Sebastian Barry books

Sebastian Barry is an Irish novelist and playwright whose work explores Irish history, family, and memory across several acclaimed novels and plays.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Far From The Land 1998 Buy
Anthology of Irish Plays 2008 Buy
Midsummer Nights 2009 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Inherited Boundaries 1985 Buy
The Pinkening Boy 2004 Buy

Days Without End Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Days Without End 2016 Buy
Dni bez końca 2016 N/A
A Thousand Moons 2020 Buy

Dunne Family Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Steward of Christendom 1995 Buy
Annie Dunne 2002 Buy
A Long Long Way 2005 Buy
On Canaan’s Side 2011 Buy

Faber Drama Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Suppliant Women 2017 Buy
The Complete Dramatic Works 1961 Buy
Faith Healer 1980 Buy
Translations 1981 Buy
The Cure at Troy 1991 Buy
Skylight 1995 Buy
Theatre for Children 1999 Buy
The Shape of Things 2001 Buy
The Pillowman 2003 Buy
The History Boys 2004 Buy
Attempts on Her Life 2007 Buy
Midsummer 2009 Buy
Dunsinane 2010 Buy
Black Watch 2010 Buy
The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart 2011 Buy
Krapp’s Last Tape and Other Shorter Plays 2012 Buy
Theatre Craft 2013 Buy
Look Back in Anger 2013 Buy
Betrayal 2013 Buy
Impro for Storytellers 2014 Buy
Shakespeare in Love 2014 Buy
Marina Carr Plays 1 2014 Buy
Everyman 2015 Buy
The Hard Problem 2015 Buy
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour 2015 Buy
The Moderate Soprano 2015 Buy
This Restless House 2016 Buy
Labyrinth 2016 Buy
Dedication 2016 Buy
Donegal 2016 Buy
The Red Barn 2016 Buy
The Sewing Group 2016 Buy
Mametz: with a Welsh-language translation 2017 Buy
My Country; A Work In Progress 2017 Buy
The Mentor 2017 Buy
Winter Hill 2017 Buy
The Sum 2017 Buy
Arcadia 2017 Buy
Meet Me at Dawn 2017 Buy
The Lie 2017 Buy
On Blueberry Hill 2017 Buy
Christmas Eve 2017 Buy
Wind Resistance 2017 Buy
Box of Delights 2017 Buy
The Jungle 2017 Buy
Julie 2018 Buy
The Rockingham Shoot And Other Dramatic Writings 2018 Buy
Unicorns, Almost 2018 Buy
Greek and Decadence 2018 Buy
The Meeting 2018 Buy
Alan Ayckbourn 2018 Buy
The Short Plays of Harold Pinter 2018 Buy
Touching the Void 2018 Buy
The Height of the Storm 2018 Buy
The Village 2018 Buy
I’m Not Running 2018 Buy
A Very Very Very Dark Matter 2018 Buy
When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other 2019 Buy
The Hamburg Plays 2019 Buy
Writing for Nothing 2019 Buy
The Inheritance 2020 Buy

McNulty Family Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty 1998 Buy
The Secret Scripture 2008 Buy
The Temporary Gentleman 2014 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Lives of the Saints 2022 Buy

Plays

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Water Colourist 1983 Buy
Prayers of Sherkin; Boss Grady’s Boys 1991 Buy
The Only True History of Lizzie Finn/the Steward of Christendom/White Woman Street 1996 Buy
Our Lady of Sligo 1998 Buy
Hinterland 2002 Buy
Tales of Ballycumber 2009 Buy
Whistling PsycheFred and Jane 2014 Buy
Andersen’s English 2014 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Macker’s Garden 1982 Buy
Time Out of Mind 1983 Buy
Elsewhere 1985 Buy
Rhetorical Town 1985 Buy
The Engine of Owl-light 1987 Buy
The Pride of Parnell Street 2007 Buy
Dallas Sweetman 2008 Buy
Old God’s Time 2023 Buy

Sebastian Barry (born 1955) has built a body of work that returns again and again to Irish history and the lives of ordinary people within it. His novels follow interconnected families across generations, tracing how war, emigration, and political upheaval shape private lives. “Days Without End” won the Costa Book of the Year, and “The Secret Scripture” was longlisted for the Booker Prize.

Barry is also a prolific playwright, with works staged at the Abbey Theatre and in London’s West End. His plays share his novels’ preoccupation with memory, loss, and the hidden stories of Irish life. He served as Laureate for Irish Fiction from 2018 to 2021.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Sebastian Barry written?

Sebastian Barry has written 93 books across nine series.

What was Sebastian Barry's first book?

Sebastian Barry’s first book is The Complete Dramatic Works, published in 1961.

What is Sebastian Barry best known for writing?

Sebastian Barry is best known for his novels Days Without End (2016) and The Secret Scripture (2008), both of which won major literary prizes. His work often follows Irish characters caught up in the sweep of history, from the American Civil War to twentieth-century Ireland.

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