G.K. Chesterton Reading Order
16 series · 244 books
G.K. Chesterton was an prolific English writer whose career spanned multiple genres including detective fiction, essays, poetry, and theological works. He is most famous for creating Father Brown, a shrewd Catholic priest-detective whose cases combine mystery with moral and spiritual inquiry. Chesterton's writing is distinguished by its wit, paradoxical philosophy, and exploration of Christian thought, making him a major figure in both literature and apologetics during the early twentieth century.
Anthologies Series
Likely Complete14 books (1931–2023)
Start with Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror, the first of 14 books in the Anthologies series.
Start this series with Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 |
Chesterton's Biographies Non-Fiction Series
Complete14 books (1902–2018)
Start with Robert Louis Stevenson, the first of 14 books in the Chesterton's Biographies Non-Fiction series.
Start this series with Robert Louis Stevenson
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 |
E.C. Bentley Collections Series
Complete5 books (1905–1982)
Start with Biography for Beginners(With: E.C. Bentley), the first of 5 books in the E.C. Bentley Collections series.
Start this series with Biography for Beginners(With: E.C. Bentley)
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 |
Father Brown Series
Complete5 books (1911–1935)
Start with The Innocence of Father Brown, the first of 5 books in the Father Brown series.
Start this series with The Innocence of Father Brown
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
Father Brown Collections Series
Complete7 books (1927–1936)
Start with Father Brown Stories, the first of 7 books in the Father Brown Collections series.
Start this series with Father Brown Stories
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 |
Gothic Fantasy Series
Ongoing94 books (1667–2026)
Start with Paradise Lost & Other Poems(By: John Milton), the first of 91 books in the Gothic Fantasy series.
Start this series with Paradise Lost & Other Poems(By: John Milton)
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 |  Chilling Ghost Short Stories(By: Charles Dickens,Arthur Conan Doyle,Edgar Allan Poe,Robert Louis Stevenson,Wilkie Collins,Nikolai Gogol,J. Sheridan Le Fanu,E. Nesbit,Henry James,W.W. Jacobs,Oscar Wilde,Washington Irving,Edith Wharton,M.R. James,James Dorr,E.F. Benson,Mary E. Wilkins Freeman,Amanda C. Davis,Robert W. Chambers,Kurt Bachard,Raymond Little,Brian Rappatta,Tim Foley,Vonnie Winslow Crist,Michael Penkas,Jonathan Balog,Donna Cuttress,Luke Murphy,Annette Siketa,Philip Brian Hall,Rhiannon Rasmussen,Jeff Parsons,M.Regan,Zach Chapman,Lesa Pascavis Smith,Trevor Boelter,Laura Bulbeck,Dale Townshend,Cathy Smith) |
| 5 |  Chilling Horror Short Stories(By: Charles Dickens,Arthur Conan Doyle,Bram Stoker,Edgar Allan Poe,Robert Louis Stevenson,Elizabeth Gaskell,J. Sheridan Le Fanu,Guy de Maupassant,Thomas Hardy,Ambrose Bierce,H.P. Lovecraft,Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,Nathaniel Hawthorne,Edith Wharton,D.H. Lawrence,Lucy Taylor,William Hope Hodgson,A. Merritt,John Buchan,F. Marion Crawford,Robert E. Howard,C.L. Moore,Frank Long,Robert W. Chambers,Rebecca J. Allred,Frank Roger,Gwendolyn Kiste,Elise Forier Edie,Michael Paul Gonzalez,D.J. Tyrer,William R.D. Wood,Kristopher Triana,James Lecky,Glen Damien Campbell,Justin Coates,John H. Dromey,Andrew J. Wilson,Bill Kte'pi,Ed Grabianowski,Gillian Whitaker,Nick Wells,Laura Bulbeck,Dale Townshend,Michael Bondies,David A Elsensohn,Eric Esser,John Neruda,Frances Bodlam,Josie Mitchell) |
| 6 |  Science Fiction Short Stories(By: David Tallerman,Rachael K. Jones,Sarah Hans,Brian Trent,Adrian Ludens,Keyan Bowes,Beth Cato,Andy Sawyer,Zach Shephard,Alexis A. Hunter,M. Darusha Wehm,Edward Ahern,Patrick Tumblety,Donald Jacob Uitvlugt,Kate O'Connor,Conor Powers-Smith,Stewart C. Baker,MikeMorgan,Nemma Wollenfang,Jacob M. Lambert,Laura Bulbeck,Rob Hartzell) |
| 7 | |
| 8 |  Dystopia Utopia Short Stories(By: Rudyard Kipling,Jack London,Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,Fyodor Dostoevsky,Kim Antieau,Voltaire,William Morris,Claude Lalumière,Robert W. Chambers,Samuel Butler,Gerri Leen,Konstantine Paradias,M. Darusha Wehm,Thomas More,Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain,Edward Bellamy,Carolyn Charron,Jeremy Szal,J.M. Templet,Steve Carr,Richard Jefferies,Michelle Kaseler,Andrew J. Wilson,Nidhi Singh,Jeff Parsons,Sarah Lyn Eaton,Megan Dorei,Dave Golder,Kelsey Shannahan,Russ Thorne) |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 | |
| 15 | |
| 16 | |
| 17 | |
| 18 | |
| 19 | |
| 20 | |
| 21 |  Alien Invasion Short Stories(By: H.G. Wells,H.P. Lovecraft,Jonathan Swift,A. Merritt,Voltaire,Claude Lalumière,Rich Larson,Rachael K. Jones,George Allan England,Patrick Parrinder,Austin Hall,William R.D. Wood,John Walters,Bo Balder,Maria Haskins,Garrett P. Serviss,Sunil Patel,Jennifer Rachel Baumer,Laura Pearlman,Robert Potter,Tim Pieraccini,Angus McIntyre,Suo Hefu,George Chesney,Stephen G. Parks,Eric Reitan,S.A. Westerley) |
| 22 | |
| 23 | |
| 24 | |
| 25 | |
| 26 | |
| 27 | |
| 28 | |
| 29 | |
| 30 | |
| 31 |  Robots & Artificial Intelligence Short Stories(By: George Cotronis,Rich Larson,Rachael K. Jones,Bruce Golden,Holly Lyn Walrath,Monte Lin,Eleanor R. Wood,David Sklar,Nemma Wollenfang,Deborah Davitt,Trixie Nisbet,Luke Dormehl,Roan Clay,Jeff Deck,Christopher Geeson,Rob Hartzell,Nathaniel Hosford,Chloie Piveral,Claire Sorrenson,Sara Uckelman) |
| 32 |  American Gothic Short Stories(By: Ramsey Campbell,Lucy A. Snyder,Lina Rather,Sean Logan,Wendy Nikel,Christi Nogle,Lynette Mejía,Madison McSweeney,Russell James,M.Regan,Monika Elbert,Terri Bruce,Maxx Fidalgo,Joshua Hiles,Clayton Kroh,Joe Nazare,Rebecca Ring,Mike Robinson,Valerie B. Williams,Nemma Wollenfang) |
| 33 | |
| 34 | |
| 35 |  Haunted House Short Stories(By: Edgar Allan Poe,O. Henry,Elizabeth Gaskell,J. Sheridan Le Fanu,Guy de Maupassant,E. Nesbit,Rudyard Kipling,Ramsey Campbell,Ambrose Bierce,W.W. Jacobs,H.P. Lovecraft,Mark Twain,Edith Wharton,Mary Elizabeth Braddon,Charlotte Perkins Gilman,M.R. James,Charlotte Eliza Riddell,E.F. Benson,William Hope Hodgson,Mary E. Wilkins Freeman,Edward Bulwer-Lytton,John Everson,Arthur Quiller-Couch,Rhoda Broughton,Bernard Capes,Gwendolyn Kiste,Hugh Walpole,Ralph Adams Cram,Mikal Trimm,Mrs. Oliphant,Zach Shephard,B.M. Croker,Shannon Fay,Morgan Sylvia,Kurt Newton,Tom English,Adele Gardner,Rebecca Buchanan,Rebecca Janicker,H.B. Diaz,Marina Favila,Bill Kte'pi,M.Regan) |
| 36 | |
| 37 | |
| 38 |  Urban Crime Short Stories(By: Ramsey Campbell,Josh Pachter,Judi Calhoun,David Tallerman,Rich Larson,Meg Elison,Dan Micklethwaite,Thana Niveau,Michael Penncavage,T.J. Berg,Chris Wheatley,Alexandra Renwick,Leo X. Robertson,K.W. Roberts,Rachel Watts,Jennifer Quail,Trixie Nisbet,Christopher P. Semtner,C.L. McDaniel,Salinda Tyson) |
| 39 | |
| 40 | |
| 41 | |
| 42 | |
| 43 | |
| 44 | |
| 45 | |
| 46 | |
| 47 |  Lovecraft Mythos New & Classic Collection(By: Robert Bloch,Ramsey Campbell,Ambrose Bierce,H.P. Lovecraft,Fritz Leiber,Henry Kuttner,Hal Bodner,Clark Ashton Smith,William Browning Spencer,Mark Samuels,Robert E. Howard,Victor LaValle,Frank Long,Lord Dunsany,Arthur Machen,Caitlín R. Kiernan,Robert W. Chambers,Nancy Kilpatrick,JG Faherty,Rachael K. Jones,Cody Goodfellow,Evey Brett,John Llewellyn Probert,Zealia Bishop,Hazel Heald,Jonathan Thomas,Donald Tyson,Thana Niveau,Douglas Wynne,Helen E. Davis,N.R. Lambert,Scott R. Jones,Gillian Whitaker,Nick Wells,Taylor Bentley,Catherine Taylor,Caroline Watson,August E. Derleth,John Possidente,R.S. Stefoff) |
| 48 | |
| 49 | Witches, Wizards, Seers & Healers Myths & Tales(By: Abbie Farwell Brown,Andrew Lang,Jacob Grimm,Wilhelm Grimm,Joseph Jacobs,Yei Theodora Ozaki,Douglas Hyde,Thomas Malory,Jeremiah Curtin,Henry Rowe Schoolcraft,Lewis Spence,Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford,James Mooney,Charles Godfrey Leland,Florence Holbrook,E.A. Wallis Budge,Richard Wilhelm,F. Hadland Davis,Norman Hinsdale Pitman,Yi Ryuk,Charles Montgomery Skinner,Edmund Leamy,Sophia Morrison,William Elliot Griffis,James Scarth Gale,Elphinstone Dayrell,Alice Werner,M.I. Ogumefu,William Butler Yeats,Diane Purkiss,George W. Bateman,Elsie Finnimore Buckley,Margaret Compton,Jonathan Ceredig Davies,George Douglas,Alice Elizabeth Dracott,George Grey,Francis Hindes Groome,H.A. Guerber,Eleanor Hull,W.F. Kirby,Ignác Kúnos,Minnie Martin,Frederick H. Martens,W.R.S. Ralston,A.G. Seklemian,Chauncy Hugh Stigand,J.R. Walker,E.T.C. Werner,William Drake Westervelt,Lady Wilde,Albert Henry Wratislaw) |
| 50 | Black Sci-Fi Short Stories(By: K. Tempest Bradford,Russell Nichols,Wole Talabi,W.E.B. Du Bois,Tara Campbell,Walidah Imarisha,James Beamon,Martin R. Delany,Sandra M. Grayson,Patty Nicole Johnson,Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins,Temi Oh,Michelle F. Goddard,Tia Ross,Harambee K. Grey-Sun,Sutton E. Griggs,Emmalia Harrington,Edward Johnson,Megan Pindling,Sylvie Soul,Lyle Stiles) |
| 51 | |
| 52 | |
| 53 | |
| 54 | |
| 55 | |
| 56 | |
| 57 | |
| 58 | |
| 59 | |
| 60 | |
| 61 | |
| 62 | |
| 63 | |
| 64 | |
| 65 | |
| 66 | |
| 67 | |
| 68 | |
| 69 | |
| 70 | |
| 71 | |
| 72 | |
| 73 | |
| 74 | |
| 75 | |
| 76 | |
| 77 | |
| 78 | |
| 79 | |
| 80 | |
| 81 | |
| 82 | |
| 83 | |
| 84 | |
| 85 | |
| 86 | |
| 87 | |
| 88 | |
| 89 | |
| 90 | |
| 91 | |
| 92 | |
| 93 | |
| 94 |
MIT Press/Radium Age Series
Ongoing13 books (2022–2025)
Start with A World of Women(By: J.D. Beresford), the first of 13 books in the MIT Press/Radium Age series.
Start this series with A World of Women(By: J.D. Beresford)
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 |
Murderous Christmas Stories Series
Likely Complete7 books (2016–2022)
Start with Murder under the Christmas Tree, the first of 7 books in the Murderous Christmas Stories series.
Start this series with Murder under the Christmas Tree
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 |
Non-Fiction Series
Likely Complete12 books (1901–2023)
Start with The Defendant, the first of 12 books in the Non-Fiction series.
Start this series with The Defendant
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 |
Picture Series
Complete1 book (1995–1995)
Poetry Series
Complete1 book (1911–1911)
Short Stories Series
Complete16 books (1905–2019)
Start with The Club of Queer Trades, the first of 16 books in the Short Stories series.
Start this series with The Club of Queer Trades
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 | |
| 15 | |
| 16 |
Short Story Collections Series
Complete26 books (1905–2020)
Start with Heretics, the first of 26 books in the Short Story Collections series.
Start this series with Heretics
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 | |
| 15 | |
| 16 | |
| 17 | |
| 18 | |
| 19 | |
| 20 | |
| 21 | |
| 22 | |
| 23 | |
| 24 | |
| 25 | |
| 26 |
Standalone Novels Series
Complete7 books (1904–2001)
Start with The Napoleon of Notting Hill, the first of 7 books in the Standalone Novels series.
Start this series with The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 |
Standalone Plays Series
Complete3 books (2018–2020)
Start with Magic: A Fantastic Comedy and read in order.
Start this series with Magic: A Fantastic Comedy
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton Series
Complete19 books (1936–2008)
Start with Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, the first of 19 books in the The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton series.
Start this series with Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 | |
| 15 | |
| 16 | |
| 17 | |
| 18 | |
| 19 |
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has G.K. Chesterton written?
- G.K. Chesterton has written 244 books across 16 series. Their published works span from 1667 to 2026.
- What is the first book in each G.K. Chesterton series?
- Here are the first books in G.K. Chesterton's series: Anthologies: Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror; Chesterton's Biographies Non-Fiction: Robert Louis Stevenson; E.C. Bentley Collections: Biography for Beginners(With: E.C. Bentley); Father Brown: The Innocence of Father Brown; Father Brown Collections: Father Brown Stories.
- What order should I read G.K. Chesterton's books?
- We recommend reading G.K. Chesterton's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Is G.K. Chesterton still writing new books?
- Yes, G.K. Chesterton has 2 ongoing series: Gothic Fantasy, MIT Press/Radium Age.