Anita Desai books in order
Indian novelist, University professor
- Born
- 1937
- Country
- India
- Books
- 20
Anita Desai has published 11 novels, 2 novellas, 3 short story collections, 1 children's book and 3 other books, beginning with Fire on the Mountain (1977). The best-known is The Village by the Sea (1982). The latest is Complete Stories (2017).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Anita Desai
Start here
The Village by the Sea
Anita Desai's most-read book.
Shortest way in
In Custody
One of the most-read, at about 203 pages.
Newest
Complete Stories
Published 2017.
Standalone novels in order
Voices in the City (1965)
Bye-bye Blackbird (1971)
Clear Light of Day (1980)
Cry, the Peacock (1980)
The Village by the Sea (1982)
Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1982)
In Custody (Oct 1984)
Baumgartner's Bombay (1988)
Journey to Ithaca (1995)
"Fasting, Feasting" (1999)
The Zigzag Way (2004)
Novellas in order
Fire on the Mountain (1977)
Games at Twilight (1980)
Short story collections in order
Diamond Dust (2000)
The Artist of Disappearance (2011)
Complete Stories (2017)
Children's books in order
The Peacock Garden (1979)
Other books in order
Cat on a Houseboat (1976)
A Secret Connivance (1990)
Clear Light of the Day (2012)
About Anita Desai
Anita Desai is an Indian novelist and the emerita John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times. She received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for her novel Fire on the Mountain, from the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Literature. She won the Guardian Prize for The Village by the Sea (1983). Her other works include Cry, the Peacock, Voices in the City (1963), Fire on the Mountain (1977) and an anthology of short stories, Games at Twilight (1978). She is on the advisory board of the Lalit Kala Akademi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, London. Since 2020 she has been a Companion of Literature.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Anita Desai FAQ
- How many books has Anita Desai written?
- Anita Desai has published 11 novels, 2 novellas, 3 short story collections, 1 children's book and 3 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Anita Desai's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Village by the Sea.
- What is Anita Desai's latest book?
- Complete Stories (2017).
- What is Anita Desai's most famous book?
- The Village by the Sea (1982) is Anita Desai's most widely read book.
Authors like Anita Desai
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.