Susanna Clarke Books in Order (Updated August 7, 2026)

Susanna Clarke is the English fantasy author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Piranesi. Her bibliography is small, but its reading order is less obvious than the number of books suggests because some shorter works return to the history and folklore of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, while others stand entirely on their own.

For most readers, there is no need to arrange every Clarke book into one continuous sequence. The clearest approach is to separate the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell continuity from her standalone fiction.

Quick Answer: What Order Should You Read Susanna Clarke?

For a first reading, use this order:

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
3. Piranesi
4. The Wood at Midwinter
5. The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City

The first two books share characters, history, and magical traditions. Piranesi should be treated as a separate continuity. The Wood at Midwinter is also safest treated as an independent short work rather than a required part of either novel’s storyline.

The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City returns explicitly to the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Its illustrated book edition is scheduled for October 2026.

If you only want Clarke’s novels, read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Piranesi in either order. They do not form a series.

Susanna Clarke Books in Publication Order

Clarke’s major books and separately published short works are:

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004)
2. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (2006)
3. Piranesi (2020)
4. The Wood at Midwinter (2024)
5. The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City (2025 as a short story, 2026 illustrated book edition)

Publication order is the safest default because it preserves the way Clarke gradually expanded the history surrounding English magic and the Raven King.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Books in Order

This is not a conventional multi-novel series. There is currently one main novel, followed by related shorter fiction set within the same broader magical history.

Main Novel

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004)

This is the essential starting point. Set mainly during the Napoleonic era, the novel follows Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange as practical magic returns to England.

The book establishes Clarke’s alternate history of English magic, including the Raven King, Faerie, magical scholarship, and the traditions that later stories revisit.

Related Collection

2. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories (2006)

Included, but not required for the central novel.

This collection contains eight stories that explore different periods and corners of Clarke’s magical Britain. Jonathan Strange and the Raven King appear or are connected to some of the material.

The collection works best after Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Several stories can technically be read first, but the novel supplies useful context for the magical history, names, institutions, and assumptions behind them.

Later Jonathan Strange World Story

3. The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City (2025, book edition 2026)

Included for readers following the larger continuity.

This story takes place centuries before Jonathan Strange and Gilbert Norrell. It concerns the early Raven King and events in northern England during the medieval period.

Because it was written after Clarke’s earlier Strange and Norrell material, new readers should not move it to the front simply because it occurs earlier historically. Read it after Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell unless you are deliberately rereading the world chronologically.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu Stories in Order

The collection should normally be read in its published sequence:

1. “The Ladies of Grace Adieu”
2. “On Lickerish Hill”
3. “Mrs Mabb”
4. “The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse”
5. “Mr Simonelli or the Fairy Widower”
6. “Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby”
7. “Antickes and Frets”
8. “John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner”

These are not eight chapters of one continuous narrative. They move between characters and historical periods while sharing Clarke’s broader interest in Faerie, British magic, and folklore.

For that reason, rearranging the stories chronologically offers little benefit. The collection’s own order is simpler and preserves its intended progression.

Piranesi Books in Order

1. Piranesi (2020)

Piranesi is a standalone novel.

There is no confirmed requirement to connect it to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and readers should not assume that similarities involving other worlds or unusual forms of knowledge make it part of the same continuity.

No sequel is currently required to complete the story.

You can begin with Piranesi if you prefer a shorter introduction to Clarke’s fiction. Starting there will not spoil Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Where Does The Wood at Midwinter Fit?

1. The Wood at Midwinter (2024)

Optional, standalone short fiction.

This illustrated short story follows nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scot, whose relationship with animals, trees, and the natural world leads her into a strange encounter in the woods.

It is not necessary preparation for Piranesi or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Readers can place it anywhere after their first Clarke book.

The safest classification is separate continuity unless Clarke or her publisher explicitly establishes a stronger connection.

Susanna Clarke Books in Chronological Order

A complete chronological arrangement is not especially useful because Clarke’s works do not all occupy one confirmed timeline.

Within the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell world, the broad sequence is clearer:

1. The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City
2. Various stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
3. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
4. Other stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories that overlap with or sit near the novel’s period

The problem is that The Ladies of Grace Adieu ranges across several centuries. It cannot be placed neatly at one point without splitting the collection into individual stories.

Chronological order is therefore better suited to a reread. It follows the fictional history of English magic, but it sacrifices the gradual revelation of that history found in publication order.

Recommended Susanna Clarke Reading Order

For a new reader who intends to explore everything, this is the most balanced sequence:

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
3. The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City
4. Piranesi
5. The Wood at Midwinter

This differs slightly from strict publication order for one reason. Keeping the Strange and Norrell material together makes its shared history easier to follow.

After that sequence, Piranesi provides a clean move into a separate novel, and The Wood at Midwinter can be read as a brief independent work.

Readers who prefer shorter books can reverse the approach:

1. Piranesi
2. The Wood at Midwinter
3. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
4. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
5. The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City

Nothing important is spoiled by beginning with Piranesi.

Do You Need to Read The Ladies of Grace Adieu?

No.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell tells its own central story. The Ladies of Grace Adieu expands the setting rather than functioning as a necessary second volume.

It becomes more worthwhile if you want additional material involving Faerie, English magical history, the Raven King, and characters connected to the novel.

For continuity purposes, classify it as Included but Optional.

Is Piranesi Connected to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?

No confirmed direct continuity connects the two novels.

Both books explore strange worlds, knowledge, memory, and forms of magic, which naturally encourages theories about a shared universe. Those thematic similarities are not enough to establish a reading-order dependency.

Treat Piranesi as Separate continuity.

Is The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City a Prequel?

Chronologically, yes.

The story takes place in 1110 and concerns the young Raven King, long before the nineteenth-century events of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

In reading-order terms, however, it is better described as later-written historical expansion rather than a starting volume. Publication order preserves the reader’s introduction to the Raven King’s significance.

First-time readers should begin with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Latest Susanna Clarke Book

The latest separately published Clarke book currently available is The Wood at Midwinter, released in 2024.

A newer story, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City, appeared through Fictionable in 2025 and is receiving a standalone illustrated edition from Bloomsbury in October 2026.

The US edition is scheduled for October 20, 2026. The UK edition is scheduled for October 22, 2026.

It is explicitly set in the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Is Susanna Clarke Writing Another Novel?

Clarke has continued discussing and developing new fiction, including further work connected with the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell world.

However, no additional full-length novel beyond Piranesi has a confirmed publication date as of August 7, 2026.

Readers should therefore treat any unnamed future projects as forthcoming work without a fixed place in the reading order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Susanna Clarke’s first book?

Her first novel is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, published in 2004.

It remains the best starting point for readers primarily interested in her historical fantasy and English magic setting.

How many novels has Susanna Clarke written?

Clarke has published two full-length novels:

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2. Piranesi

Her remaining major publications are collections or shorter works.

Are Jonathan Strange and Piranesi in the same series?

No confirmed series relationship exists between them.

Read them as separate novels.

Should I read The Ladies of Grace Adieu before Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?

You can, but it is not the recommended order.

Reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell first gives the collection’s references to magic, Faerie, Jonathan Strange, and the Raven King more context.

What should I read after Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?

Read The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories next if you want to remain in the same world.

After that, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is the next explicitly connected work.

What should I read after Piranesi?

There is no required sequel.

If you want more Clarke, move to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell for her other major novel, or choose The Wood at Midwinter for something much shorter.

Can I read The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City first?

It is possible because its events occur centuries earlier, but it is not the best introduction.

The Raven King carries more meaning after Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, so publication-based reading gives the story stronger context.

Conclusion

Susanna Clarke does not have one long series that demands a rigid reading order. The main distinction is between her Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell continuity and her independent works.

For the safest introduction, start with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, continue with The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, then read The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City. Treat Piranesi as a separate novel and The Wood at Midwinter as optional independent short fiction.

Readers who want a shorter entry point can start with Piranesi without losing anything from the Strange and Norrell storyline.