Susanna Clarke Anthologies books in order

Reading order

Susanna Clarke began publishing short fiction in anthologies years before Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell appeared. Her earliest stories showed up in the fairy tale retelling anthologies edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow, a series that included Snow White, Blood Red (1993), Black Thorn, White Rose, Black Swan, White Raven, and several other volumes. These collections asked established and emerging writers to retell traditional fairy tales for adult readers, and Clarke’s contributions stood out for their wit and careful historical grounding.

She also published stories in Patrick Nielsen Hayden’s Starlight anthologies, which were original fiction collections rather than retellings. Her work in Starlight 1, 2, and 3 helped build her reputation in the fantasy community during the years she was writing her debut novel. Several of these anthology stories were later gathered in The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories.

The anthologies on this list are multi-author collections where Clarke’s fiction appears alongside work by other writers. For readers who want all of her short fiction in one place, The Ladies of Grace Adieu is the better option. But these anthologies offer the chance to read her stories in their original context, surrounded by the work of writers like Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, and Kelly Link who were published in the same volumes.