Aristocracy (social class) book series in reading order

by Rhys Bowen

by Lisa Kleypas

by Tasha Alexander

by Deanna Raybourn

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Historical romance set in the Regency and the wider Georgian period is Mary Balogh's territory. Born Mary Jenkins in Swansea on 24 March 1944, Balogh moved to Canada in 1967, taught in Kipling, Saskatchewan, and became a school principal there before the first novel appeared in 1985. The catalogue runs to 106 books, from A Chance Encounter (1985) to A Waltz to Remember (2026). Series headings include Westcott, Bedwyn Family, Survivor's Club, Huxtable Quintet, Simply Quartet, Dark Angel and Ravenswood. Mary Balogh is still publishing.

Regency England is where Eloisa James sets her historical romances - aristocracy, nobility and London society. Potent Pleasures (1999) opens the catalogue, which runs to 54 books and The Last Lady B in 2026. Desperate Duchesses, the Essex Sisters, the Duchess Quartet, the Pleasures Trilogy and the Wildes of Lindow Castle are the main sequences, and the Happily Ever After books work from fairy tales.

Rhys Bowen is the name Janet Quin-Harkin publishes adult mystery novels under; Quin-Harkin was born in Bath, Somerset, in September 1941. The catalogue gathers 171 books, opening with Peter Penny's Dance (1976) and reaching Vanished in the Crowd (2026), with A Whiff of Scandal dated 2027. Molly Murphy, Her Royal Spyness and Constable Evans are the mystery series listed, alongside teen series carrying the Janet Quin-Harkin byline such as Heartbreak Cafe, Sugar and Spice and The Boyfriend Club. Catalogue subjects run to detective and mystery stories, women private investigators, historical mystery, aristocracy and children's fiction.

Regency romance is Valerie Bowman's genre. 40 books are catalogued from Secrets of a Wedding Night (2012) to The Wallflower Takes All (2026), organised into the Secret Brides, Playful Brides, Footmen's Club, Whitmorelands, Wallflowers' Revolt, Austen Hunks and Love's a Game sequences, with the Honeycrisp Orchard romances alongside them. Nobility, widows, courtship and the marriage market of aristocratic Britain are the standing material. Bowman continues to publish.

Gaelen Foley

28 books• 7 series

Gaelen Foley writes romance set in the Regency era, with aristocrats, princesses, veterans and secret societies filling the plots. Her 28 catalogued books run from The Pirate Prince (1998) to Duke of Shadows (2019), at a median of 407 pages, and group into the Knight Miscellany, Inferno Club, Moonlight Square, Ascension Trilogy, Spice Trilogy, Age of Heroes and Harmony Falls series. Foley is American, born in 1973, and has self-published middle grade fantasy as E.G. Foley since 2012. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list since 2000 and the New York Times list since 2008, in more than twenty languages.

Historical romance set among the London aristocracy is Sarah MacLean's genre, with arranged marriages, scandal and titled families driving the plots. The Season (2009) opens a catalogue of 21 books that reaches Mastermind in 2026. Love by Numbers, Rules of Scoundrels, Scandal & Scoundrel, the Bareknuckle Bastards and Hell's Belles are the series, and MacLean's titles read as instructions, among them Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake.

Georgette Heyer

65 books• 7 series

Georgette Heyer (16 August 1902 to 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer in two genres, Regency romance and detective fiction. The Black Moth (1921), the first of 65 catalogued books, grew from a story Heyer invented for an ill younger brother. These Old Shades (1926) became popular even though it came out during the General Strike. Inspector Hannasyde, Inspector Hemingway and Alastair-Audley are the recurring series. The Chinese Shawl (2019) is the newest listed edition.

Lorraine Heath writes historical romance among the English aristocracy, with widows, scoundrels and titled families at the centre. Sweet Lullaby (1994) is her earliest catalogued novel, and her series include the Scoundrels of St. James, the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, the Lost Lords of Pembrook, Sins for All Seasons, Hellions of Havisham and Rogues in Texas. Sixty-eight books reach A Tempest of Desire in 2024.

Sabrina Jeffries

59 books• 14 series

Sabrina Jeffries, born in 1958, is an American romance novelist who also uses the pen names Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicholas. Entertainment Weekly has named Jeffries among the long-reigning leading voices in historical romance. The catalogue lists 59 books from 1992 to 2026: Creole Nights and Moonlight Enchantment (1992) carry the Deborah Martin name, and The Pirate Lord (1998) and The Forbidden Lord (1999) followed. Series include Hellions of Halstead Hall, School For Heiresses, Sinful Suitors, Duke's Men, Duke Dynasty, Swanlea Spinsters and Royal Brotherhood. Subjects name the Regency, aristocracy and England, and Nearly a Bride (2026) is the newest.

Historical romance, Regency in particular, is what the catalogue records for Elizabeth Boyle, along with subjects covering the aristocracy, nobility, England and man-woman relationships. Twenty-nine books run from Brazen Angel (1997) to O Little Town of Bethlehem (2024), with Brazen Heiress (1998) and Brazen Temptress (1999) following the debut. Bachelor Chronicles, d'Artiers Family and Marlowes are the series credited to Boyle, and Rhymes With Love appears as a character entry. The 2000s are the heaviest decade on the list.

Nicola Cornick, born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1964, is a British writer of historical romance novels and time slip mysteries that merge several genres: historical fiction, romance, suspense, adventure, crime, science fiction, fantasy and the supernatural. Cornick's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. The catalogue lists 47 titles from True Colours (1998) to The Fourth Queen (2026), among them Lady Polly (1999), The Virtuous Cyprian (1999), Lady Allerton's Wager (2000) and The Earl's Prize (2002). Series recorded include Scandalous Women Of The Ton, Brides Of Fortune, Suffolk, Tallants, Scottish Brides, Mostyn/Trevithick Feud and New Timeslip. Cornick chaired the Romantic Novelists' Association from 2017 to 2019 and serves as its archivist.

Victoria Alexander, born 1953, is an American author of historical romance. Romantic Times nominated Alexander four times for its Reviewers' Choice Award, with a win for A Visit From Sir Nicholas, and gave Alexander a Career Achievement Award. Avon released Lady Amelia's Secret Lover as an e-book original on September 4, 2007. The catalogue holds 45 books, from Yesterday and Forever (1995) through The Perfect Wife (1996), The Wedding Bargain (1999) and The Husband List (2000). Series include Effingtons, Lady Travelers Society, Millworth Manor and Sinful Family Secrets.

Lisa Kleypas, born November 5, 1964, is an American author of historical and contemporary romance novels. Before writing professionally, Kleypas was Miss Massachusetts 1985 and competed in the Miss America 1986 pageant in Atlantic City. The catalogue lists 50 Kleypas books from Where Passion Leads (1987) to Queen of Lombard Street (2026). Series include the Wallflowers, Hathaways, Ravenels, Travis, Friday Harbor and Bow Street Runners, and subjects on file include nobility, aristocracy and London.

Historical romance and paranormal young adult fiction share Sophie Jordan's 58-title catalogue. Once Upon a Wedding Night (2006) opens the historical side, which continues through the Derrings, Rogue Files, Debutante Files, Duke Hunt and Penwich School books. The Moon Chasers novels turn on werewolves and Firelight on dragons. Nobility and English social life fill the romances, and Spellcast is the 2026 entry.

Suzanne Enoch

50 books• 14 series

Suzanne Enoch writes historical romance among the aristocracy, with the Samantha Jellicoe novels as a separate line. Fifty catalogued books run from Angel's Devil and The Black Duke's Prize (1995) to Better Than a Duke (2026). The Scandalous Brides, the Scandalous Highlanders, the Griffin Family, With This Ring, the Notorious Gentlemen, the Adventurers' Club and No Ordinary Hero group the rest.

Regency romance is Sophie Barnes's form, set among the English aristocracy with balls, inheritances and marriage settlements for material. Nine series carry the work, among them the Townsbridges, Secrets at Thorncliff Manor, At the Kingsborough Ball, the Honorable Scoundrels, the Crawfords and the Gentlemen Authors. Forty-seven titles run from 2012 to A Duke's Lesson in Charm (2023).

Twenty-seven catalogued books carry Celeste Bradley's name, from Fallen (2001) to A Liar Under The Mistletoe (2020). Bradley, born in 1964, is an American writer of historical and Regency romance, and English nobility, secret service work, inheritance and courtship recur as subjects. The Liar's Club, the Royal Four, the Heiress Brides, the Wicked Worthingtons, the Courtesans, the Vauxhall Vixens and Haven Holiday are the named series.

Barbara Taylor Bradford began in non-fiction, with Fashions That Please Him (1970) and a run of interior decorating guides, then wrote A Woman of Substance (1979) and the family sagas that followed. Businesswomen, inheritance and mothers and daughters are the standing subjects. 47 catalogued books include the Emma Harte and Harte Family sagas, Cavendon Hall, the House of Falconer and the Ravenscar novels. The Wonder of It All, published in 2023, closes the catalogue.

Jeff Wheeler writes fantasy, with subjects that include magic, quests, kings and rulers, orphans and coming of age. The catalogue runs from The Wishing Lantern (1999) to Serpent Queen (2026), with The Fallen Empires scheduled for 2027. The Blight of Muirwood, The Scourge of Muirwood and The Wretched of Muirwood all appeared in 2011. Series include Kingfountain, Legends of Muirwood, Covenant of Muirwood, Whispers from Mirrowen, First Argentines and Grave Kingdom.

Barbara Cartland

702 books• 3 series

Barbara Cartland, born Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland on 9 July 1901 and died on 21 May 2000, was an English romance novelist and socialite. This directory catalogues 702 titles under Cartland's name, from His Hour (1910) through to A Heart in the Highlands (2024), with the 1980s the heaviest decade. The Eternal Collection, the Pink Collection and the Camfield Novels Of Love group the bulk of that output. Cartland wrote contemporary as well as historical romance, the historical novels set mainly in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and ranks fifth among the most translated authors worldwide.

Candace Camp is an American writer of romance, mostly historical, with 70 catalogued books to her name. The run begins with Bonds of Love (1978) under the pen name Lisa Gregory, one of several names Camp has published under alongside Sharon Stephens and Kristin James. The subjects are Regency and Victorian England, nobility, revenge and manners, across series including Mad Morelands, Willowmere, Stonecliffe and Secrets of the Loch. A Scandal at Stonecliffe (2024) is the most recent title.

Jane Feather, born Jane Robotham in Cairo, Egypt, in 1945, is a British–American writer of historical romance with more than ten million books in print and New York Times bestseller status. In 1984 Feather wrote five contemporary romances under the pseudonym Claudia Bishop. The catalogue lists 52 books from 1984 to 2021, including Love's Charade (1986), Smuggler's Lady (1986), Reckless Seduction (1987), Chase the Dawn (1988) and Venus (1988), and ends with Ravish Me with Rubies (2021). Series include Charm Bracelet, Matchmaker Duncan Sisters, Cavendish Square, Blackwater Brides and London Jewels Trilogy, and England, aristocracy and inheritance appear in the subjects.

Jo Beverley (1947-2016), born Mary Josephine Dunn, was an English-Canadian author of historical and contemporary romance. Regency England and its nobility supply most of the settings, with the Mallorens and the Company of Rogues as the two groups readers follow across books. Beverley's 63 catalogued titles open with Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed (1988) and end with Merely a Marriage in 2017. Translations into several languages and multiple awards followed the work.

Kelly Bowen writes historical romance, largely Regency, across 15 catalogued books published between 2014 and 2024. Dukes, earls and the English aristocracy supply the cast, in the Lords of Worth, Season for Scandal and Devils of Dover series. Bowen grew up in Manitoba, Canada, worked as a back country trail guide and ranch hand, and took a Master of Science degree in veterinary physiology and endocrinology before an infatuation with history and love stories led her to romance. I've Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm (2014) opens the run.