Roland Barthes books in order
French philosopher and essayist
- Lived
- 1915–1980
- Country
- France
- Books
- 30
Roland Barthes published 1 novel, 2 novellas, 20 non-fiction books, 1 poetry collection and 6 other books, beginning with Mythologies (1957).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Roland Barthes
Start here
Mythologies
Roland Barthes's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
S/z (1970)
Novellas in order
Elements of Semiology (1964)
The Pleasure of the Text (1973)
Non-fiction in order
Writing Degree Zero (1953)
Mythologies (1957)
On Racine (1960)
Systeme De La Mode (1967)
The Fashion System (1967)
The Language of Fashion (1967)
Writing Degree Zero and Elements of Semiology (1968)
Sade, Fourier, Loyola (1971)
Critical Essays (1972)
Roland Barthes (1975)
Image-Music-Text (1977)
The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies (1979)
Writer Sollers (1979)
Camera Lucida (1980)
New Critical Essays (1980)
A Barthes Reader (1982)
The Grain of the Voice (1984)
The Responsibility of Forms (1984)
Incidents (1987)
Mourning Diary (2010)
Poetry in order
A Lover's Discourse: Fragments (1977)
Other books in order
Myth Today (1957)
La Tour Eiffel (1964)
Empire of Signs (1970)
Rhetoric of the Image (1977)
The Rustle of Language (1986)
The Semiotic Challenge (1988)
About Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popular culture. His ideas explored a diverse range of fields, including structuralism, anthropology, literary theory, and post-structuralism, and influenced the development of multiple schools of theory.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Roland Barthes FAQ
- How many books has Roland Barthes written?
- Roland Barthes published 1 novel, 2 novellas, 20 non-fiction books, 1 poetry collection and 6 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Roland Barthes's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Mythologies.
- What is Roland Barthes's last book?
- A Barthes Reader (1982).
- What is Roland Barthes's most famous book?
- Mythologies (1957) is Roland Barthes's most widely read book.
Authors like Roland Barthes
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.