William Shakespeare Reading Order
7 series · 106 books
William Shakespeare was a renowned English playwright, poet, and actor, celebrated for his profound impact on literature and drama. His extensive body of work includes 106 titles across seven series, encompassing genres such as comedy, tragedy, and historical plays, as well as collections and contributions to the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets. Active from 1590 until 2024, he remains most famous for timeless classics like "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet."
Anthologies Series
Complete5 books (1992–2018)
Start with On Suicide: Great Writers on the Ultimate Question, the first of 5 books in the Anthologies series.
Collections Series
Ongoing6 books (1995–2024)
Start with The Prince's Choice, the first of 6 books in the Collections series.
Comedy Plays Series
Complete16 books (1593–1634)
Start with The Tempest, the first of 16 books in the Comedy Plays series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  The Tempest 1593Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Measure for Measure 1594Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  The Comedy of Errors 1594Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  The Merry Wives of Windsor 1594Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  Love's Labour's Lost 1595Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Much Ado About Nothing 1595Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  The Merchant of Venice 1598Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  As You Like It 1599Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 | The Taming of the Shrew 1599Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  All's Well That Ends Well 1604Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  The Winter's Tale 1605Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  Twelfth Night 1605Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 | Pericles 1606Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  The Two Noble Kinsmen 1634Buy 🇺🇸 |
Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series
Ongoing28 books (1671–2024)
Start with Herbert: Poems(By: ), the first of 28 books in the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Herbert: Poems(By: ) 1671Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 | Wordsworth: Poems(By: William Wordsworth) 1802Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Byron: Poems(By: Lord Byron) 1816Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Keats: Poems(By: John Keats) 1817Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Blake: Poems(By: William Blake) 1827Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Coleridge: Poems(By: Samuel Taylor Coleridge) 1834Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  Poe: Poems(By: Edgar Allan Poe) 1882Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Tennyson: Poems(By: Alfred Tennyson) 1892Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Kipling: Poems(By: Rudyard Kipling) 1907Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Milton: Poems(By: John Milton) 1936Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  Baudelaire: Poems(By: Charles Baudelaire) 1942Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  Eliot: Poems(By: T.S. Eliot) 1955Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  Shakespeare: Poems 1958Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  Hardy: Poems(By: Thomas Hardy) 1977Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Rossetti: Poems(By: Christina Rossetti) 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  Shelley: Poems(By: Percy Bysshe Shelley) 1993Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Donne: Poems(By: John Donne) 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  Browning: Poems(By: Robert Browning,Elizabeth Barrett Browning) 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  Frost: Poems(By: Robert Frost) 1997Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  Emerson: Poems(By: Ralph Waldo Emerson) 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  Marvell: Poems(By: ) 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 |  Burns: Poems(By: Robert Burns) 2006Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 |  Mozart: Letters(By: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 |  Robinson: Poems(By: Edwin Arlington Robinson) 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 |  Millay: Poems(By: Edna St. Vincent Millay) 2010Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 |  The Best of Archy and Mehitabel(By: Don Marquis) 2011Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  Rumi: Poems(By: Jalaluddin Rumi) 2019Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 |  Cold Mountain Poems(By: Hanshan) 2024Buy 🇺🇸 |
History Plays Series
Complete11 books (1590–1598)
Start with Henry IV, Part 2, the first of 11 books in the History Plays series.
Poetry for Young People Series
Complete28 books (1977–2017)
Start with Walt Whitman(By: Walt Whitman), the first of 28 books in the Poetry for Young People series.
| # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Walt Whitman(By: Walt Whitman) 1977Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 2 |  Emily Dickinson(By: Emily Dickinson) 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 3 |  Robert Frost(By: Robert Frost) 1994Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 4 |  Carl Sandburg(By: Carl Sandburg) 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 5 |  Edgar Allan Poe(By: Edgar Allan Poe) 1995Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 6 |  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) 1998Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 7 |  Edna St. Vincent Millay(By: Edna St. Vincent Millay) 1999Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 8 |  Lewis Carroll(By: Lewis Carroll) 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 9 |  Robert Louis Stevenson(By: Robert Louis Stevenson) 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 10 |  Rudyard Kipling(By: Rudyard Kipling) 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 11 |  William Shakespeare 2000Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 12 |  Edward Lear(By: Edward Lear) 2001Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 13 |  American Poetry(By: John Hollander) 2002Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 14 |  William Butler Yeats(By: W.B. Yeats) 2002Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 15 |  Alfred Tennyson(By: Alfred Tennyson) 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 16 |  Robert Browning(By: Robert Browning) 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 17 | Samuel Taylor Coleridge(By: Samuel Taylor Coleridge) 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 18 |  William Carlos Williams(By: William Carlos Williams) 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 19 |  William Wordsworth(By: William Wordsworth) 2003Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 20 |  Animal Poems(By: John Hollander) 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 21 |  The Seasons(By: John N. Serio) 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 22 |  Wallace Stevens(By: Wallace Stevens) 2004Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 23 |  Langston Hughes(By: Langston Hughes) 2006Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 24 |  Poetry for Young People(By: Maya Angelou) 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 25 |  William Blake(By: William Blake) 2007Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 26 | Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg(By: Carl Sandburg) 2008Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 27 |  African American Poetry(By: Karen Barbour) 2013Buy 🇺🇸 |
| 28 |  Poetry for Kids: Walt Whitman(By: Walt Whitman) 2017Buy 🇺🇸 |
Tragedy Plays Series
Complete12 books (1592–1610)
Start with Troilus and Cressida, the first of 12 books in the Tragedy Plays series.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many books has William Shakespeare written?
- William Shakespeare has written 106 books across 7 series. Their published works span from 1590 to 2024.
- What is the first book in each William Shakespeare series?
- Here are the first books in William Shakespeare's series: Anthologies: On Suicide: Great Writers on the Ultimate Question; Collections: The Prince's Choice; Comedy Plays: The Tempest; Everyman's Library Pocket Poets: Herbert: Poems(By: ); History Plays: Henry IV, Part 2.
- What order should I read William Shakespeare's books?
- We recommend reading William Shakespeare's series in publication order. Each series can be read independently.
- Is William Shakespeare still writing new books?
- Yes, William Shakespeare has 2 ongoing series: Collections, Everyman's Library Pocket Poets.