Susan Hill Reading Order

12 books (1979–2012)

This 12-book anthology series spans from 1979 to 2012 and should be read in publication order, beginning with Best for Winter. The complete collection includes various themed anthologies edited by Susan Hill, featuring short stories and selections across literary fiction and other genres. These standalone anthologies can be enjoyed individually, though reading them in order provides a chronological view of Hill's editorial selections and the evolution of short story collections over more than three decades.

Start with Best for Winter, the first of 12 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Best for Winter 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	New Stories 5: An Arts Council Anthology 1980Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	People 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Parchment Moon 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Random House Book of Ghost Stories 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Walker Book of Ghost Stories 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Penguin Book of Modern Women's Short Stories 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Contemporary Women's Short Stories 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Funny Stories 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Second Penguin Book of Modern Women's Short Stories 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	A Distant Cry 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Library Book 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1970–2021)

Susan Hill's Children's series comprises five books published across five decades, from 1970 to 2021, and should be read in publication order beginning with I'm The King Of The Castle. The series appears to be complete and spans literary fiction, young adult, and non-fiction works, including Hill's adaptations and original children's stories. Readers new to this series should start with the first book and progress through The Glass Angels, A Very Special Birthday, Friends Next Door, and conclude with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Start with I'm The King Of The Castle, the first of 5 books in the Children's series.

#	Title
1	I'm The King Of The Castle 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Glass Angels 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A Very Special Birthday 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Friends Next Door 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (1982–2009)

Susan Hill's non-fiction series comprises eleven books published between 1982 and 2009, exploring themes of nature, place, and domestic life through personal observation and reflection. The complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with The Magic Apple Tree and concluding with Howards End is on the Landing. Each volume stands as an independent exploration while contributing to Hill's broader meditation on landscape, literature, and everyday experience across British settings.

Start with The Magic Apple Tree, the first of 11 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	The Magic Apple Tree 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Through the Kitchen Window 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Through the Garden Gate 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Lanterns Across the Snow 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Shakespeare Country 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Lighting of the Lamps 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Spirit of the Cotswolds 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Family 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Spirit of Britain 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Reflections from a Garden 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Howards End is on the Landing 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

9 books (1985–1993)

The Picture series by Susan Hill consists of nine complete books published between 1985 and 1993. These literary and young adult works should be read in publication order, beginning with One Night at a Time / Go Away Bad Dreams and concluding with King of Kings. The series spans multiple interconnected stories across its full run.

Start with One Night at a Time / Go Away Bad Dreams, the first of 9 books in the Picture series.

#	Title
1	One Night at a Time / Go Away Bad Dreams 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Can It Be True? 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Mother's Magic 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Suzy's Shoes 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	I Won't Go There Again 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Septimus Honeydew 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Pirate Poll 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Beware Beware 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	King of Kings 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

8 books (1972–2014)

Susan Hill's collection of eight short stories and novellas spans from 1972 to 2014 and should be read in publication order beginning with The Custodian. The series is now complete and includes The Albatross, The Elephant Man, Crystal, Black Sheep, Hunger, Printer's Devil Court, and Irish Twins. These literary works showcase Hill's range across fiction and other narrative forms throughout her writing career.

Start with The Custodian, the first of 8 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	The Custodian 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Albatross 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Elephant Man 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Crystal 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Black Sheep 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Hunger 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Printer's Devil Court 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Irish Twins 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (1971–2020)

Susan Hill's Short Story Collections series comprises eleven books of literary fiction published between 1971 and 2020, presenting a complete collection that should be read in publication order. The series begins with The Albatross and Other Stories and concludes with Walter & Florence and Other Stories, offering readers a comprehensive selection of Hill's short fiction spanning nearly five decades. These collections showcase her versatility across multiple genres including literary fiction, young adult, and non-fiction storytelling.

Start with The Albatross and Other Stories, the first of 11 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	The Albatross and Other Stories 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Bit of Singing and Dancing and Other Stories 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Cold Country, And Other Plays For Radio 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Stories from Codling Village 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Christmas Collection 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Listening to the Orchestra 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read and Other Stories 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Farthing House and Other Stories 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Woman in Black and Other Ghost Stories 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Travelling Bag and Other Ghostly Stories 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Walter & Florence and Other Stories 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

15 books (2004–2021)

The Simon Serrailler series consists of 15 novels published between 2004 and 2021, following a detective protagonist through a succession of interconnected cases. Though the series appears to be complete as of 2021, readers should approach these books in publication order to fully appreciate character development and ongoing storylines. Each novel is self-contained enough to be read independently, but the cumulative effect of reading them chronologically enhances understanding of the detective's personal growth and professional challenges. Begin with The Various Haunts of Men and continue through A Change of Circumstance for the complete experience.

Start with The Various Haunts of Men, the first of 15 books in the Simon Serrailler series.

#	Title
1	The Various Haunts of Men 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Pure in Heart 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Risk of Darkness 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Vows of Silence 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Shadows in the Street 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Betrayal of Trust 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	A Question of Identity 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	A Breach of Security 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Soul of Discretion 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Hero 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Old Haunts 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Comforts of Home 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Revenge 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Benefit of Hindsight 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	A Change of Circumstance 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

18 books (1961–2017)

Susan Hill's literary fiction career spans from 1961 to 2017 and encompasses 18 standalone novels that should be read in publication order beginning with The Enclosure. Her works, which blend literary fiction with occasional ventures into young adult and nonfiction, include notable titles such as Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, In the Springtime of the Year, Air and Angels, The Mist in the Mirror, Mrs. deWinter, and The Small Hand. Though each novel stands independently, reading them chronologically through Hill's publishing journey offers insight into the evolution of her distinctive narrative voice and thematic concerns. The series is now complete.

Start with The Enclosure, the first of 18 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	The Enclosure 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Do Me a Favour 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Gentleman and Ladies 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Change for the Better 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Strange Meeting 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Bird of Night 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	In the Springtime of the Year 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Air and Angels 1991Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Mist in the Mirror 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Mrs. deWinter 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Service of Clouds 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Man in the Picture 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Beacon 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Battle for Gullywith 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Small Hand 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	A Kind Man 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Dolly Signed 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	From the Heart 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1983–2013)

Susan Hill's The Woman in Black series consists of two complete works spanning three decades. The first novel was published in 1983, followed by The Woman in Black: Angel of Death in 2013, which was written by Martyn Waites. These literary fiction titles should be read in publication order, beginning with Hill's original work before proceeding to the sequel.

Start with The Woman in Black and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Woman in Black 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Woman in Black: Angel of Death(By: Martyn Waites) 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible