Umberto Eco books in order
Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist
- Lived
- 1932–2016
- Country
- Italy
- Books
- 54
- Also writes as
- Dedalus
Umberto Eco published 12 novels, 3 novellas, 1 short story collection, 29 non-fiction books, 1 children's book, 1 poetry collection and 7 other books, beginning with The Open Work (1962). The best-known is The Name of the Rose (1980).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Umberto Eco
Start here
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco's most-read book, rated by 122 Open Library readers.
Shortest way in
The Island of the Day Before
One of the most-read, at about 513 pages.
Standalone novels in order
A Theory of Semiotics (1975)
How to Write a Thesis (1977)
The Name of the Rose (1980)
The Sign of Three (1983)
Foucault's Pendulum (1988)
The Search for the Perfect Language (1993)
Six Walks in the Fictional Woods (1994)
The Island of the Day Before (1994)
Baudolino (2000)
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (2004)
The Prague Cemetery (Oct 2010)
Numero Zero (2015)
Novellas in order
The Aesthetics of Chaosmos (1982)
Postscript to the Name of the Rose (1983)
Ur-Fascism (Jun 1995)
Short story collections in order
Faith in Fakes (1973)
Non-fiction in order
The Picture History of Inventions (1961)
Misreadings (1963)
Apocalypse Postponed (1964)
Il Segno (1973)
The Role of the Reader (1979)
Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language (1984)
Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages (1987)
The Limits of Interpretation (1990)
How to Travel with a Salmon (1992)
Belief or Nonbelief? (1996), with Carlo Maria Martini
Cult Of Vespa (1996)
Five Moral Pieces (1997)
Kant and the Platypus (1997)
Serendipities (1998)
Talking of Joyce (1998)
La Bustina Di Minerva (1999)
Experiences in Translation (2000)
On Literature (2002)
Story of Time (2003), with Ernst Gombrich
History of Beauty (2004)
On Beauty (2004)
On Ugliness (2007)
Turning Back the Clock (2007)
The Infinity of Lists (2009)
This Is Not the End of the Book (Oct 2009), with Jean-Claude Carrière
Inventing the Enemy and Other Occasional Writings (2012)
The Book Of Legendary Lands (2013)
From the Tree to the Labyrinth (2014)
Chronicles of a Liquid Society (2017)
Children's books in order
The Bomb and the General (1988)
Poetry in order
The Open Work (1962)
Other books in order
The Aesthetics of Thomas Aquinas (1956)
Gülün Adi (1986)
Mouse or Rat? (2003)
Naming the Rose (2010)
Antik Yunan (2017)
Felsefe Tarihi (2020)
Antik Roma (2021)
Film and TV adaptations
- The Name of the Rose (1986)Film · from The Name of the Rose
- The Name of the Rose (2019)TV · from The Name of the Rose
About Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on the history of occultism and its contemporary interpretation through the new age movement.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Umberto Eco FAQ
- How many books has Umberto Eco written?
- Umberto Eco published 12 novels, 3 novellas, 1 short story collection, 29 non-fiction books, 1 children's book, 1 poetry collection and 7 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Umberto Eco's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with The Name of the Rose.
- What is Umberto Eco's last book?
- Chronicles of a Liquid Society (2017).
- What is Umberto Eco's most famous book?
- The Name of the Rose (1980) is Umberto Eco's most widely read book.
- Does Umberto Eco write under a pen name?
- Yes: Umberto Eco has also published as Dedalus.
- Which Umberto Eco books have been adapted?
- 1 book has been adapted for film or TV, including The Name of the Rose (film, 1986).
Authors like Umberto Eco
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.