Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Winter’s Tales 15 |
1969 |
Buy |
| Penguin Modern Stories 12 |
1972 |
Buy |
| The Colourful World of Cats |
1975 |
Buy |
| Best for Winter |
1979 |
Buy |
Balkan Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Marea şansă |
1960 |
N/A |
| The Great Fortune |
1960 |
Buy |
| Oraşul decăzut |
1962 |
N/A |
| The Spoilt City |
1962 |
Buy |
| Amigos e Heróis |
1965 |
N/A |
| Friends and Heroes |
1965 |
Buy |
Levant Trilogy Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Danger Tree |
1977 |
Buy |
| The Levant Trilogy |
1980 |
N/A |
| The Battle Lost and Won |
1978 |
Buy |
| The Sum of Things |
1981 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Extraordinary Cats |
1967 |
Buy |
Oliva Manning Short Story Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Romantic Hero |
1967 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Wind Changes |
1937 |
Buy |
| The Remarkable Expedition |
1947 |
Buy |
| Artist Among The Missing |
1949 |
Buy |
| The Dreaming Shore |
1950 |
Buy |
| School for Love |
1951 |
Buy |
| A Different Face |
1953 |
Buy |
| The Doves of Venus |
1955 |
Buy |
| The Play Room |
1969 |
Buy |
| The Rain Forest |
1974 |
Buy |
Olivia Manning (1908-1980) published her first novel, The Wind Changes, in 1937, but her reputation rests mainly on the six novels that make up The Fortunes of War. The Balkan Trilogy (1960-1965) and the Levant Trilogy (1977-1981) trace the wartime experiences of Guy and Harriet Pringle as they move from Bucharest to Athens, then on to Cairo and Jerusalem. Manning based the story closely on her own life with her husband, R.D. Smith, and the result is one of the most detailed fictional accounts of civilian life during World War II.
Beyond the two trilogies, Manning wrote nine standalone novels, a collection of short stories, and a book on cats. Her standalone work ranges from The Remarkable Expedition (1947), a retelling of Stanley’s rescue of Emin Pasha, to The Rain Forest (1974), set on a fictional tropical island. School for Love (1951), set in Jerusalem at the end of the British Mandate, is often singled out among her other novels.
Manning received limited recognition during her lifetime, and the Levant Trilogy’s final volume, The Sum of Things, was published after her death in 1980. The 1987 BBC adaptation brought her work to a much wider audience, and her novels have stayed in print since then.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Olivia Manning written?
Olivia Manning has written 25 books across six series.
What was Olivia Manning's first book?
Olivia Manning’s first book is The Wind Changes, published in 1937.
What is The Fortunes of War by Olivia Manning?
The Fortunes of War is the collective title for Manning’s two linked trilogies, the Balkan Trilogy and the Levant Trilogy. These six novels follow a young married couple, Guy and Harriet Pringle, across wartime Europe and the Middle East. The BBC adapted the sequence as a television series in 1987, starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.