Allan Pinkerton books in order
Scottish-American civil war detective and spy
- Lived
- 1819–1884
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 18
Allan Pinkerton published 3 novels, 5 non-fiction books and 10 other books, beginning with History and Evidence of the Passage of Abraham Lincoln from Harrisburg, Pa., to Washington, D. C., on the Twenty-second and Twenty-third of February: Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-one (1868). The best-known is Claude Melnotte as a Detective and Other Stories (1875).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Allan Pinkerton
Start here
Claude Melnotte as a Detective and Other Stories
Allan Pinkerton's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
The Mollie Maguires and the Detectives (1877)
A Double Life and the Detectives (1884)
Non-fiction in order
History and Evidence of the Passage of Abraham Lincoln from Harrisburg, Pa., to Washington, D. C., on the Twenty-second and Twenty-third of February: Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-one (1868)
Criminal Reminiscences and Detective Sketches (1878)
Professional Thieves and the Detective (1881)
The Spy of the Rebellion (1883)
Thirty Years a Detective (1884)
Other books in order
Claude Melnotte as a Detective and Other Stories (1875)
The Detective and the Somnambulist (1875)
The Model Town And The Detectives (1876)
Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives (1878)
Bucholz and the Detectives (1880)
The Rail-road Forger and the Detectives (1881)
Unpublished Story of the First Attempt on the Life of Abraham Lincoln (1913)
Free to read
All free classics
About Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American detective, spy, abolitionist, and cooper best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have obstructed the Baltimore Plot in 1861, preventing the assassination of then president-elect Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, he provided the Union Army – specifically General George B. McClellan of the Army of the Potomac – with military intelligence, including extremely inaccurate enemy troop strength numbers. After the war, his agents played a significant role as strikebreakers – in particular during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 – a role that Pinkerton men would continue to play after the death of their founder.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Allan Pinkerton FAQ
- How many books has Allan Pinkerton written?
- Allan Pinkerton published 3 novels, 5 non-fiction books and 10 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Allan Pinkerton's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Claude Melnotte as a Detective and Other Stories.
- What is Allan Pinkerton's last book?
- Thirty Years a Detective (1884).
- What is Allan Pinkerton's most famous book?
- Claude Melnotte as a Detective and Other Stories (1875) is Allan Pinkerton's most widely read book.
- Can I read Allan Pinkerton's books for free?
- Yes. 8 books by Allan Pinkerton are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.