W. H. Auden published 2 novels, 2 novellas, 1 short story collection, 5 non-fiction books, 27 poetry collections, 1 play and 7 other books, beginning with Poems (1938).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with W. H. Auden
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Poems
W. H. Auden's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
Restoration and Augustan Poets (1950)
Juvenilia (1994)
Novellas in order
The Orators (1932)
Secondary Worlds (1968)
Short story collections in order
The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays (1962)
Non-fiction in order
The Enchafèd Flood (1967)
Journey to a War (1972), with Christopher Isherwood
Forewords and Afterwords (1973)
The Prolific and the Devourer (1981)
In Solitude, for Company (1995)
Poetry in order
The Poet's Tongue (1935)
Letters from Iceland (1937), with Louis MacNeice
Poems (1938)
The Oxford Book of Light Verse (1938)
Another Time (1940)
The Collected Poetry of W.h. Auden (1945)
The Age of Anxiety (1947)
Poets of the English Language (1950)
Nones (1951)
The Shield of Achilles (1955)
The Criterion Book of Modern American Verse (1956)
Selected Poetry (1959)
Homage to Clio (1960)
About the House (1965)
City Without Walls (1965)
The Platonic Blow (1965)
Collected Shorter Poems, 1927-1957 (1966)
Collected Longer Poems (1968)
The Elder Edda (1969)
A Certain World (1970)
Selected Poetry of W.h. Auden (1970)
Thank You, Fog (1973)
Romantic Poets (1977)
Norse Poems (1981)
The English Auden (1986)
Auden (1995)
Selected Poems (2002)
Plays in order
The Ascent of F6 (1936)
Other books in order
The Dog Beneath the Skin (1935)
On the Frontier (1938)
New Year Letter (1941)
For the Time (1958)
The Faber Book of Aphorisms (1962)
W.H. Auden (1963)
The Portable Greek Reader (1965)
About W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content. Some of his best known poems are about love, such as "Funeral Blues"; on political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles"; on cultural and psychological themes, such as The Age of Anxiety; and on religious themes, such as "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae".
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
W. H. Auden FAQ
- How many books has W. H. Auden written?
- W. H. Auden published 2 novels, 2 novellas, 1 short story collection, 5 non-fiction books, 27 poetry collections, 1 play and 7 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read W. H. Auden's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with Poems.
- What is W. H. Auden's last book?
- Forewords and Afterwords (1973).
- What is W. H. Auden's most famous book?
- Poems (1938) is W. H. Auden's most widely read book.
Authors like W. H. Auden
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.