M. J. Porter Books in Order (Updated February 25, 2026)

M. J. Porter writes multiple separate strands: a large, interconnected set of pre-1066 historical novels (often grouped under her “Tales of Mercia” umbrella), plus 20th-century historical mysteries, plus a handful of standalones and anthologies.

M. J. Porter Books in Order (Updated February 25, 2026)

Reading order matters most inside each series, because character arcs and political consequences carry forward.

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If you only want the answer (pick your lane)

New to M. J. Porter and here for Saxon England?
Start with Son of Mercia (2022) if you want a fast entry point, then continue the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles.

Want the “big” epic with the most payoff (but heavier spoilers if you jump around)?
Start with The Last King (2020) and read the Kingdom of Mercia: The Ninth Century straight through.

Prefer royal-court politics and tenth-century women’s history in fiction form?
Start with The Lady of Mercia’s Daughter (2017).

Want 1940s cozy-leaning historical mystery instead of warfare?
Start with The Custard Corpses (2021).

Continuity map (what connects to what)

The “Tales of Mercia” historical novels (interconnected)

These series are written to stand on their own, but Porter deliberately plants crossovers, echoes, and “history remembered” references across centuries.

A practical, spoiler-minimizing rule:

  • Stay in one series at a time.
  • If you’re mixing: Eagle of Mercia → Mercian Ninth Century → Brunanburh is a clean escalation in scope.

Series Reading Orders

The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles (Publication order)

This is the best “gateway” series: brisk pacing, clear stakes, and it quietly sets up people and legacies that matter later.

  1. Son of Mercia (2022): A fractured Mercia becomes a testing ground for loyalties, as the series lays down its core relationships and long-running tensions.
  2. Wolf of Mercia (2022): The battlefield widens and the cost of survival starts to feel personal instead of political.
  3. Warrior of Mercia (2022): The role hardens into identity, and choices begin to box the cast into consequences.
  4. Eagle of Mercia (2023): A mission beyond comfort lines turns “defend the kingdom” into “risk everything.”
  5. Protector of Mercia (2023): Duty becomes inheritance, and secrets reshape what protection even means.
  6. Enemies of Mercia (2024): The hunt shifts inward, forcing the series to confront threats closer than the frontier.
  7. Betrayal of Mercia (2025): Loyalty fractures under pressure, and the political stakes finally bite.
  8. Shield of Mercia (2025): Victory brings new vulnerability, as outside forces demand a stronger response.
  9. Storm of Mercia (2026): The next phase pushes the struggle into harsher terrain and sharper trade-offs.

Kingdom of Mercia: The Ninth Century (Publication order)

This is the “main event” for many readers: longer arc, heavier continuity, and a central figure whose relationships and decisions accumulate.

  1. The Last King (2020): A brutal power vacuum forces a hard-edged claim to leadership, setting the moral price tag for everything that follows.
  2. The Last Warrior (2020): The series tests whether strength is enough when alliances are brittle and memories are long.
  3. The Last Horse (2020): Mobility and strategy become survival, and the war story starts to hinge on timing and trust.
  4. The Last Enemy (2020): The conflict stops being “us vs. them” and becomes “who counts as us.”
  5. The Last Sword (2021): The political blade cuts both ways, victories land, but so do repercussions.
  6. The Last Shield (2021): Defense becomes its own kind of gamble, and the series leans into sacrifice.
  7. The Last Seven (2022): The cast compresses into a tighter pressure-cooker, where every loss changes the next decision.
  8. The Last Viking (2024): The long war gains a sharper edge as identity and enemy-lines blur.
  9. The Last Alliance (2024): Cooperation arrives with conditions, and “unity” becomes a negotiation instead of a banner.
  10. The Last Deceit (2024): Payoffs land, debts come due, and the series forces a reckoning with everything it has set in motion.

Also (optional, but best read after Book 6):

  • Coelwulf’s Company (2021): Extra texture and side material that reads best once you’re already living in this world.

Brunanburh (Publication order)

A later-century, nation-shaping arc with major rulers and larger diplomatic stakes. Best after you’re comfortable with Porter’s style of “history as a moving machine.”

  1. King of Kings (2023): The board is set, power, legitimacy, and fear all become weapons before the battle even arrives.
  2. Kings of War (2023): Campaign logic takes over, and the series turns strategy into drama.
  3. Clash of Kings (2024): Aftermath becomes narrative fuel, as the survivors try to turn defeat into leverage.
  4. Kings of Conflict (2024): The long finish tightens control over losses, borders, and the meaning of victory.

The Tenth Century (Publication order)

Interconnected, but not a strict “single hero” sequence. You can read these as focused portraits, just keep publication order to preserve reveals and cameos.

  1. The Lady of Mercia’s Daughter (2017): A “known-by-name, unknown-in-record” figure gets a fully lived life, with court politics as the danger zone.
  2. A Conspiracy of Kings (2020): Suspicion becomes structure, and survival depends on reading people better than proclamations.
  3. Kingmaker (2019): Marriage, power, and legitimacy collide, with the emotional cost of politics front and center.
  4. The King’s Daughters (2019): Dynastic diplomacy becomes personal, and the series widens into the international consequences of royal women’s lives.

Note: The publication years above reflect how these titles are commonly cataloged; the story connections still work best if you read them in the numbered order shown here.

The First Queen of England (Publication order)

A tighter trilogy centered on Elfrida’s rise and the shape of early English queenship.

  1. The First Queen of England (2017): Court access becomes a battlefield, and ambition learns to wear a crown.
  2. The First Queen of England Part 2 (2017): Influence deepens, and winning becomes indistinguishable from surviving.
  3. The First Queen of England Part 3 (2018): The endgame sharpens, legacy becomes the real prize, not romance or rumor.

The King’s Mother (Publication order)

A follow-on trilogy continuing Elfrida’s story into motherhood, regency influence, and reputational warfare.

  1. The King’s Mother (2018): Power shifts from spouse to strategist, with blame and suspicion as constant threats.
  2. The Queen Dowager (2019): Authority becomes precarious, and alliances turn transactional.
  3. Once a Queen (2019): Reputation and survival collide, as the story forces a final accounting of influence.

Earls of Mercia (Publication order)

A multi-generation run reaching toward 1066 and beyond its shadow. Read in order, later books assume you know who matters and why.

  1. The Earl of Mercia’s Father (2014): The dynasty’s foundation is laid in hard choices and harder compromises.
  2. The Danish King’s Enemy (2019): Rivalry with real geopolitical weight becomes personal, not abstract.
  3. Northman Part 1 (2014): A split narrative deepens the era’s violence and loyalties.
  4. Northman Part 2 (2014): The second half closes the loop and reshapes what “victory” looks like.
  5. The King’s Earl (2015): Service to the crown becomes a test of identity.
  6. The Earl of Mercia (2016): Power consolidates, and the cost shows in family lines.
  7. The English Earl (2018): National stakes sharpen, and private motives start steering public outcomes.
  8. The Earl’s King (2018): Rule becomes contested ground, and influence becomes dangerous.
  9. Viking King (2019): The title says it all, competing kingship claims press the story into a tighter vise.
  10. The English King (2021): The end of an era is treated like a slow collapse, not a single event.
  11. The King’s Brother (2023): Late-series consequences take center stage, rewarding readers who stayed the course.

The Dark Age Chronicles (Publication order)

A much earlier setting (sub-Roman Britain era), built as its own trilogy. If you want “fresh-start Porter” with minimal crossover dependency, this is it.

  1. Men of Iron (2025): Vengeance and survival drive a tribal-age story where violence makes its own rules.
  2. Warriors of Iron (2025): The pressures escalate and community becomes as dangerous as the enemy.
  3. Lords of Iron (2025): The concluding push forces every earlier choice to cash out.

The House of Mercia (Current/new project)

  1. 757 (2026): A civil-war ignition point, built around succession panic and the scramble for legitimacy.

20th-Century Historical Mysteries

The Erdington Mysteries (Publication order)

  1. The Custard Corpses (2021): A small-community crime with period texture, built to introduce the core tone and cast dynamics.
  2. The Automobile Assassination (2021): The series leans into escalation, bigger ripples, sharper motives, more moving parts.
  3. The Secret Sauce (2025): Familiar faces meet a nastier puzzle, and the “cozy” frame gets a more serious bite.
  4. The Barrage Body (2025): Later-series payoff energy, characters carry history now, not just clues.

Standalones and other books

  • Cragside (2022): A 1930s murder mystery that stands apart from the Erdington books.
  • Winwaed (2016): A standalone historical novel (best treated as separate unless you’re already collecting the full Mercia mosaic).
  • The Royal Women Who Made England (2024) (Non-fiction): Best after (or alongside) the tenth-century fiction if you want the historical scaffolding behind the novels.

Anthologies / collections (Optional):
Porter appears in multi-author collections such as Iron & Gold (2021), Imperium (2021), Action this Day (2023), and Historical Heroes (2025). These don’t affect her series continuity.

Recommended Reading Paths (no fuss, minimal spoilers)

Path A: “Start fast, then go deep”

  1. Eagle of Mercia Chronicles (Books 1-9)
  2. Kingdom of Mercia: The Ninth Century (Books 1-10 + Coelwulf’s Company optional)
  3. Brunanburh (1-4)

Path B: “Queens and court politics first”

  1. The First Queen of England (1-3)
  2. The King’s Mother (1-3)
  3. The Tenth Century (1-4)

Path C: “Mystery-only reader”

  1. The Erdington Mysteries (1-4)
  2. Cragside

FAQs

Do I have to read everything in “Tales of Mercia” in strict timeline order?
No. The safest approach is series-by-series. Crossovers reward you, but they aren’t required for basic comprehension.

Which series is the most spoiler-sensitive?
Kingdom of Mercia: The Ninth Century. It’s built around compounding choices, betrayals, and payoffs.

What’s the simplest entry point if I’m unsure about commitment?
The Custard Corpses (2021) for mystery readers, or Son of Mercia (2022) for historical action readers.

Bottom line

If you want one clean starting recommendation: Son of Mercia (2022) is the easiest on-ramp, and it keeps your options open. If you already know you want the big, bruising epic: go straight to The Last King (2020) and don’t skip around.

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Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.