I. A. Richards books in order
English literary critic and rhetorician
- Lived
- 1893–1979
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 21
I. A. Richards published 8 non-fiction books, 4 poetry collections, 1 play and 8 other books, beginning with The Meaning of Meaning (1923). The best-known is Design for Escape (1968).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with I. A. Richards
Start here
Design for Escape
I. A. Richards's most-read book.
Non-fiction in order
The Meaning of Meaning (1923), with Charles Kay Ogden
Mencius on the Mind (1932)
Interpretation in Teaching (1938)
How to Read a Page (1942)
Speculative Instruments (1955)
Design for Escape (1968)
Richards on Rhetoric: I.A. Richards (1990)
Poetry in order
Science and Poetry (1926)
Practical Criticism (1929)
Coleridge on Imagination (1934)
Poetries and Sciences (1970)
Plays in order
Why So, Socrates? (1964)
Other books in order
The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1936)
English Through Pictures (1946)
Spanish Self-taught Through Pictures (1950)
Spanish Through Pictures (1953)
Italian Through Pictures (1955)
German Through Pictures (1960)
Spanish Through Pictures, Book Ii (1972)
A Semantically Sequenced Way of Teaching English (1993)
About I. A. Richards
Ivor Armstrong Richards CH, known as I. A. Richards, was an English educator, literary critic, poet, and rhetorician. His work contributed to the foundations of New Criticism, a formalist movement in literary theory which emphasized the close reading of a literary text, especially poetry, in an effort to discover how a work of literature functions as a self-contained and self-referential æsthetic object.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
I. A. Richards FAQ
- How many books has I. A. Richards written?
- I. A. Richards published 8 non-fiction books, 4 poetry collections, 1 play and 8 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read I. A. Richards's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Design for Escape.
- What is I. A. Richards's last book?
- Design for Escape (1968).
- What is I. A. Richards's most famous book?
- Design for Escape (1968) is I. A. Richards's most widely read book.
- Can I read I. A. Richards's books for free?
- Yes. 2 books by I. A. Richards are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
Authors like I. A. Richards
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.