Lively books are about

56 of the 65 Penelope Lively books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 21 of 56. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.