Julian Symons Non-Fiction books in order

Non-fiction by Julian Symons, including literary criticism, biography, and cultural history.
Series · Non-Fiction · Literary Criticism · Biography

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 A London Letter 1940 Julian Symons N/A
2 Louis MacNeice 1940 Julian Symons N/A
3 Obscurity and Dylan Thomas 1940 Julian Symons N/A
4 Restoration Comedy 1945 Julian Symons N/A
5 Strategy in War - and Peace 1947 Julian Symons N/A
6 Low-Down on the Left 1947 Julian Symons N/A
7 The Big Five 1947 Julian Symons N/A
8 A Pack of Cards 1947 Julian Symons N/A
9 Live Words Among the Dead 1947 Julian Symons N/A
10 Between Two Beards 1947 Julian Symons N/A
11 Pick Your Poet 1948 Julian Symons N/A
12 What Makes a Criminal? 1948 Julian Symons N/A
13 Antidote, Tonic - or Escape? 1948 Julian Symons N/A
14 The Biggest Problem in the World 1948 Julian Symons N/A
15 A Bird in the Bush 1948 Julian Symons N/A
16 Who Is Our Best Read Novelist? 1949 Julian Symons N/A
17 They Took the Long Jump to Freedom 1949 Julian Symons N/A
18 Which Is the True Russia? 1949 Julian Symons N/A
19 These Make Good Holiday Reading 1949 Julian Symons N/A
20 I Call It Detective Fever 1949 Julian Symons N/A
21 The Poet and the Theatre 1950 Julian Symons N/A
22 Genius, Crank or Dabbler? 1950 Julian Symons N/A
23 The Man Who Went to Moscow 1950 Julian Symons N/A
24 Nation Looking for a Cure-All 1950 Julian Symons N/A
25 The Man Who Hated the Poor … 1950 Julian Symons N/A
26 Three Ways to See a Country 1950 Julian Symons N/A
27 Snail Tea for Breakfast? 1950 Julian Symons N/A
28 Shavians Without Knowing it 1950 Julian Symons N/A
29 Cat Naps and a High Jump 1950 Julian Symons N/A
30 How to Get Away from It All 1950 Julian Symons N/A
31 Sophocles in Three Scenes 1950 Julian Symons N/A
32 Poets’ Plight 1950 Julian Symons N/A
33 When the Balloons Went Up 1950 Julian Symons N/A
34 Charles Dickens 1951 Julian Symons Buy
35 Novels of Four Nations 1951 Julian Symons N/A
36 The Last of the Edwardian Giants … 1951 Julian Symons N/A
37 Thomas Carlyle The Life and Ideas of Prophet 1952 Julian Symons Buy
38 Bloomsburyites - They Started It All 1954 Julian Symons N/A
39 Dodgers, Scroungers & a Captain at Sea 1954 Julian Symons N/A
40 Arthur James Cook (Gamblers with Fate) 1954 Julian Symons N/A
41 Whitaker Wright (Gamblers with Fate) 1954 Julian Symons N/A
42 Horatio Bottomley;: A biography 1955 Julian Symons Buy
43 Murder - Plus Good Writing 1955 Julian Symons N/A
44 Kruschev Said ‘Come and See What We’re Like’ 1955 Julian Symons N/A
45 What It’s Like to Be ‘On the Run’ 1955 Julian Symons N/A
46 They Worked So Hard to Be Gay 1955 Julian Symons N/A
47 Did Spiritual Exercises Really Cure Eva Barton?. 1957 Julian Symons N/A
48 One Thing They All Said: SUBUD Makes You into a Different Person 1957 Julian Symons N/A
49 Frank Cousins under the Microscope 1958 Julian Symons N/A
50 The Enigma of Frank Cousins 1958 Julian Symons N/A
51 Cousins Can't Make Them Cry 1958 Julian Symons N/A
52 A Reasonable Doubt 1960 Julian Symons Buy
53 England’s pride: The story of the Gordon Relief Expedition 1966 Julian Symons Buy
54 Crime and Detection : an illustrated history from 1840. 1966 Julian Symons Buy
55 Bloody Murder 1972 Julian Symons Buy
56 Between the Wars 1972 Julian Symons Buy
57 Notes From Another Country 1972 Julian Symons Buy
58 The Thirties 1973 Julian Symons Buy
59 Buller’s Campaign 1974 Julian Symons Buy
60 The Angry 30’s 1976 Julian Symons Buy
61 A Touch of Fowles' Play 1977 Julian Symons N/A
62 The Tell-Tale Heart: The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe 1978 Julian Symons Buy
63 Critical Observations 1981 Julian Symons Buy
64 Agatha Christie, the Art of Her Crimes 1981 Julian Symons Buy
65 A.J.A. Symons, His Life And Speculations 1986 Julian Symons Buy
66 Makers of the New 1987 Julian Symons Buy
67 Conan Doyle: Portrait of an Artist 1989 Julian Symons Buy

Julian Symons’ non-fiction output was vast, with 67 works spanning literary criticism, biography, and cultural history. His most influential work, Bloody Murder (1972), traces the history of crime and detective fiction and became a standard reference. Other notable works include biographies of Thomas Carlyle and Horatio Bottomley, studies of Victorian and Edwardian culture, and decades of literary journalism.

Bloody Murder went through multiple revised editions and remains required reading for anyone studying the detective fiction genre. Symons also wrote biographies of literary figures: The Tell-Tale Heart (1978) covers Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, the Art of Her Crimes (1981) examines Christie’s technique, and Conan Doyle: Portrait of an Artist (1989) looks at the Sherlock Holmes creator. These books show Symons as both a practitioner and historian of crime fiction.

His earlier non-fiction, from the 1940s and 1950s, consists largely of essays and journalism on topics from poetry to politics. The Thirties (1973) and Between the Wars (1972) cover British cultural history during the interwar period. Symons was active as a non-fiction writer for nearly fifty years, from A London Letter in 1940 to Conan Doyle in 1989.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Julian Symons Non-Fiction series?

There are 67 books in the Julian Symons Non-Fiction series, published between 1940 and 1989.

What is the first book in the Julian Symons Non-Fiction series?

The first book in the Julian Symons Non-Fiction series is A London Letter, published in 1940.

What non-fiction did Julian Symons write?

Symons wrote 67 non-fiction pieces spanning literary criticism, biography, cultural history, and journalism from 1940 to 1989. His major works include Bloody Murder (a history of detective fiction), biographies of Thomas Carlyle and Horatio Bottomley, and extensive literary journalism.

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