Jeffrey Archer Books in Order: Complete List & Reading Guide

Looking for Jeffrey Archer books in order? This guide brings together his major series, standalone novels, short story collections, children’s books, plays, prison diaries, and screen adaptations in one place.

Archer writes multigenerational family sagas, political and financial thrillers, crime fiction, and twist-driven short stories. His best-known work includes the Kane and Abel trilogy, the Clifton Chronicles, the William Warwick novels, and a large standalone backlist.

Jump to:

• Jeffrey Archer Books by Series
• Jeffrey Archer Standalone Novels
• Jeffrey Archer Short Story Collections
• Jeffrey Archer Children’s Books
• Other Jeffrey Archer Works
• Who Is Jeffrey Archer?

Jeffrey Archer Books by Series

Kane and Abel Series

1. Kane and Abel (1980)
2. The Prodigal Daughter (1982)
3. Shall We Tell the President? (1987)

I recommend reading the revised Florentyna Kane edition of Shall We Tell the President? as Book 3. Archer first published a different version in 1977 with Ted Kennedy as president. He later revised the novel to feature Florentyna Kane, connecting it directly to Kane and Abel and The Prodigal Daughter.

Clifton Chronicles Series

1. Only Time Will Tell (2011)
2. The Sins of the Father (2012)
3. Best Kept Secret (2013)
4. Be Careful What You Wish For (2014)
5. Mightier Than the Sword (2015)
6. Cometh the Hour (2016)
7. This Was a Man (2016)

The Clifton Chronicles is complete at seven books. I’d read the series in the order above because each novel continues the story of Harry Clifton, the Barrington family, and the people around them.

William Warwick Series

1. Nothing Ventured (2019)
2. Hidden in Plain Sight (2020)
3. Turn a Blind Eye (2021)
4. Over My Dead Body (2021)
5. Next in Line (2022)
6. Traitors Gate (2023)
7. An Eye for an Eye (2024)
8. End Game (2025)

The William Warwick series is complete at eight books. William first appeared as the fictional detective created by Harry Clifton in the Clifton Chronicles, but his crime series stands on its own. In my view, reading the Clifton books first adds a fun connection, but it isn’t necessary.

Jeffrey Archer Standalone Novels

1. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1976)
2. First Among Equals (1984)
3. A Matter of Honor (1986)
4. As the Crow Flies (1991)
5. Honor Among Thieves (1993)
6. The Fourth Estate (1996)
7. The Eleventh Commandment (1998)
8. Sons of Fortune (2003)
9. False Impression (2006)
10. A Prisoner of Birth (2008)
11. Paths of Glory (2009)
12. Heads You Win (2018)
13. Adam and Eve (2026)

The standalone novels can be read in any order. I’d start with Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less for a clever revenge story, First Among Equals for political fiction, or A Prisoner of Birth for a modern take on The Count of Monte Cristo. Archer announced Adam and Eve as his final novel.

Jeffrey Archer Short Story Collections

Jeffrey Archer has published seven original short story collections. The individual stories that have also appeared as Kindle singles are already included within these collections, so I prefer listing the complete books rather than a partial group of reissued stories.

Original Short Story Collections

1. A Quiver Full of Arrows (1980)
2. A Twist in the Tale (1988)
3. Twelve Red Herrings (1994)
4. To Cut a Long Story Short (2000)
5. Cat O’Nine Tales (2007)
6. And Thereby Hangs a Tale (2010)
7. Tell Tale (2017)

I’d start with A Quiver Full of Arrows if you want to read the collections in publication order. Each collection stands on its own, so you can also begin with whichever one is easiest to find.

Collected and Illustrated Editions

• The Collected Short Stories (1997)
• The New Collected Short Stories (2014)
• The Short, the Long and the Tall (2020)

The Collected Short Stories combines Archer’s first three collections. The New Collected Short Stories gathers the next three, while The Short, the Long and the Tall is an illustrated selection of 20 previously published stories. I think these editions are useful buying options, but they don’t add new collections to the reading order.

Edited Anthology

• Fools, Knaves and Heroes: Great Political Short Stories edited with Simon Bainbridge (1991)

This is a multi-author political anthology rather than an original Jeffrey Archer story collection.

Jeffrey Archer Children’s Books

Archer’s children’s books include three newer series and several earlier illustrated stories. I’ve kept each series together so the intended order is easy to follow.

The Awesome Adventures of Will and Randolph

1. The Killer Kipper (2024)
2. Battle of the Blockheads (2024)
3. The Last Dragon Hunter (2024)
4. The Fallen Heroes (2024)

Faraday the Time-Travelling Dog

1. The Viking Queen! (2024)
2. The Fall of the Pharaoh (2024)

Little Kingdoms

1. Dance of the Underpants (2024)
2. The Ridiculous Race (2024)

Earlier Children’s Books

1. By Royal Appointment (1980)
2. Willy Visits the Square World (1980)
3. Willy and the Killer Kipper (1981)
4. The First Miracle (1994)

Willy and the Killer Kipper and the newer The Killer Kipper are different stories, despite their similar titles. The First Miracle began as an earlier story, but the separately published illustrated U.S. edition listed here appeared in 1994.

Other Jeffrey Archer Works

Jeffrey Archer Plays

1. Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1987)
2. Exclusive (1989)
3. The Accused (2000)

These are Archer’s three original stage plays. The Accused is a courtroom play, not a standalone novel.

The Prison Diaries

1. A Prison Diary: Hell, Volume I (2003)
2. Purgatory: A Prison Diary, Volume II (2005)
3. Heaven: A Prison Diary, Volume III (2006)

Archer was sentenced to four years in prison in 2001 and released after serving about half of that term. The three volumes cover his time at HMP Belmarsh, HMP Wayland, and HMP North Sea Camp. I recommend reading them in order because each diary continues the same account.

Other Fiction and Collaborations

• The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot with Francis J. Moloney (2007)

This collaboration retells the Gospel story from Judas’s perspective and stands apart from Archer’s novels and short story collections.

Jeffrey Archer Book-to-Screen Adaptations

• Kane & Abel (CBS miniseries, 1985; BBC miniseries, 1986)
• First Among Equals (Granada Television series, 1986)
• Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (BBC series, 1990)
• Tales of the Unexpected (three Archer stories adapted between 1979 and 1988)

These are the completed television adaptations tied to Archer’s published work. I haven’t included projects that have only been announced or remain in development.

Who Is Jeffrey Archer?

Jeffrey Archer was born on April 15, 1940, in London. Before becoming a novelist, he served as the Member of Parliament for Louth and later as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. He was also a member of the House of Lords before retiring from it in 2024.

After suffering severe financial losses, Archer began writing Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less in 1974. The novel launched a long career that grew to include family sagas, political thrillers, crime fiction, short stories, plays, children’s books, and memoir.

In 2001, Archer was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice and received a four-year prison sentence. He served about two years. His writing career was already well established by then, and his time in prison later became the basis for the three-volume Prison Diaries.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• Ken Follett Books in Order
• John Grisham Books in Order
• David Baldacci Books in Order