Cecil Day-Lewis books in order
Irish-born British poet
- Lived
- 1904–1972
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 47
- Also writes as
- Nicholas Blake
Cecil Day-Lewis published 20 novels, 1 novella, 1 non-fiction book, 1 children's book, 21 poetry collections and 3 other books, beginning with Minute for Murder (1947). 17 feature Nigel Strangeways. The best-known is Thou Shell of Death (1962).
Updated September 2026
Books featuring Nigel Strangeways (17)
A Question of Proof (1935)
There's Trouble Brewing (1937)
The Beast Must Die (1938)
The Smiler with the Knife (1939)
The Corpse in the Snowman (1941)
Minute for Murder (1947)
Head of a Traveller (1949)
The Dreadful Hollow (1953)
The Whisper in the Gloom (1954)
End of Chapter (1957)
The Widow's Cruise (1959)
Murder with Malice (1961)
Thou Shell of Death (1962)
The Sad Variety (1964)
The Morning After Death (1966)
A Tangled Web (1973)
The Worm of Death: A Nigel Strangeways Mystery (1973)
Where to start with Cecil Day-Lewis
Start here
Thou Shell of Death
Cecil Day-Lewis's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
A Penknife in My Heart (1958)
The Deadly Joker (1963)
The Private Wound (1968)
Novellas in order
A Hope for Poetry (1934)
Non-fiction in order
The Buried Day (1960)
Children's books in order
The Otterbury Incident (1948)
Poetry in order
A Time to Dance (1935)
Collected Poems 1929-1933 (1935)
Revolution in Writing (1935)
Overtures to Death and Other Poems (1938)
Selected Poems (1940)
Short Is the Time (1940)
A New Anthology of Modern Verse 1920-1940 (1941)
Poetry for You (1944)
Enjoying Poetry (1947)
The Poetic Image (1947)
Poems 1943-1947 (1948)
The Aeneid of Virgil (1952)
An Italian Visit (1953)
The Echoing Green (1953)
Notable Images of Virtue (1954)
Chatto Book of Modern Verse (1956)
Pegasus and Other Poems (1957)
The Gate (1962)
The Collected Poems Of Wilfred Owen (1963)
The Lyric Impulse (1965)
The Room & Other Poems (1965)
Other books in order
Dick Willoughby (1933)
We're Not Going to Do Nothing (1936)
The Mind in Chains (1937)
About Cecil Day-Lewis
Cecil Day-Lewis, often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake, most of which feature the fictional detective Nigel Strangeways, starting with A Question of Proof (1935).
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Cecil Day-Lewis FAQ
- How many books has Cecil Day-Lewis written?
- Cecil Day-Lewis published 20 novels, 1 novella, 1 non-fiction book, 1 children's book, 21 poetry collections and 3 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Cecil Day-Lewis's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Thou Shell of Death.
- What is Cecil Day-Lewis's last book?
- The Worm of Death: A Nigel Strangeways Mystery (1973).
- What is Cecil Day-Lewis's most famous book?
- Thou Shell of Death (1962) is Cecil Day-Lewis's most widely read book.
- Does Cecil Day-Lewis write under a pen name?
- Yes: Cecil Day-Lewis has also published as Nicholas Blake.
Authors like Cecil Day-Lewis
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.