William Shakespeare Books in Order
William Shakespeare has written 49 books, published between 1590 and 2024. The first book is King John (1590) and the newest is Shakespeare's First Folio: All The Plays (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 49
- Published
- 1590–2024
- Confirmed
- 1 of 49 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,967 in 34 of 49 books
- Reading time
- 149–224 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,967 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 49 titles with a page count on record.
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor, born around 23 April 1564 and died on 23 April 1616. Shakespeare is widely ranked as the greatest writer in English and the leading dramatist in the world, and is called England's national poet and the Bard of Avon. The surviving works, collaborations included, number about 39 plays, 154 sonnets and 3 long narrative poems. The plays exist in every major living language and are staged more often than those of any other playwright. The catalogue sorts the plays into Comedy Plays, Tragedy Plays and History Plays, with titles such as King John, Richard II, Henry V, The Tempest and The Comedy of Errors.
How many William Shakespeare books are there?
William Shakespeare has 49 books, released between 1590 and 2024. They include 3 series and 8 titles listed outside any series.
William Shakespeare Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 49 William Shakespeare 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.
- 11590–2/4
- 215902902/4
- 315902602/4
- 415903382/4
- 515912662/4
- 615924162/4
- 715932592/4
- 81593–2/4
- 915942042/4
- 1015942422/4
- 1115943242/4
- 121594–2/4
- 1315941742/4
- 141595–2/4
- 151595–2/4
- 161595–2/4
- 1715952402/4
- 1815963042/4
- 191596–2/4
- 2015971762/4
- 2115973212/4
- 2215973692/4
- 231597–2/4
- 2415982882/4
- 2515984642/4
- 2615992882/4
- 271599–2/4
- 2815993042/4
- 291600–2/4
- 3016033302/4
- 3116042452/4
- 3216053162/4
- 3316053142/4
- 341605712/4
- 351605–2/4
- 3616064002/4
- 3716062452/4
- 3816103842/4
- 3916342332/4
- 4019582523/4
- 41On Suicide: Great Writers on the Ultimate Question1992 · 269 pages · confirmed 1/419922691/4
- 42The Prince's Choice1995 · 137 pages · confirmed 2/419951372/4
- 43The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare1998 · confirmed 2/41998–2/4
- 44The Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare2000 · confirmed 2/42000–2/4
- 452000482/4
- 46The Complete Works2005 · confirmed 2/42005–2/4
- 47The Complete Sonnets and Poems2006 · 148 pages · confirmed 2/420061482/4
- 48Poetry for Kids2018 · 48 pages · confirmed 2/42018482/4
- 49Shakespeare's First Folio: All The Plays2024 · confirmed 2/42024–2/4
William Shakespeare 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.
Comedy Plays in order
16 books- 1. The Tempest
- 2. The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- 3. The Merry Wives of Windsor
- 4. Measure for Measure
- 5. The Comedy of Errors
- 6. Much Ado About Nothing
- 7. Love's Labour's Lost
- 8. A Midsummer Night's Dream
- 9. The Merchant of Venice
- 10. As You Like It
- 11. The Taming of the Shrew
- 12. All's Well That Ends Well
- and 4 more in the table above
Tragedy Plays in order
12 books- 1. Troilus and Cressida
- 2. Coriolanus
- 3. Titus Andronicus
- 4. Romeo and Juliet
- 5. Timon of Athens
- 6. Julius Caesar
- 7. Macbeth
- 8. Hamlet
- 9. King Lear
- 10. Othello
- 11. Antony and Cleopatra
- 12. Cymbeline
History Plays in order
11 books- 1. King John
- 2. Richard II
- 3. Henry IV, Part I
- 4. Henry IV, Part 2
- 5. Henry V
- 6. Henry VI, Part 1
- 7. Henry VI, Part 2
- 8. Henry VI, Part 3
- 9. Richard III
- 10. Henry VIII
- 11. Edward III
Poetry for Young People in order
1 bookEveryman's Library Pocket Poets in order
1 bookStandalone books
8 books8 William Shakespeare titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read William Shakespeare books in order?
You only need to read William Shakespeare books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with William Shakespeare
Start with King John (1590), the earliest published title.
What is the newest William Shakespeare book?
Shakespeare's First Folio: All The Plays (2024) is the newest William Shakespeare book released so far.
Is there a new William Shakespeare book coming?
No next William Shakespeare book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
William Shakespeare at a glance
- Still publishing
- William Shakespeare published a book as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- William Shakespeare books have appeared about one every 9 years on average.
- Length
- 8,967 pages across the 34 of 49 books with a recorded length, a median of 268 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most William Shakespeare books, 28 of 49, were published in the 1590s.
What the William Shakespeare books are about
38 of the 49 William Shakespeare books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: drama is tagged on 31 of 38. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Drama 31 of 38 books
- History 11 of 38 books
- English Young adult drama 8 of 38 books
- Play 8 of 38 books
- In literature 7 of 38 books
- Juvenile drama 7 of 38 books
- Bibliography 6 of 38 books
- English literature 6 of 38 books
- Kings and rulers 6 of 38 books
- Problems, exercises 5 of 38 books
- Stage history 5 of 38 books