Doris Lessing books in order
British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer, and short story writer
- Lived
- 1919–2013
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 64
- Series
- 2
- Also writes as
- Jane Somers
Doris Lessing published 37 novels, 4 novellas, 18 short story collections, 4 non-fiction books and 1 other book, beginning with The Grass Is Singing (1950). The 2 series include Children of Violence series (5 books, starting with Martha Quest) and Canopus in Argos (5 books, starting with Shikasta). The best-known is The Golden Notebook (1962).
Updated September 2026
Children of Violence series books in order (5)
Reading order: 1 Martha Quest (1952) · 2 A Proper Marriage (1964) · 3 A Ripple from the Storm (1958) · 4 Landlocked (1965) · 5 The Four-Gated City (Children of Violence) (1969)
- 1.
Martha Quest (1952)
- 2.
A Proper Marriage (1964)
- 3.
A Ripple from the Storm (1958)
- 4.
Landlocked (1965)
- 5.
The Four-Gated City (Children of Violence) (1969)
Canopus in Argos books in order (5)Series page
Reading order: 1 Shikasta (1979) · 2 The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1980) · 3 The Sirian Experiments (1980) · 4 The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (1981) · 5 The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire (1983)
- 1.
Shikasta (1979)
- 2.
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1980)
- 3.
The Sirian Experiments (1980)
- 4.
The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (1981)
- 5.
The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire (1983)
Where to start with Doris Lessing
Start here
The Golden Notebook
Doris Lessing's most-read book.
Shortest way in
The Fifth Child
One of the most-read, at about 168 pages.
Standalone novels in order
The Grass Is Singing (1950)
This Was the Old Chief's Country (1951)
Retreat to Innocence (1956)
Going Home (1957)
In Pursuit of the English (1960)
The Golden Notebook (1962)
Briefing for a Descent Into Hell (1971)
A Small Personal Voice (1974)
The Memoirs of a Survivor (1974)
Documents Relating to the Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire (1983)
If the Old Could (1984)
The Diaries of Jane Somers (1984)
The Good Terrorist (1985)
The Fifth Child (1988)
London Observed (1991)
African Laughter (1992)
Canopus in Argos (1992)
The Diary of a Good Neighbour (1992)
Love, Again (1995)
Walking in the Shade (1997)
Mara and Dann (1999)
Ben, in the World (2000)
The Sweetest Dream (2001)
The Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog (2005)
El Cuaderno Dorado (2007)
The Cleft (2007)
Alfred and Emily (2008)
On Cats (2008)
Novellas in order
Particularly Cats (1978)
Particularly Cats… and Rufus (1991)
Playing the Game (1995)
Short story collections in order
The Habit of Loving (1957)
A Man and Two Women (1963)
African Stories (1964)
Winter in July (1966)
The Story of a Non-marrying Man (1972)
The Sun Between Their Feet (1973)
Doris Lessing (1976)
Collected Stories (1978)
Stories (1978)
The Temptation of Jack Orkney (1978)
To Room Nineteen (1978)
Collected African Stories (1979)
Prisons We Choose to Live Inside (1985)
The Doris Lessing Reader (1988)
The Real Thing: Stories and Sketches (1992)
Spies I Have Known and Other Stories (1995)
The Grandmothers (2003)
Adore (2013)
Non-fiction in order
The Wind Blows Away Our Words (1987)
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (1993)
Under My Skin (1994)
Time Bites (2004)
Other books in order
Children of Violence (1964)
About Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing was a British novelist – sometimes identified as Rhodesian early in her career – and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007. Lessing was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until she was 6 in 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia, where she remained until moving to London, England, in 1949. Her novels include The Grass Is Singing (1950), the sequence of five novels collectively called Children of Violence (1952–1969), The Golden Notebook (1962), The Good Terrorist (1985), and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos: Archives (1979–1983).
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Doris Lessing FAQ
- How many books has Doris Lessing written?
- Doris Lessing published 37 novels, 4 novellas, 18 short story collections, 4 non-fiction books and 1 other book that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Doris Lessing's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start Children of Violence series with Martha Quest and Canopus in Argos with Shikasta. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Doris Lessing's last book?
- Adore (2013).
- What is Doris Lessing's most famous book?
- The Golden Notebook (1962) is Doris Lessing's most widely read book.
- Are Doris Lessing's books connected?
- 10 books belong to 2 series (Children of Violence series and Canopus in Argos); the other 54 books stand alone.
- Does Doris Lessing write under a pen name?
- Yes: Doris Lessing has also published as Jane Somers.
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.