George Orwell Reading Order
8 series · 171 books · Born 1903-06-25
Eric Arthur Blair, writing under the pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist and political commentator whose sharp satirical voice dissected totalitarianism and social inequality throughout the twentieth century. His dystopian fiction and incisive essays blend psychological insight with accessible prose, making complex political ideas comprehensible to general readers. Orwell's output spanning multiple genres reflects his conviction that literature could serve as a tool for exposing injustice and defending democratic values.
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Anthologies Series
Complete7 books (2000–2018)
This seven-book anthology series curated by George Orwell spans from 2000 to 2018 and is now complete. The collection includes The Eloquent Essay, 40 Model Essays, Empire Tales, Life Is Short – Art Is Shorter: In Praise of Brevity, Winter: A Folio Anthology, Letters to Change the World: From Pankhurst to Orwell, and Writers: Their Lives and Works. Read the books in publication order to follow how the anthology selections and themes evolve across nearly two decades.
Start with The Eloquent Essay, the first of 7 books in the Anthologies series.
Start this series with The Eloquent Essay
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Essays Series
Complete3 books (1931–1947)
George Orwell's Essays collection consists of three complete works published between 1931 and 1947 that should be read in publication order. The series includes A Hanging, Charles Dickens, and Some Thoughts on the Common Toad, offering Orwell's distinctive perspectives on literature, politics, and everyday life. These essays showcase his non-fiction writing across a range of thoughtful, often provocative subjects that remain relevant to contemporary readers.
Start with A Hanging and read in order.
Start this series with A Hanging
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
Gothic Fantasy Series
Ongoing95 books (1667–2026)
This 91-book Gothic Fantasy series spans from 1667 to 2026 and remains ongoing, featuring works across fantasy, horror, and non-fiction genres. The collection should be read in publication order, beginning with Paradise Lost and Other Poems by John Milton and progressing through classic and contemporary short story anthologies, individual author collections, and thematic compilations. Entries range from foundational works by literary masters like Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft to modern horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy contributions. The series encompasses 79 additional titles beyond the initial offerings, creating a comprehensive exploration of gothic and speculative fiction traditions.
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 |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 34 |  Cosy Crime Short Stories(By: Arthur Conan Doyle,E.E. King,G.K. Chesterton,R. Austin Freeman,Arnold Bennett,Edgar Wallace,Arthur Morrison,Martin Edwards,Ernest Bramah,Maurice Leblanc,Amanda C. Davis,Stephanie Bedwell-Grime,Emmuska Orczy,Israel Zangwill,Anna Katharine Green,Catherine Louisa Pirkis,Flame Tree Studio,Andrew Forrester,Nancy Sweetland,Jeffrey B. Burton,Louise Taylor,Annette Siketa,Philip Brian Hall,Tom Mead,C.B. Channell,Michael Martin Garrett,Trixie Nisbet,Joshua Boyce,Sarah Holly Bryant,Gregory Von Dare,B. David Spicer,Elise Warner,Anton Chekhov) |
| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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 | 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,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) |
| 51 | 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) |
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Graphic Novels Series
Complete1 book (2018–2018)
Non-Fiction Series
Likely Complete58 books (1933–2022)
George Orwell's Non-Fiction series spans fifty-eight works published between 1933 and 2022, presenting his essays, journalism, and cultural criticism in chronological order. Beginning with Down and Out in Paris and London, the collection traces Orwell's evolving perspectives on politics, literature, and society through individual essays and compiled selections. The series should be read in publication order to follow the development of his thought across nearly a century of assembled writings. This comprehensive body of work remains largely complete, offering readers access to Orwell's shorter prose pieces alongside his observations on everything from tea-making to totalitarianism.
Start with Down and Out in Paris and London, the first of 58 books in the Non-Fiction series.
Start this series with Down and Out in Paris and London
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Odyr Graphic Novels Series
Complete1 book (2018–2018)
Short Stories/Novellas Series
Complete1 book (1945–1945)
Standalone Novels Series
Complete5 books (1934–1949)
George Orwell's five standalone novels, published between 1934 and 1949, offer darkly satirical examinations of mid-twentieth-century life. These independent works—Burmese Days, A Clergyman's Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Coming Up for Air, and 1984—are best read in publication order to trace the evolution of Orwell's literary vision. The complete series spans from his early explorations of colonial disillusionment and social anxiety to his dystopian masterpiece, presenting his full range as a novelist across genres including fiction and social commentary.
Start with Burmese Days, the first of 5 books in the Standalone Novels series.
Start this series with Burmese Days
Buy Book 1 🇺🇸🎧 Listen free on Audible
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has George Orwell written?
- George Orwell has written 171 books across 8 series. Their published works span from 1667 to 2026.
- What is the first book in each George Orwell series?
- Here are the first books in George Orwell's series: Anthologies: The Eloquent Essay; Essays: A Hanging; Gothic Fantasy: Paradise Lost & Other Poems(By: John Milton); Non-Fiction: Down and Out in Paris and London.
- What order should I read George Orwell's books?
- We recommend reading George Orwell's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Is George Orwell still writing new books?
- Yes, George Orwell has 1 ongoing series: Gothic Fantasy.