Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers |
2005 |
Buy |
| The Paris Review Issue 188 |
2009 |
Buy |
| Imagined Lives |
2010 |
Buy |
| The Picador Book of 40 |
2012 |
Buy |
| Best European Fiction 2013 |
2012 |
Buy |
Benjamin Black Poetry Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Timeless Voices, Modern Echoes |
2024 |
Buy |
Frames: The Freddie Montgomery Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Book of Evidence |
1989 |
Buy |
| Ghosts |
1993 |
Buy |
| Athena |
1995 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Possessed of a Past: A John Banville Reader |
2012 |
Buy |
| Time Pieces |
2016 |
Buy |
Philip Marlowe Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Big Sleep |
1939 |
Buy |
| Farewell, My Lovely |
1940 |
Buy |
| The High Window |
1942 |
Buy |
| The Lady in the Lake |
1943 |
Buy |
| The Little Sister |
1949 |
Buy |
| The Long Goodbye |
1953 |
Buy |
| Playback |
1958 |
Buy |
| Poodle Springs |
1989 |
Buy |
| Perchance to Dream |
1991 |
Buy |
| The Black-Eyed Blonde / Marlowe |
2014 |
Buy |
| Only to Sleep |
2018 |
Buy |
| The Goodbye Coast |
2022 |
Buy |
| The Second Murderer |
2023 |
Buy |
Plays#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Broken Jug |
1994 |
Buy |
| Conversation in the Mountains |
2020 |
Buy |
Poetry Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Timeless Voices, Modern Echoes |
2024 |
Buy |
Quirke Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Christine Falls |
2006 |
Buy |
| The Silver Swan |
2007 |
Buy |
| Elegy for April |
2010 |
Buy |
| A Death in Summer |
2011 |
Buy |
| Vengeance |
2012 |
Buy |
| Holy Orders |
2013 |
Buy |
| Even the Dead |
2015 |
Buy |
| April in Spain |
2021 |
Buy |
| The Lock-Up |
2023 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| God’s Gift |
2001 |
Buy |
Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Long Lankin |
1970 |
Buy |
| The Supreme Fictions of John Banville |
1999 |
Buy |
St. John Strafford Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Secret Guests |
2020 |
Buy |
| Snow |
2020 |
Buy |
| April in Spain |
2021 |
Buy |
| The Lock-Up |
2023 |
Buy |
| The Drowned |
2024 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Nightspawn |
1971 |
Buy |
| Birchwood |
1973 |
Buy |
| Mefisto |
1986 |
Buy |
| The Untouchable |
1997 |
Buy |
| The Sea |
2005 |
Buy |
| The Lemur |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Infinities |
2009 |
Buy |
| The Blue Guitar |
2015 |
Buy |
| Wolf on a String / Prague Nights |
2017 |
Buy |
| Mrs. Osmond |
2017 |
Buy |
| The Singularities |
2022 |
Buy |
| Venetian Vespers |
2025 |
Buy |
The Cleave Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Eclipse |
2000 |
Buy |
| Shroud |
2002 |
Buy |
| Ancient Light |
2012 |
Buy |
The Revolutions Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Doctor Copernicus |
1976 |
Buy |
| Kepler |
1981 |
Buy |
| The Newton Letter |
1982 |
Buy |
Writer and the City Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Flaneur |
2001 |
Buy |
| Florence, a Delicate Case |
2002 |
Buy |
| Prague Pictures |
2003 |
Buy |
| Ghost Town: Tales of Manhattan Then and Now |
2005 |
Buy |
| Oxford Revisited: A City Revisited |
2008 |
Buy |
John Banville’s bibliography is unusually broad because it combines literary fiction under his own name with crime and mystery writing associated with Benjamin Black. That split identity is a big part of what makes this page useful: it brings both strands together in one place rather than forcing readers to piece them together separately.
Readers can enter his work from either direction. Some start with the literary novels, while others come in through the detective fiction and then move outward to the essays, plays, and shorter work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has John Banville / Benjamin Black written?
John Banville / Benjamin Black has written 67 books across fifteen series.
What was John Banville / Benjamin Black's first book?
John Banville / Benjamin Black’s first book is The Big Sleep, published in 1939.
What is John Banville best known for?
John Banville is best known for literary novels such as The Sea and for crime fiction written as Benjamin Black, including the Quirke books. He is widely recognized as one of the major contemporary Irish novelists.