Spike Milligan Books in Order

89 books are credited to Spike Milligan, published between 1959 and 2017; 5 of them appeared after Spike Milligan's death in 2002. The first book is Silly Verse For Kids (1959) and the newest is The Goon Show (2017). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
89
Published
1959–2017
Confirmed
1 of 89 titles
Pages on record
11,016 in 71 of 89 books
Reading time
184–275 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,016 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200300 words a minute, covering the 71 of 89 titles with a page count on record.

Spike Milligan (1918–2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor, born in British India to an English mother and Irish father and living mainly in England from 1931. Milligan co-created The Goon Show, served as its main writer, played roles including Eccles, Minnie Bannister and Count Jim Moriarty, and outlived the other Goons. The catalogue lists 89 books from Silly Verse For Kids (1959), including Puckoon (1963) and Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1971), with series such as War (and Peace) Memoirs.

How many Spike Milligan books are there?

Spike Milligan has 89 books, released between 1959 and 2017. 5 of them were published after Spike Milligan's death in 2002. They include 4 series and 52 titles listed outside any series.

Spike Milligan Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 89 Spike Milligan 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. 1
    Silly Verse For Kids1959 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    195980
  2. 2
    The Bedside Milligan1960 · confirmed 1/4
    1960
  3. 3
    A Dustbin of Milligan1961 · confirmed 1/4
    1961
  4. 4
    The Little Pot Boiler1963 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196396
  5. 5
    Puckoon1963 · confirmed 1/4
    1963
  6. 6
    The Bald Twit Lion1968 · 38 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196838
  7. 7
    A Book of Milliganimals1968 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196896
  8. 81971144
  9. 9
    The Bedsitting Room1972 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197296
  10. 10
    The Goon Show ScriptsGoon Show #11972 · confirmed 1/4
    1972
  11. 11
    Small Dreams Of A Scorpion1972 · 89 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197289
  12. 12
    Milligan's Ark1973 · confirmed 1/4
    1973
  13. 13
    Bad Jelly the Witch: A Fairy Story1973 · 56 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197356
  14. 14
    More Goon Show ScriptsGoon Show #21973 · 156 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973156
  15. 15
    'Rommel?' 'Gunner Who?'War (and Peace) Memoirs #21974 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974208
  16. 16
    Dip the puppy1974 · 49 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197449
  17. 17
    The Book of the GoonsGoon Show #31974 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974144
  18. 18
    Book of Bits or a Bit of a Book1974 · confirmed 1/4
    1974
  19. 19
    Spike Milligan's Transports of Delight1974 · 71 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197471
  20. 20
    The Great MaGonagall Scrap BookWilliam McGonagall #11975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975
  21. 21
    William McGonagall: The Truth at LastWilliam McGonagall #21976 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976144
  22. 22
    Monty, His Part In My VictoryWar (and Peace) Memoirs #31976 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976128
  23. 231976160
  24. 24
    The Spike Milligan Letters1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977
  25. 251978288
  26. 26
    Goblins1978 · 60 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197860
  27. 27
    Open Heart University1979 · 71 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197971
  28. 28
    The Q Annual1979 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979128
  29. 29
    Get in the Q annual.1980 · confirmed 1/4
    1980
  30. 30
    If Only I Were BaldChap #11981 · 15 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198115

Spike Milligan series in order

Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Spike Milligan 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.

William McGonagall in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Great MaGonagall Scrap Book
  2. 2. William McGonagall: The Truth at Last
  3. 3. William McGonagall Meets George Gershwin
  4. 4. William McGonagall: Freefall

Chap in order

3 books
  1. 1. If Only I Were Bald
  2. 2. Sir Nobonk And The Terrible, Awful, Dreadful, Naughty, Nasty Dragon
  3. 3. Sunday-midnight

Nation's Favourite Poems in order

1 book
  1. 6. The Nation's Favourite Children's Poems

Standalone books

52 books

52 Spike Milligan titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Spike Milligan books in order?

You only need to read Spike Milligan books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Spike Milligan

Start with the first book of the Spike Milligan series you want to read: Goon Show starts with The Goon Show Scripts (1972), According to Spike Milligan starts with The BibleAccording to Spike Milligan (1993) and War (and Peace) Memoirs starts with Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1971). The earliest catalogued title overall is Silly Verse For Kids (1959).

What is the newest Spike Milligan book?

The Goon Show (2017) is the newest Spike Milligan book released so far.

Is there a new Spike Milligan book coming?

No next Spike Milligan 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 Spike Milligan

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

  • Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation1970Shortlistedfor The Bed Sitting Room

Spike Milligan at a glance

Died
Spike Milligan died in 2002, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Spike Milligan are still being published after Spike Milligan's death in 2002; the newest appeared in 2017.
Release pace
Spike Milligan books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
11,016 pages across the 71 of 89 books with a recorded length, a median of 144 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Spike Milligan books, 25 of 89, were published in the 1990s.

What the Spike Milligan books are about

71 of the 89 Spike Milligan books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: english wit and humor is tagged on 16 of 71. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • English wit and humor 16 of 71 books
  • Humor 13 of 71 books
  • Biography 10 of 71 books
  • Milligan, spike, 1918-2002 10 of 71 books
  • Comedians 8 of 71 books
  • British Personal narratives 6 of 71 books
  • Poetry 6 of 71 books
  • Authors 5 of 71 books
  • Radio programs 5 of 71 books
  • Children's poetry 4 of 71 books
  • Goon show (Radio program) 4 of 71 books