Queens book series in reading order

by Erica David

by Anne Bishop

by Shannon Hale

Victoria Holt's catalogue runs to 185 books published between 1940 and 1995, covering historical fiction, historical romance and mystery. Daughter of Anna (1940) is the earliest title, and Daughters of England (1995) the latest. The listing gathers several credits under other names, including titles marked as Jean Plaidy. Series include Tudor Saga, Plantagenet Saga, Georgian Saga, Stuart Saga, Norman Trilogy, Queen Victoria and Lucrezia Borgia. Kings, queens, England and France are frequent subjects.

Alison Weir is a British historian and author who writes about English royalty, and about royal women in particular. Weir's first book, Britain's Royal Families (1989), set out a genealogy of the British royal family; biographies of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Katherine Swynford and Elizabeth of York followed, alongside studies of Henry VIII and his court and of the Princes in the Tower. Weir writes historical fiction as well, including the Six Tudor Queens and Tudor Rose novels. The catalogue holds 59 titles between 1989 and 2026, the most recent being The Boleyn Secret.

Carolly Erickson wrote history and historical fiction, from The Records of Medieval Europe (1971) to The Spanish Queen (2013). An American author born 1 January 1943 and died 11 November 2020, Erickson took the RT Reader's Choice Award for best Historical Fiction in 2008 for The Tsarina's Daughter. English royalty supplies most of the subject matter: Bloody Mary (1978), Great Harry (1980), The First Elizabeth (1983) and Mistress Anne (1984) all treat the Tudors, with Josephine and Royal Panoply, both 1980, beside them. The catalogue holds 28 books at a median of 368 pages.

Philippa Gregory

46 books• 11 series

Philippa Gregory is an English historical novelist, born in Kenya on 9 January 1954, publishing since 1987. The Other Boleyn Girl (2001) won the Romantic Novelists' Association's Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2002 and became two films. AudioFile magazine named Gregory the queen of British historical fiction. The catalogue holds 46 books from Wideacre (1987) to Royal Witch (2026). Series include Plantagenet and Tudor, Order of Darkness, Wideacre, Fairmile, Tradescant and Princess Rules, alongside children's books and non-fiction. Queens, kings and rulers, England and sisters recur in the subjects.

Norah Lofts (27 August 1904 – 10 September 1983), born Norah Ethel Robinson, was a British writer of more than fifty books who also published as Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley. Historical fiction rooted in English history was the Lofts specialty, though the output also covers mysteries, short stories and non-fiction. Lofts wrote novels, the Suffolk Trilogy among them, that trace particular houses and their occupants across generations. The catalogue holds 62 titles, from I Met a Gypsy (1935) to The Story of Maude Reed, dated 2024, and one 1940 entry carries the Peter Curtis byline. Series listed are House, Sir Godfrey Tallboys and Gad's Hall.

Karen Harper wrote historical fiction, romantic suspense and Amish-set novels. The catalogue holds 72 books, from Island Ecstasy (1982) to The Queen's Secret (2020), taking in The Last Boleyn (1983) and The First Princess of Wales (1984). The Elizabeth I Mysteries, the South Shores books, the Amish Home Valley and Maplecreek trilogies, and the Morgan Sisters series written as Caryn Cameron organise much of it.

Antonia Fraser

40 books• 3 series

Antonia Fraser, born Antonia Pakenham on 27 August 1932, is a British writer of history, biography, novels and detective fiction. Fraser is the widow of Harold Pinter, the 2005 Nobel laureate in literature, and was known as Lady Antonia Pinter until his death in 2008. The catalogue runs to 40 books between 1954 and 2023, setting biographies and histories such as Mary Queen of Scots (1969), Cromwell (1973) and The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England (1975) beside the Jemima Shore detective novels. Subjects record kings and rulers, queens, England and women detectives.

Jeffe Kennedy

63 books• 14 series

Jeffe Kennedy writes fantasy romance and erotic romance. Her Twelve Kingdoms, Uncharted Realms and Chronicles of Dasnaria series were published by Kensington, and The Orchid Throne (2019) opened the Forgotten Empires for St. Martin's Press. The Pages of the Mind took the 2017 RITA Award for Best Paranormal Romance. Kennedy's catalogue holds 63 titles published between 2004 and 2026, most recently Princes, Potions, and Pixie Dust (2026), at a median of 368 pages.

Jennifer Ashley, whose full name is Jennifer Ashley Gardner, sold a first novel in 2002 and made a second sale to Berkley with a series of historical mysteries. The catalogue counts 157 books from Perils of the Heart (2002) to Murder on the Rhône (2026). Series include Shifters Unbound, Captain Lacey Mysteries, Highland Pleasures, Kat Holloway Mysteries, Stormwalker, Riding Hard, Leonidas the Gladiator Mystery, Nvengaria and the McLaughlin Brothers. Subjects span paranormal romance, shapeshifting, historical romance and historical fiction. Ashley holds a master's degree in English literature and placed a first short story in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.

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.

Michelle Moran is an American novelist of historical fiction. Egypt supplies the first three books, Nefertiti (2007), The Heretic Queen (2008) and Cleopatra's Daughter (2009), and later titles take in Madame Tussaud (2011), The Second Empress (2012), Rebel Queen (2015), Mata Hari's Last Dance (2016) and Maria (2024). Nine books are catalogued to 2024, with queens, kings and rulers, Egypt, India and the First World War among the recorded subjects.

Joan Holub, born in Texas in 1956, has written and illustrated over 180 children's books and also publishes as Rita Book and Brad Bucks. The catalogue lists 184 Holub titles from If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution (1987) to This Little Engineer (2023), with a median length of 48 pages. Subject tags include Greek mythology, Greek goddesses, stories in rhyme, schools and ants. Holub series include Goddess Girls, Mini Myths, Ant Hill, Doll Hospital, Young Princesses Around the World and Smart About History.

Mike Ashley is a British bibliographer, author and editor working in science fiction, mystery and fantasy. Ashley edits the Mammoth Book anthologies, each built on a theme, and has a particular interest in fiction magazines. Magazine histories include a multi-volume History of the Science Fiction Magazine and The Age of the Storytellers. Ashley has published over 100 nonfiction books and anthologies; this catalogue lists 40, from History of Science Fiction Magazine Volume 1: 1926-1935 (1974) to Weird Sisters (2025).

Erica David writes media tie-in fiction for children. The catalogue holds 31 books published between 2004 and 2019, with Disney Frozen: Anna & Elsa and Legend of Korra recorded as series and SpongeBob SquarePants among the subjects. Titles include Hotel For Dogs Movie Novelization (2008), My Name Is CheeseHead (2008), The Eye of the Fry Cook (2009) and The Great Patty Caper (2010). Recorded subjects also cover sisters, magic, queens, princesses and snowmen. The recorded editions run to a median of 124 pages.

Manda Scott

21 books• 5 series

Manda Scott, born in 1962, trained as a veterinary surgeon at the University of Glasgow before becoming a novelist, columnist, blogger, podcaster and occasional broadcaster. Scott grew up in Glasgow and now lives in Shropshire. Her 21 books start with Hen's Teeth (1996). Dreaming the Eagle (2003), Dreaming the Bull, Dreaming the Hound and Dreaming the Serpent Spear followed, and the Iceni, Romans and Britons are listed subjects. Scott's series are Boudica, Rome, Kellen Stewart, Storycuts and Capitaine Inés Picaut, and Any Human Power (2024) is her newest book.

Sarah J. Maas, born March 5, 1986, is an American fantasy author known for three series: Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City. The catalogue holds 45 books dated 2012 to 2027, starting in 2012 with The Assassin and the Pirate Lord and Throne of Glass, then Crown of Midnight in 2013. A Court of Splintered Harmony (2026) is the newest release, and A Court of Forgotten Melody is scheduled for 2027. Subjects across the books include fairies, assassins, magic, courts and courtiers, and romance. By 2024 Maas had sold more than 75 million copies, with translations in 40 languages.

Mercedes Lackey

230 books• 52 series

Valdemar, a country in the world of Velgarth, is the setting for many of Mercedes Lackey's interlinked fantasy novels and trilogies. Lackey, an American writer born on June 24, 1950, brings human and non-human protagonists from many cultures together in the Valdemar books. A second Lackey setting resembles Earth but hides populations of elves, mages, vampires and other mythical beings. Bedlam's Bard follows a young man who works magic through music, SERRAted Edge features elves who race cars, and the Diana Tregarde thrillers star a Wiccan fighting evil. Arrows of the Queen (1987), Arrow's Flight (1987) and Arrow's Fall (1988) are among the listed titles, and Elemental Masters and Five Hundred Kingdoms are further series.

Sarah Beth Durst

34 books• 5 series

Sarah Beth Durst, born May 23, 1974, is an American fantasy author writing for adult, young adult and middle grade readers. The catalogue lists 36 books, starting with Into the Wild (2007) and Out of the Wild (2008), with The Faraway Inn (2026) the newest and The Imagitorium due in 2027. Series include Queens of Renthia and Spellshop. The Queen of Blood (2016) received a 2017 Alex Award from the American Library Association. The Spellshop (2024) and The Enchanted Greenhouse (2025) both reached the New York Times Bestseller List. Magic, dragons, fairy tales, quests and polar bears are among the recorded subjects.

Chris Colfer

20 books• 6 series

The Land of Stories is Chris Colfer's main series, with fairy tales, twins and the characters of literature among its subject tags. The Wishing Spell (2012) and Struck by Lightning (2012) are the earliest of 20 catalogued titles, which reach Roswell Johnson Saves the Galaxy! (2025). A Tale of Magic, the Land of Stories picture books and the graphic novels extend the work. Magic, fairies, secrets and books and reading recur.

Andre Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 to March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who also produced historical and contemporary fiction, and used the names Andrew North and Allen Weston as well. Norton was the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master, and the first inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. The catalogue carries 209 books from The Prince Commands (1934) onward. Witch World, Solar Queen, Time Traders, Beast Master and Forerunner are series.

Anne Bishop writes dark fantasy. The Black Jewels series begins with Daughter of the Blood (1998) and runs on witches and the imagined realm of Terreille; The Others and the World of the Others turn to shapeshifters, werewolves and vampires. Ephemera, Tir Alainn and An Isle of Wyrd fill out 32 catalogued titles, with Storms of Fate scheduled for 2027. Books run 430 pages at the median.

Mark Lawrence, born in 1966, is an American-British novelist and the author of The Broken Empire trilogy. Emperor of Thorns won the David Gemmell Award for Fantasy for best novel in 2014, and The Liar's Key took the same prize in 2016. Lawrence runs the annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. The catalogue lists 38 works, from During the Dance (2004) and Prince of Thorns (2011) to The Bookshop Book (2026). Other series include Red Queen's War, Book of the Ancestor, Book of the Ice, Impossible Times and the Library Trilogy.

Paul Doherty writes historical mysteries set largely in England, with 127 books catalogued from The Death of a King (1985) to The Meadows of Murder (2026). Recurring detectives include Hugh Corbett, Brother Athelstan, Kathryn Swinbrooke and Amerotke. Other series cover the Canterbury Tales Mysteries, Ancient Rome, Egyptian Mysteries, Nicholas Segalla, Mathilde of Westminster, Margaret Beaufort and Vlad Drakulya. Satan in St Mary's (1986) and Spy in Chancery (1988) are among the early titles.

Shannon Hale

62 books• 11 series

Shannon Hale, born Shannon Bryner on January 26, 1974, is an American author mainly of young adult fantasy. Princess Academy (2005) earned a Newbery Honor, and The Goose Girl (2003) opens the catalogue. Austenland (2007), the first novel for adults, became a film in 2013. Hale graduated from the University of Utah and the University of Montana, and has co-written with husband Dean Hale. The catalogue lists 63 titles through The Princess in Black and the Trick-or-Treating Trouble (2026), across series including Princess In Black, Books of Bayern, Real Friends and Kitty-Corn.