Hilaire Belloc published 9 novels, 2 novellas, 3 short story collections, 41 non-fiction books, 7 poetry collections and 37 other books, beginning with The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (1896).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Hilaire Belloc
Standalone novels in order
The Path to Rome (1900)
Emmanuel Burden, Merchant (1904)
The Girondin (1910)
The Mercy of Allah (1922)
Economics for Helen (1924)
The Missing Masterpiece (1929)
The Postmaster-general (1931)
The Four Men; a Farrago (1948)
Charles I (2003)
Novellas in order
Short story collections in order
The Eye-witness (1908)
Stories, Essays, and Poems (1938)
Non-fiction in order
Danton, a Study (1899)
Paris (1900)
Warfare in England (1900)
Esto Perpetua; Algerian Studies and Impressions (1906)
The Historic Thames (1907)
Marie Antoinette (1909)
On Everything (1909)
The Pyrenees (1909)
On Something (1910)
First and Last (1911)
The French Revolution (1911)
Hills and the Sea (1912)
The River of London (1912)
The Stane Street (1913)
The Free Press (1918)
Europe and the Faith (1920)
The House of Commons and Monarchy (1920)
The Jews (1922)
The Campaign of 1812 and the Retreat from Moscow (1924)
Miniatures of French History (1925)
This and That and the Other (1925)
Towns of Destiny (1927)
How the Reformation Happened (1928)
James the Second (1928)
Richelieu (1929)
Survivals and New Arrivals (1929)
Wolsey (1930)
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1533-1556 (1931)
Essays of a Catholic Layman in England (1931)
Six British Battles (1931)
Charles the First - King of England (1933)
William the Conqueror (1933)
A Shorter History of England (1934)
Characters of the Reformation (1936)
The Battleground (1936)
The Crisis of Civilization (1937)
Places (1941)
Elizabethan Commentary (1942)
Poetry in order
The Modern Traveller (1898)
A Moral Alphabet (1899)
Avril (1910)
Cautionary Verses (1939)
Selected Cautionary Verses (1950)
The Yak, the Python, the Frog (1975)
Matilda, Who Told Lies, and Was Burned to Death (1991)
Other books in order
Robespierre (1901)
The Aftermath (1903)
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult (1904)
Mr. Clutterbuck's Election (1908)
A Change in the Cabinet (1909)
Verses (1910)
Battle of Blenheim (1911)
Malplaquet (1911)
A Picked Company (1915)
The Elements Of The Great War (1915)
The Green Overcoat (1922)
Essays of a Catholic (1923)
On (1923)
The Contrast (1923)
The Road (1923)
Mr. Petre (1925)
Short Talks with the Dead and Others (1926)
The Emerald of Catherine the Great (1926)
The Haunted House (1927)
But Soft--we Are Observed! (1928)
The Man Who Made Gold (1930)
Napoleon (1932)
Cromwell (1934)
Milton (1935)
An Essay on the Restoration of Property (1936)
An Essay on the Nature of Contemporary England (1937)
The Crusades (1937)
The Case of Dr. Coulton (1938)
The Great Heresies (1938)
On Sailing the Sea (1939)
On the Place of Gilbert Chesterton in English Letters (1940)
Silence of the Sea (1941)
Joan of Arc (1949)
Letters (1958)
Free to read
All free classicsThe Servile State
Danton
The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of King George the Fifth. Volume 08 of 11.
More Peers
A companion to Mr. Wells's "Outline of history"
Waterloo
Sussex, Painted by Wilfrid Ball
The Two Maps of Europe, and Some Other Aspects of the Great War
About Hilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was a French-English writer and political activist. Belloc was considered one of the most versatile authors of the 20th century, producing essays on history, politics and economics as well as poetry, travelogues and satire. His Catholicism had a strong effect on his works.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Hilaire Belloc FAQ
- How many books has Hilaire Belloc written?
- Hilaire Belloc published 9 novels, 2 novellas, 3 short story collections, 41 non-fiction books, 7 poetry collections and 37 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Hilaire Belloc's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Bad Child's Book of Beasts.
- What is Hilaire Belloc's last book?
- The Four Men; a Farrago (1948).
- What is Hilaire Belloc's most famous book?
- The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (1896) is Hilaire Belloc's most widely read book.
- Can I read Hilaire Belloc's books for free?
- Yes. 40 books by Hilaire Belloc are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like Hilaire Belloc
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.