Jonathan Stroud Books in Order (Updated August 6, 2026)

Jonathan Stroud is a British fantasy author best known for the Bartimaeus Sequence, Lockwood & Co., and the Scarlett and Browne trilogy.

His major series occupy separate continuities. Bartimaeus takes place in an alternate London ruled by magicians, Lockwood & Co. follows young ghost hunters in a haunted Britain, and Scarlett and Browne is set in a broken future England.

There is no reason to mix those series together. Choose one world, read its novels in order, and treat the standalone books as independent alternatives.

Four Good Places to Begin

The best first book depends on the type of story you want.

1. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003): A young magician summons a sarcastic djinni to steal a powerful artifact, beginning a story about ambition, political control, and magical enslavement.
2. The Screaming Staircase (2013): A gifted young ghost hunter joins a small independent agency and takes a case inside one of England’s most dangerous haunted houses.
3. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021): A skilled outlaw reluctantly joins forces with a mysterious boy while crossing a dangerous future Britain.
4. Heroes of the Valley (2009): A boy raised on heroic legends sets out to prove himself and discovers that his community’s stories hide uncomfortable truths.

The Amulet of Samarkand is the strongest introduction to Stroud’s earlier work. The Screaming Staircase is the safest choice for readers who prefer supernatural mysteries and a completed five-book series.

The Bartimaeus Sequence in Order

The Bartimaeus Sequence contains an original trilogy and one later prequel.

The trilogy follows Nathaniel, a young magician rising through the British government, and Bartimaeus, the ancient djinni he repeatedly summons. The Ring of Solomon takes place thousands of years earlier and follows Bartimaeus during the reign of King Solomon.

For a first reading, publication order is better than chronological order.

1. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003): Nathaniel secretly summons Bartimaeus and orders him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from a powerful magician, turning a personal act of revenge into a threat to the government.
2. The Golem’s Eye (2004): Nathaniel investigates destructive attacks across London while Bartimaeus faces a magical enemy powerful enough to resist ordinary spirits.
3. Ptolemy’s Gate (2005): Nathaniel’s political position becomes increasingly dangerous as commoner resistance grows and Bartimaeus confronts the memory of the human who once treated him as an equal.
4. The Ring of Solomon (2010): Centuries before Nathaniel’s birth, Bartimaeus serves a magician in ancient Jerusalem and becomes involved with a young assassin seeking to challenge Solomon’s power.

The first three books form a completed story. The Ring of Solomon expands Bartimaeus’s history but does not continue the trilogy’s ending.

Why The Amulet of Samarkand Comes First

The Amulet of Samarkand introduces the magical system, the political structure, and the moral imbalance between magicians and the spirits they command.

It also establishes Nathaniel and Bartimaeus through alternating perspectives. Nathaniel sees magic as a route to power, while Bartimaeus understands the cruelty and arrogance hidden inside the system.

Starting with The Ring of Solomon would reveal more about Bartimaeus before the trilogy intends. That information is not disastrous, but it changes the gradual development of his character.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

1. The Amulet of Samarkand

The Amulet of Samarkand (2003): Twelve-year-old Nathaniel is humiliated by the magician Simon Lovel and secretly summons Bartimaeus to help him take revenge.

The plan begins with the theft of an amulet but quickly exposes a political conspiracy. Bartimaeus, meanwhile, looks for weaknesses in Nathaniel’s control while supplying his own mocking account of human history.

This is the required starting point for the main story.

2. The Golem’s Eye

The Golem’s Eye (2004): Nathaniel, now serving the government under the name John Mandrake, is assigned to stop a series of attacks that ordinary spirits seem unable to explain.

The investigation reconnects him with Bartimaeus and brings the commoner resistance into the foreground. Kitty Jones becomes a major viewpoint character as the series examines how ordinary people experience magical rule.

The second novel depends directly on Nathaniel’s choices in The Amulet of Samarkand.

3. Ptolemy’s Gate

Ptolemy’s Gate (2005): Nathaniel has gained political authority but lost much of the idealism he once possessed, while Britain faces war abroad and rebellion at home.

Kitty searches for a way to communicate with spirits without controlling them. Bartimaeus grows weaker under repeated summons and remembers his unusual friendship with the ancient scholar Ptolemy.

This concludes the central trilogy and resolves the arcs of Nathaniel, Kitty, and Bartimaeus.

The Ring of Solomon

The Ring of Solomon (2010): Bartimaeus serves in ancient Jerusalem, where the feared King Solomon appears to control a ring capable of summoning overwhelming supernatural power.

A young guard named Asmira is sent to assassinate Solomon on behalf of the Queen of Sheba. Her mission intersects with Bartimaeus’s attempts to escape his latest master.

The novel is set long before the trilogy and can technically be read first. Its best position is after Ptolemy’s Gate because readers already understand Bartimaeus’s personality, his history with humans, and his tendency to make his past sound more impressive than it was.

Bartimaeus Chronological Order

The internal timeline is simple:

1. The Ring of Solomon (2010): Bartimaeus becomes involved in a conflict surrounding Solomon’s ring in ancient Jerusalem.
2. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003): Nathaniel summons Bartimaeus in modern magical London.
3. The Golem’s Eye (2004): Nathaniel and Bartimaeus investigate attacks linked to a powerful golem.
4. Ptolemy’s Gate (2005): The struggle involving the government, the resistance, and the enslaved spirits reaches its conclusion.

Chronological order is suitable for rereading. Publication order gives Bartimaeus’s ancient history greater significance by saving it until after the main trilogy.

Bartimaeus Companion Books and Adaptations

Bartimaeus: The Amulet of Samarkand Graphic Novel

The Amulet of Samarkand: A Bartimaeus Graphic Novel (2010), adapted with Andrew Donkin: The first Bartimaeus novel is retold in a condensed visual form with artwork by Lee Sullivan.

It is an adaptation, not another installment. Readers can choose the prose novel or graphic version, but the prose edition contains the complete original narrative.

Bartimaeus’s Guide to London

Bartimaeus’s Guide to London: Bartimaeus provides an illustrated and characteristically unreliable tour of the alternate London featured in the trilogy.

The guide is companion material rather than a novel. Read it after The Amulet of Samarkand, when the government, magical locations, and Bartimaeus’s style are already familiar.

Bartimaeus Boxed Sets and Omnibus Editions

The Bartimaeus Trilogy boxed sets: These editions collect The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye, and Ptolemy’s Gate.

The Bartimaeus Sequence complete editions: Some collections also include The Ring of Solomon, giving readers all four novels in one package.

The contents do not change the reading order. Check whether The Ring of Solomon is included before buying it separately.

Lockwood & Co. Books in Order

Lockwood & Co. is a completed five-book supernatural mystery series.

In this version of Britain, dangerous ghosts have become a widespread public threat known as the Problem. Children and teenagers possess the strongest psychic abilities, so young agents are sent to investigate hauntings that adults cannot properly detect.

The novels follow Lucy Carlyle, Anthony Lockwood, and George Cubbins. Each book contains an immediate case, but the larger mystery develops continuously.

1. The Screaming Staircase (2013): Lucy joins Lockwood’s small agency and investigates a deadly haunting connected to an old murder and an isolated country house.
2. The Whispering Skull (2014): The agency searches for a stolen supernatural object while Lucy begins communicating with a dangerous skull trapped inside a ghost jar.
3. The Hollow Boy (2015): A severe outbreak of hauntings strains the team as a new assistant changes the balance inside the agency.
4. The Creeping Shadow (2016): Lucy works independently before rejoining Lockwood and George to investigate disappearances and the deeper causes of the Problem.
5. The Empty Grave (2017): The team investigates Lockwood’s family history and confronts the organization hiding the truth behind England’s ghost epidemic.

Publication order and chronological order are the same.

The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase (2013): Lucy Carlyle arrives in London after a disastrous case ends her work with a regional ghost-hunting team.

She joins Lockwood & Co., an unusually small agency run by Anthony Lockwood with the assistance of the methodical George Cubbins. After an investigation goes badly, the agency accepts a dangerous assignment at Combe Carey Hall.

The novel introduces psychic Talents, Sources, Visitors, ghost-touch, and the rules governing haunted Britain.

The Whispering Skull

The Whispering Skull (2014): Lockwood & Co. competes with the larger Fittes Agency while investigating a grave connected to a dangerous supernatural artifact.

The case becomes more urgent when the artifact disappears into London’s criminal market. Lucy also discovers that she can hear the voice of the skull kept in the agency’s ghost jar.

The book expands the rivalry between agencies and begins developing the skull’s role in the wider series.

The Hollow Boy

The Hollow Boy (2015): London experiences a surge in hauntings, forcing Lockwood & Co. to accept more cases and bring Holly Munro into the team.

Lucy struggles with Holly’s arrival and with the increasingly personal attention of the whispering skull. The team’s internal tensions become as important as the ghosts they are fighting.

This book changes the group’s structure and leads directly into Lucy’s circumstances at the beginning of The Creeping Shadow.

The Creeping Shadow

The Creeping Shadow (2016): Lucy has left Lockwood & Co. and works as an independent agent, although her connection with the skull continues.

A difficult case reunites her with Lockwood and George. Their investigation leads toward an isolated village, missing children, and evidence that powerful adults may know more about the Problem than they admit.

The fourth novel moves the series from individual hauntings toward the central conspiracy.

The Empty Grave

The Empty Grave (2017): Lucy, Lockwood, George, and Holly investigate the empty grave of Marissa Fittes, the celebrated founder of Britain’s largest psychic agency.

The search forces Lockwood to confront his family history and brings the team into direct conflict with the people controlling information about the Problem.

This is the fifth and final novel. It resolves the main mystery and gives the series a complete ending.

Lockwood & Co. Short Fiction

The Dagger in the Desk

The Dagger in the Desk (2013): Lockwood, Lucy, and George investigate a haunting at St Simeon’s Academy, where a dangerous ghost appears to be connected to a concealed dagger.

The story was created as an interactive online project before being released as a short ebook with additional ghost-related material.

Read it after The Screaming Staircase. It uses the original three-person team and fits comfortably during the earlier part of the series.

The Apple Tree

The Apple Tree (2024): A brief story returns to Lockwood’s childhood at Portland Row and includes his sister Jessica before the events that shape his later life.

The story adds emotional background rather than advancing the completed main plot.

Read it after The Empty Grave. Lockwood’s family history is deliberately revealed across the five novels, and encountering this memory earlier could reduce that effect.

The Complete Lockwood & Co. Reading Order

1. The Screaming Staircase (2013): Lucy joins the agency and helps investigate Combe Carey Hall.
2. The Dagger in the Desk (2013): The original team handles a shorter school haunting.
3. The Whispering Skull (2014): A stolen artifact and a talking skull expand the danger.
4. The Hollow Boy (2015): Holly joins the team during a major outbreak of hauntings.
5. The Creeping Shadow (2016): Lucy returns to investigate a wider conspiracy.
6. The Empty Grave (2017): The agency uncovers the truth behind Marissa Fittes and the Problem.
7. The Apple Tree (2024): This optional post-series story revisits Lockwood’s childhood.

The five novels are essential. The Dagger in the Desk and The Apple Tree are optional.

Can the Lockwood & Co. Books Stand Alone?

The Screaming Staircase provides a complete immediate case, but the series should still be read in order.

Relationships change between books, the skull’s information accumulates, and the mystery surrounding Lockwood’s family becomes increasingly important. Later volumes also reveal the outcomes of earlier cases and personal decisions.

The Empty Grave is written as the conclusion. Skipping directly to it would remove most of the emotional and investigative buildup.

Scarlett and Browne Books in Order

Scarlett and Browne is a completed trilogy set in a future Britain transformed by disaster.

The surviving population lives in fortified settlements surrounded by dangerous wilderness, altered animals, religious authorities, and powerful organizations. Outlaw Scarlett McCain survives by robbing banks and avoiding attachments until she encounters Albert Browne.

1. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021): Scarlett rescues Albert from a wreck and reluctantly helps him cross a hostile landscape while several groups pursue them.
2. The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (2022): The pair have become famous outlaws, but Albert’s unusual abilities and their enemies’ plans place them under growing pressure.
3. The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): Scarlett and Albert face the forces hunting them in a final journey that resolves the trilogy’s central conflict.

The books form one continuous narrative. Read them in publication order without inserting any other Stroud series.

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021): Scarlett McCain is a capable bank robber who prefers traveling alone through the dangerous regions between settlements.

After discovering Albert Browne as the apparent survivor of a ruined coach, she agrees to guide him toward safety. Albert’s hidden abilities soon attract enemies far more dangerous than ordinary law officers.

The first novel establishes the altered landscape, Scarlett’s survival rules, and the secret surrounding Albert.

The Notorious Scarlett and Browne

The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (2022): Scarlett and Albert have become a successful criminal partnership, carrying out robberies while remaining ahead of the authorities.

Their growing reputation makes secrecy difficult. Albert’s powers continue developing, while the organization connected to his past attempts to recover control over him.

This is a direct sequel and begins from the relationship formed in the first book.

The Legendary Scarlett and Browne

The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): Scarlett and Albert are pursued by government operatives while searching for answers and confronting the people responsible for Albert’s treatment.

Their final journey tests the partnership that has developed across the trilogy and forces them to decide what freedom will mean if they survive.

This is the third and final Scarlett and Browne novel. The main story is complete.

Is Scarlett and Browne Complete?

Yes.

The official sequence contains three novels:

1. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021): The two outlaws meet and begin crossing future Britain together.
2. The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (2022): Their criminal partnership and public reputation grow.
3. The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): Their conflict with the forces hunting Albert reaches its conclusion.

No fourth novel is required to complete the story.

Jonathan Stroud Standalone Novels

Stroud’s standalone novels do not share continuity with Bartimaeus, Lockwood & Co., or Scarlett and Browne.

They can be read in any order.

Buried Fire

Buried Fire (1999): A troubled boy arrives in a quiet English village and becomes connected to an ancient force buried beneath the surrounding landscape.

The novel combines local folklore, supernatural possession, and a community’s attempt to control something older than its recorded history.

This was Stroud’s first published novel.

The Leap

The Leap (2001): After a boy dies in an accident, his friend Charlie begins experiencing dreams that appear to offer a path toward him.

Her grief draws her into an increasingly dangerous dream world where comfort and threat become difficult to separate.

The book is a standalone supernatural story about loss, memory, and the temptation to escape reality.

The Last Siege

The Last Siege (2003): Three young people enter an abandoned castle during a winter storm and become trapped in a crisis involving armed adults outside.

What begins as an exploration turns into a tense siege. The characters must use the castle’s defenses while determining whom they can trust.

The novel is a self-contained contemporary adventure with historical elements.

Heroes of the Valley

Heroes of the Valley (2009): Halli Sveinsson grows up hearing stories about the legendary heroes who founded his community.

After a violent event, he leaves home seeking revenge and adventure. His journey reveals that the heroic history preserved by the valley may be less truthful than everyone assumes.

The novel stands alone despite its large invented culture and mythology.

Which Standalone Should You Read First?

Choose Buried Fire (1999) for rural supernatural horror and ancient mythology.

Choose The Leap (2001) for a quieter story about grief and a threatening dream world.

Choose The Last Siege (2003) for a contained survival thriller in a castle.

Choose Heroes of the Valley (2009) for a full secondary-world fantasy about legends, revenge, and social memory.

Heroes of the Valley is the broadest standalone introduction to Stroud’s recurring interest in questioning heroic institutions.

The Ghost of Shadow Vale

The Ghost of Shadow Vale (2009): Thorhall hires the powerful but difficult Glam to protect his farm, only for the shepherd’s death to create a more dangerous supernatural problem.

The story is based on an episode from the Icelandic Grettir’s Saga. It presents the tale in an accessible illustrated format for younger or developing readers.

It is not connected to Lockwood & Co., despite featuring a ghost. It belongs with Stroud’s myth-based and historical retellings.

Early Illustrated Adventure Books

Before his best-known novels, Stroud wrote illustrated puzzle adventures in which readers follow a story while solving visual and verbal challenges.

The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood

The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood (1996): The pirates Mam and Sam Spamme, accompanied by Black Dog, search for treasure through a comic series of dangers and puzzles.

The book combines an illustrated pirate story with reader participation. It is a standalone adventure rather than part of a continuing novel series.

The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard

The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard (1997): Harri sets out to recover a magical raven banner and restore the fortunes of his village.

His journey includes trolls, wolves, dragons, sea creatures, and visual puzzles. The book is independent of Stroud’s later Heroes of the Valley.

Early Picture Books

These shorter works were created for younger children and are separate from Stroud’s fantasy series.

Alfie’s Big Adventure

Alfie’s Big Adventure (1999): A young character sets out on an illustrated adventure designed for early readers.

The book stands alone and does not belong to a larger named sequence.

The Little Red Car

The Little Red Car (1999): A small car becomes the center of a simple illustrated journey for young children.

It is a standalone picture book and has no connection to Stroud’s later fantasy worlds.

Little Spike and Long Tail

Little Spike and Long Tail (2000): Two young dinosaurs encounter challenges through a short illustrated story aimed at early readers.

The book is independent and should not be confused with Stroud’s older-reader novels.

Jonathan Stroud Books in Publication Order

The following list concentrates on original story books and novels. Companion guides, graphic adaptations, and later boxed sets are separated elsewhere.

1. The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood (1996): Comic pirates search for treasure through an illustrated puzzle adventure.
2. The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard (1997): A Viking hero seeks a magical banner while facing monsters and riddles.
3. Alfie’s Big Adventure (1999): A young character undertakes a short illustrated journey.
4. The Little Red Car (1999): A small car travels through a picture-book adventure for younger readers.
5. Buried Fire (1999): An ancient buried force begins influencing a boy and the village around him.
6. Little Spike and Long Tail (2000): Two young dinosaurs star in a short independent picture-book story.
7. The Leap (2001): A grieving girl follows dreams that seem to reconnect her with a dead friend.
8. The Last Siege (2003): Three young people become trapped inside a castle during an armed confrontation.
9. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003): Nathaniel summons Bartimaeus and begins a dangerous act of magical revenge.
10. The Golem’s Eye (2004): Nathaniel investigates attacks that threaten London’s magician government.
11. Ptolemy’s Gate (2005): Nathaniel, Kitty, and Bartimaeus face the final crisis of the original trilogy.
12. Heroes of the Valley (2009): Halli leaves home and discovers the truth behind his people’s heroic legends.
13. The Ghost of Shadow Vale (2009): An Icelandic saga episode becomes an illustrated supernatural retelling.
14. The Ring of Solomon (2010): Bartimaeus becomes involved in an ancient struggle over Solomon’s power.
15. The Screaming Staircase (2013): Lucy joins Lockwood & Co. and investigates a famously haunted house.
16. The Dagger in the Desk (2013): The agency handles a shorter haunting at a school.
17. The Whispering Skull (2014): A stolen artifact and a talking skull draw the team into a larger mystery.
18. The Hollow Boy (2015): A surge in hauntings and a new team member create tension within the agency.
19. The Creeping Shadow (2016): Lucy and her former colleagues investigate disappearances tied to the Problem.
20. The Empty Grave (2017): Lockwood & Co. confronts the truth behind Marissa Fittes and the ghost epidemic.
21. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021): Scarlett meets Albert and helps him cross a dangerous future England.
22. The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (2022): The pair’s criminal fame grows as Albert’s enemies close in.
23. The Apple Tree (2024): A brief Lockwood story revisits Anthony’s childhood with his sister Jessica.
24. The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): Scarlett and Albert’s struggle reaches its final stage.

Publication dates can differ slightly between British and American editions. The series order remains unchanged.

Series That Are Complete

Bartimaeus

The original Bartimaeus trilogy is complete, and The Ring of Solomon is a completed prequel.

1. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003): Nathaniel first summons Bartimaeus.
2. The Golem’s Eye (2004): Their uneasy partnership continues during a political and magical crisis.
3. Ptolemy’s Gate (2005): The trilogy reaches its conclusion.
4. The Ring of Solomon (2010): A separate ancient adventure expands Bartimaeus’s past.

Lockwood & Co.

Lockwood & Co. is complete at five novels.

1. The Screaming Staircase (2013): The agency and the Problem are introduced.
2. The Whispering Skull (2014): Lucy’s connection with the skull develops.
3. The Hollow Boy (2015): The team’s unity begins to fracture.
4. The Creeping Shadow (2016): The wider conspiracy comes into view.
5. The Empty Grave (2017): The main mystery is resolved.

Scarlett and Browne

Scarlett and Browne is complete at three novels.

1. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021): Scarlett and Albert meet.
2. The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (2022): Their partnership and reputation grow.
3. The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): Their story reaches its conclusion.

Latest Jonathan Stroud Book

The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): Scarlett and Albert complete their final adventure while facing the government forces and institutions that have pursued them throughout the trilogy.

It is Stroud’s latest published novel as of August 6, 2026.

The book was published in the United Kingdom in January 2025 and in the United States in March 2025. The difference in national release dates does not make them separate editions in the reading order.

No later novel had a confirmed title and publication date as of August 6, 2026.

Boxed Sets and Alternate Titles

Some regional editions shorten or alter series branding.

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne may be displayed simply as Scarlett and Browne: Outlaws.

The Notorious Scarlett and Browne may be displayed as Scarlett and Browne: Notorious.

The Legendary Scarlett and Browne may be displayed as Scarlett and Browne: Legendary.

These are the same three novels, not separate books.

Lockwood & Co. boxed sets normally contain the five numbered novels. The Dagger in the Desk and The Apple Tree are not always included.

Bartimaeus boxed sets may contain only the original trilogy or all four novels. Check whether The Ring of Solomon appears in the contents.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Jonathan Stroud book should I read first?

Begin with The Amulet of Samarkand (2003) for magical fantasy and political satire.

Begin with The Screaming Staircase (2013) for ghosts, mysteries, and team-based adventures.

Both series are complete.

Is Bartimaeus a trilogy or a four-book series?

It is an original trilogy plus a prequel.

The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye, and Ptolemy’s Gate form the trilogy. The Ring of Solomon is a separate earlier adventure.

Should I read The Ring of Solomon first?

No, publication order is better for a first reading.

The prequel takes place earlier, but Bartimaeus’s history and personality have more weight after the trilogy.

Is Ptolemy’s Gate the final Bartimaeus book?

It is the final book in the Nathaniel trilogy.

The Ring of Solomon was published later but occurs thousands of years earlier.

Is Lockwood & Co. complete?

Yes. The Empty Grave is the fifth and final main novel.

The Dagger in the Desk and The Apple Tree are optional short stories.

Where does The Dagger in the Desk belong?

Read it after The Screaming Staircase.

It features Lucy, Lockwood, and George during the earlier period of the agency and does not affect the main plot.

Where does The Apple Tree belong?

Read it after The Empty Grave.

The story looks back at Lockwood’s childhood, and the novels deliberately delay important information about his family.

Does the Lockwood & Co. television series finish the books?

No.

The television adaptation covered material primarily from the early novels and did not adapt the complete five-book story. The books continue well beyond the screen ending.

Is Scarlett and Browne complete?

Yes. The Legendary Scarlett and Browne is the third and final novel.

Are Scarlett and Browne and Lockwood & Co. connected?

No.

Both take place in altered versions of Britain, but they use different histories, supernatural rules, and characters.

Is Heroes of the Valley part of a series?

No.

It is a complete standalone fantasy novel.

Is The Ghost of Shadow Vale a Lockwood story?

No.

It is a retelling of an Icelandic saga episode and was published before the Lockwood & Co. series began.

What was Jonathan Stroud’s first novel?

Buried Fire (1999): A boy becomes connected to an ancient supernatural force hidden beneath an English village.

The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood and The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard were published earlier, but they are illustrated puzzle adventures rather than novels.

What is Jonathan Stroud’s newest book?

The Legendary Scarlett and Browne (2025): The final Scarlett and Browne novel is his newest published full-length book as of August 6, 2026.

The Most Reliable Reading Plan

Start with one complete series rather than reading Stroud’s books in total publication order.

For Bartimaeus, read The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye, and Ptolemy’s Gate before returning to the ancient past in The Ring of Solomon.

For Lockwood & Co., read all five novels from The Screaming Staircase through The Empty Grave. Place The Dagger in the Desk after Book One and save The Apple Tree until the end.

For Scarlett and Browne, follow the three novels in publication order. The Legendary Scarlett and Browne completes the trilogy.

Buried Fire, The Leap, The Last Siege, and Heroes of the Valley are separate stories. They can be chosen individually without affecting any series continuity.