R. Austin Freeman Books in Order
36 books are credited to R. Austin Freeman, published between 1905 and 2021; 3 of them appeared after R. Austin Freeman's death in 1943. The first book is The Golden Pool (1905) and the newest is The Missing Mortgagee (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 36
- Published
- 1905–2021
- Pages on record
- 7,915 in 31 of 36 books
- Reading time
- 132–198 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,915 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 31 of 36 titles with a page count on record.
Dr. Thorndyke, a medico-legal forensic investigator, carries most of R. Austin Freeman's fiction. Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories who invented the inverted detective story, in which the crime and the culprit are shown at the start and the narrative then follows the detective's work to solve it; that form is counted his largest contribution to the genre. His 36 catalogued titles run from The Golden Pool (1905) to The Missing Mortgagee, dated 2021, taking in The Red Thumb Mark (1907), John Thorndyke's Cases (1909), The Eye of Osiris (1911), The Singing Bone (1912) and A Silent Witness (1914). Freeman drew on his early work as a colonial surgeon. London, physicians and anthropologists recur as subjects.
How many R. Austin Freeman books are there?
R. Austin Freeman has 36 books, released between 1905 and 2021. 3 of them were published after R. Austin Freeman's death in 1943. 29 of them belong to the Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries series.
R. Austin Freeman Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 36 R. Austin Freeman 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.
- 1The Golden Pool1905 · 378 pages · confirmed 1/419053781/4
- 219071321/4
- 319092351/4
- 419111761/4
- 519121481/4
- 61912–1/4
- 7The Unwilling Adventurer1913 · 382 pages · confirmed 1/419133821/4
- 8A Savant's Vendetta / The Uttermost Farthing1914 · 156 pages · confirmed 1/419141561/4
- 91914–1/4
- 1019182021/4
- 1119224021/4
- 1219232801/4
- 13Dr Thorndyke's Casebook / The Blue ScarabDr. Thorndyke Mysteries #101923 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/419232081/4
- 1419242631/4
- 1519252291/4
- 1619262381/4
- 1719272701/4
- 1819272261/4
- 1919272321/4
- 20Flighty Phyllis1928 · 148 pages · confirmed 1/419281481/4
- 211928–1/4
- 22The Famous Cases of Dr. Thorndyke / The Dr Thorndyke OmnibusDr. Thorndyke Mysteries #181929 · 540 pages · confirmed 1/419295401/4
- 2319301361/4
- 2419302841/4
- 2519312741/4
- 26When Rogues Fall Out / Dr. Thorndyke's Discovery1932 · 270 pages · confirmed 1/419322701/4
- 2719332801/4
- 2819342521/4
- 2919362441/4
- 3019372621/4
- 3119382761/4
- 3219402561/4
- 33The Jacob Street Mystery / The Unconscious WitnessDr. Thorndyke Mysteries #301942 · 248 pages · confirmed 1/419422481/4
- 3419732881/4
- 35The Queen's Treasure1975 · confirmed 1/41975–1/4
- 36The Missing Mortgagee2021 · confirmed 1/42021–1/4
R. Austin Freeman 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.
Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries in order
29 books- 1. The Red Thumb Mark
- 2. John Thorndyke's Cases
- 3. The Eye of Osiris / The Vanishing Man
- 4. The Mystery of 31 New Inn
- 5. The Singing Bone / The Adventures of Dr Thorndyke
- 6. A Silent Witness
- 7. The Great Portrait Mystery
- 8. Helen Vardon's Confession
- 9. The Cat's Eye
- 10. Dr Thorndyke's Casebook / The Blue Scarab
- 11. The Mystery of Angelina Frood
- 12. The Shadow of the Wolf
- and 17 more in the table above
Standalone books
7 books7 R. Austin Freeman titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read R. Austin Freeman books in order?
You only need to read R. Austin Freeman books in order within the Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries series, which holds 29 of the 36 R. Austin Freeman books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with R. Austin Freeman
Start with The Golden Pool (1905), the earliest published title.
What is the newest R. Austin Freeman book?
The Missing Mortgagee (2021) is the newest R. Austin Freeman book released so far.
Is there a new R. Austin Freeman book coming?
No next R. Austin Freeman book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
R. Austin Freeman at a glance
- Died
- R. Austin Freeman died in 1943, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to R. Austin Freeman are still being published after R. Austin Freeman's death in 1943; the newest appeared in 2021.
- Release pace
- R. Austin Freeman books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 7,915 pages across the 31 of 36 books with a recorded length, a median of 252 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most R. Austin Freeman books, 12 of 36, were published in the 1920s.
What the R. Austin Freeman books are about
29 of the 36 R. Austin Freeman books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 24 of 29. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 24 of 29 books
- Thorndyke, doctor (fictitious character) 13 of 29 books
- Doctor Thorndyke (Fictitious character) 12 of 29 books
- Physicians 12 of 29 books
- England 5 of 29 books
- London (England) 5 of 29 books
- Art 3 of 29 books
- Suspense 2 of 29 books