Ackroyd’s Brief Lives Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Chaucer |
1980 |
Buy |
| J.M.W. Turner |
2002 |
Buy |
| Turner |
2002 |
N/A |
| Newton |
2006 |
Buy |
| Poe |
2008 |
Buy |
| Wilkie Collins |
2012 |
Buy |
| Wilkie Collins: A Brief Life |
2012 |
N/A |
| Charlie Chaplin |
2014 |
Buy |
| Alfred Hitchcock |
2015 |
Buy |
Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| New Worlds No. 221 |
1996 |
Buy |
Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| London Lickpenny |
1973 |
Buy |
| Country Life |
1978 |
Buy |
| The Diversions Of Purley And Other Poems |
1987 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Notes for a New Culture |
1976 |
Buy |
| Dressing Up |
1979 |
Buy |
| Ezra Pound and His World |
1980 |
Buy |
| T.S. Eliot |
1984 |
Buy |
| Dickens’ London |
1987 |
Buy |
| Introduction to Dickens |
1991 |
Buy |
| The Life of Thomas More |
1991 |
Buy |
| Blake |
1995 |
Buy |
| London: The Biography |
2000 |
Buy |
| The Collection |
2001 |
Buy |
| Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion |
2002 |
Buy |
| Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination |
2002 |
Buy |
| Illustrated London |
2003 |
Buy |
| A Traveller’s Companion to London |
2004 |
Buy |
| Shakespeare: The Biography |
2005 |
Buy |
| The Thames: Sacred River |
2007 |
Buy |
| Venice: Pure City |
2007 |
Buy |
| A Brief Guide to William Shakespeare |
2010 |
Buy |
| The English Ghost |
2010 |
Buy |
| London Under |
2011 |
Buy |
| Queer City |
2017 |
Buy |
| Colours of London |
2022 |
Buy |
| The English Actor: From Medieval to Modern |
2023 |
Buy |
| The English Soul |
2024 |
Buy |
| Forgotten London |
2025 |
Buy |
Shakespeare: the Biography Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Aspiring Spirit |
2005 |
Buy |
| The Upstart Crow |
2005 |
Buy |
| A Muse of Fire |
2005 |
Buy |
| The Onlie Begetter |
2005 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Great Fire of London |
1982 |
Buy |
| The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde |
1983 |
Buy |
| Hawksmoor |
1985 |
Buy |
| Chatterton |
1987 |
Buy |
| First Light |
1989 |
Buy |
| English Music |
1992 |
Buy |
| The House of Doctor Dee |
1993 |
Buy |
| Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem / The Trial of Elizabeth Cree / The Limehouse |
1994 |
Buy |
| Milton in America |
1996 |
Buy |
| The Plato Papers |
1999 |
Buy |
| The Clerkenwell Tales |
2003 |
Buy |
| The Lambs of London |
2004 |
Buy |
| The Fall of Troy |
2006 |
Buy |
| The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein |
2008 |
Buy |
| The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling |
2009 |
Buy |
| The Death of King Arthur |
2010 |
Buy |
| The Mystery of Charles Dickens |
2012 |
Buy |
| Three Brothers |
2013 |
Buy |
| Mr. Cadmus |
2020 |
Buy |
The History of England Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Foundation |
2011 |
Buy |
| Tudors |
2012 |
Buy |
| Civil War: The History of England Volume III |
2014 |
N/A |
| Rebellion / Civil War |
2014 |
Buy |
| Revolution |
2016 |
Buy |
| The History of England 5 |
1754 |
N/A |
| Dominion |
2018 |
Buy |
| Innovation |
2021 |
Buy |
Voyages Through Time Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Beginning |
2003 |
Buy |
| Kingdom of the Dead |
2004 |
Buy |
| Escape from Earth |
2004 |
Buy |
| Cities of Blood |
2004 |
Buy |
| Ancient Rome |
2005 |
Buy |
| Ancient Greece |
2005 |
Buy |
Peter Ackroyd is a British author whose career spans fiction, biography, history, and poetry. Born in London in 1949, he has written obsessively about his home city and the broader story of England. His novels, including Hawksmoor, Chatterton, and The House of Doctor Dee, often blend historical periods with elements of the uncanny, using London as both setting and character.
Ackroyd’s non-fiction output is equally large. He has written biographies of Dickens, Blake, T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, and Thomas More, among others. His History of England series covers the country from its earliest beginnings to the modern era across eight volumes. He was awarded a CBE in 2003 and continues to publish regularly, with books like The English Soul (2024) and Forgotten London (2025) among his most recent works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Peter Ackroyd written?
Peter Ackroyd has written 75 books across eight series.
What was Peter Ackroyd's first book?
Peter Ackroyd’s first book is The History of England 5, published in 1754.
What are Peter Ackroyd's most famous works?
Ackroyd’s most acclaimed novel is Hawksmoor (1985), which won the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize. His non-fiction highlights include London: The Biography (2000), a sweeping history of the city that has defined much of his career, and his multi-volume History of England series, which covers the country’s story from the earliest times to the twentieth century.