Anthony Powell Reading Order

2 books (1971–1979)

Anthony Powell edited two complete anthologies published in the 1970s that should be read in publication order. Marcel Proust 1871-1922: A Centennial Volume appeared first in 1971, followed by Best for Winter in 1979. These literary and non-fiction collections are standalone works rather than a continuous narrative series.

Start with Marcel Proust 1871-1922: A Centennial Volume and read in order.

#	Title
1	Marcel Proust 1871-1922: A Centennial Volume 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Best for Winter 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1994–1994)

#	Title
1	Reference For Mellors 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

13 books (1951–2009)

Anthony Powell's Dance To The Music Of Time is a 13-book literary fiction series published between 1951 and 2009. The complete sequence should be read in publication order, beginning with A Question of Upbringing and concluding with Hearing Secret Harmonies, with a final supplementary volume titled 4th Movement released decades after the main narrative concluded. This ambitious work traces the interconnected lives of numerous characters across several decades of twentieth-century British society through the perspective of its narrator, Nicholas Jenkins.

Start with A Question of Upbringing, the first of 13 books in the Dance To The Music Of Time series.

#	Title
1	A Question of Upbringing 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Buyer's Market 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Acceptance World 1955Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	At Lady Molly's 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Casanova's Chinese Restaurant 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Kindly Ones 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Valley of Bones 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Soldier's Art 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Military Philosophers 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Books Do Furnish a Room 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Temporary Kings 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Hearing Secret Harmonies 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	4th Movement 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

10 books (1948–2017)

Anthony Powell's Non-Fiction series comprises ten essays, journals, and collected writings spanning from 1948 to 2017. The collection includes his biographical study of John Aubrey, reflections on empire, literary criticism, personal journals from the 1980s and 1990s, and his writings on wine and the arts. All ten books should be read in publication order to follow the chronological development of Powell's thought and commentary across nearly seven decades. The series is complete and offers insight into the mind of this prolific twentieth-century writer through his non-fiction prose.

Start with John Aubrey and His Friends, the first of 10 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	John Aubrey and His Friends 1948Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Empire Revisited 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Miscellaneous Verdicts 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Under Review 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Journals, 1982-86 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Journals, 1987-89 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Journals, 1990-1992 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	A Writer's Notebook 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Some Poets, Artists & 'A Reference for Mellors' 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Anthony Powell on Wine 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (1971–1971)

#	Title
1	The Garden God & The Rest I'll Whistle 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (1931–1986)

Anthony Powell's seven novels span from 1931 to 1986 and are best read in publication order, beginning with Afternoon Men. Though presented as standalone works rather than a continuous narrative, these literary fiction novels should be approached sequentially to appreciate Powell's evolving style and thematic preoccupations across more than five decades. The series is complete and comprises Afternoon Men, Venusberg, From a View to a Death, Agents and Patients, What's Become of Waring, O, How the Wheel Becomes It!, and The Fisher King.

Start with Afternoon Men, the first of 7 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Afternoon Men 1931Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Venusberg 1932Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	From a View to a Death 1933Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Agents and Patients 1936Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	What's Become of Waring 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	O, How the Wheel Becomes It! 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Fisher King 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1976–1984)

Anthony Powell's five-volume memoir series To Keep the Ball Rolling spans from 1976 to 1984 and covers his life and literary career in the twentieth century. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Infants of the Spring and concluding with the titular To Keep the Ball Rolling. Between these bookends are Messengers of Day, Faces in My Time, and The Strangers All Are Gone. Powell's memoir offers a literary figure's retrospective account of his formative years, professional experiences, and encounters with notable contemporaries in the English literary world.

Start with Infants of the Spring, the first of 5 books in the To Keep The Ball Rolling: The Memoirs Of series.

#	Title
1	Infants of the Spring 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Messengers of Day 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Faces in My Time 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Strangers All Are Gone 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	To Keep the Ball Rolling 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible