Philip Pullman Books in Order: Complete List + Where to Start

By T.L. BransonFantasy

The Philip Pullman books in order can look a little scattered because his bibliography crosses fantasy, mystery, fairy tales, plays, graphic novels, essays, and children’s books. Most readers know him for His Dark Materials, but that’s only one part of his work.

If you’re new to Pullman, I’d start with His Dark Materials. After that, move into The Book of Dust if you want more Lyra, or try the Sally Lockhart mysteries if you want Victorian suspense without daemons, Dust, or parallel worlds.

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Where to Start

For most readers, the best place to start Philip Pullman is Northern Lights / The Golden Compass. It begins the His Dark Materials trilogy, introduces Lyra, and gives you the foundation for the larger Dust universe.

From there, finish the original trilogy before touching The Book of Dust. Even though La Belle Sauvage takes place before Northern Lights, the original trilogy works better as your first entry point. It lets the world unfold the way Pullman first revealed it.

If you’re looking for something outside that universe, start with The Ruby in the Smoke for mystery or The Firework-Maker’s Daughter for a shorter fairy-tale style story. Pullman has range, so the right starting point depends on what kind of book you want.

Philip Pullman Books in Publication Order

This is the broad publication order for Pullman’s major books. I’ve included the main novels, series books, companion stories, fairy tales, plays, graphic novels, essays, and selected editorial work. I haven’t treated every anthology appearance as a major book, because that would make the list less useful for most readers.

  1. The Haunted Storm (1972)
  2. Galatea (1976)
  3. Using the Oxford Junior Dictionary (1978)
  4. Ancient Civilizations (1979)
  5. Count Karlstein (1982)
  6. The Ruby in the Smoke (1985)
  7. The Shadow in the North / The Shadow in the Plate (1986)
  8. How to Be Cool (1987)
  9. Spring-Heeled Jack (1989)
  10. The Tiger in the Well (1990)
  11. The Broken Bridge (1990)
  12. Frankenstein (1990) (Play adaptation)
  13. The White Mercedes / The Butterfly Tattoo (1992)
  14. Sherlock Holmes and the Limehouse Horror (1992) (Play)
  15. Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp (1993)
  16. The Tin Princess (1994)
  17. Thunderbolt’s Waxwork (1994)
  18. Northern Lights / The Golden Compass (1995)
  19. The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (1995)
  20. The Gas-Fitters’ Ball (1995)
  21. Clockwork / Clockwork, or All Wound Up (1996)
  22. The Subtle Knife (1997)
  23. Detective Stories (1998) (Editor)
  24. Mossycoat (1998)
  25. I Was a Rat! / I Was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers (1999)
  26. The Amber Spyglass (2000)
  27. Puss in Boots (2000)
  28. Lyra’s Oxford (2003)
  29. The Scarecrow and His Servant (2004)
  30. Whodunit? (2007) (Editor)
  31. Once Upon a Time in the North (2008)
  32. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (2010)
  33. The Adventures of the New Cut Gang / Two Crafty Criminals! (2012) (Collects the New-Cut Gang stories)
  34. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm (2012)
  35. The Golden Key (2012)
  36. The Collectors (2014) (His Dark Materials short story)
  37. The Adventures of John Blake (2017) (Graphic novel)
  38. Imaginary Friends (2017) (Essay)
  39. Daemon Voices (2017)
  40. La Belle Sauvage (2017)
  41. Four Tales (2019) (Collection)
  42. The Secret Commonwealth (2019)
  43. Serpentine (2020)
  44. The Imagination Chamber (2022)
  45. The Rose Field (2025)

Philip Pullman Books by Series

Pullman’s series are easier to follow when you separate them by world. I’ve listed the series by the publication date of each first book, oldest first.

Sally Lockhart

The Sally Lockhart books are Victorian mysteries with danger, crime, secrets, and a very different feel from His Dark Materials. They’re a good next stop if you like Pullman’s plotting but want something more grounded.

  1. The Ruby in the Smoke (1985)
  2. The Shadow in the North / The Shadow in the Plate (1986)
  3. The Tiger in the Well (1990)
  4. The Tin Princess (1994)

New-Cut Gang

The New-Cut Gang books are comic Victorian adventures about a group of young detectives. The two original stories were later collected together, so don’t buy both the single titles and the collection unless you specifically want both formats.

  1. Thunderbolt’s Waxwork (1994)
  2. The Gas-Fitters’ Ball (1995)
  3. The Adventures of the New Cut Gang / Two Crafty Criminals! (2012) (Collects the New-Cut Gang stories)

His Dark Materials

This is Pullman’s essential series and the best place for most readers to begin. In the United States, Northern Lights is usually published as The Golden Compass. For a deeper dive into the world of His Dark Materials, check out my dedicated His Dark Materials books in order reading guide.

  1. Northern Lights / The Golden Compass (1995)
  2. The Subtle Knife (1997)
  3. The Amber Spyglass (2000)

His Dark Materials Companion Books

These are connected to Lyra’s world, but they’re extras rather than replacements for the main trilogy. Read the original trilogy first, then add these when you want more of the world around it.

  1. Lyra’s Oxford (2003)
  2. Once Upon a Time in the North (2008)
  3. The Collectors (2014)
  4. Serpentine (2020)
  5. The Imagination Chamber (2022)

The Book of Dust

The Book of Dust is set in the same universe as His Dark Materials. Pullman has called it an “equel,” because it sits beside the original trilogy rather than working as a simple prequel or sequel.

  1. La Belle Sauvage (2017)
  2. The Secret Commonwealth (2019)
  3. The Rose Field (2025)

The Adventures of John Blake

This graphic novel is separate from Lyra’s world. It’s a sea adventure with time-slipping mystery, illustrated by Fred Fordham.

  1. The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship (2017)

Philip Pullman Standalone Books

Pullman’s standalones range from early adult fiction to children’s fairy tales, school stories, realistic YA, and religious retelling. Some are easy to find. Some are older and harder to track down.

  1. The Haunted Storm (1972)
  2. Galatea (1976)
  3. Count Karlstein (1982)
  4. How to Be Cool (1987)
  5. Spring-Heeled Jack (1989)
  6. The Broken Bridge (1990)
  7. The White Mercedes / The Butterfly Tattoo (1992)
  8. Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp (1993)
  9. The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (1995)
  10. Clockwork / Clockwork, or All Wound Up (1996)
  11. Mossycoat (1998)
  12. I Was a Rat! / I Was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers (1999)
  13. Puss in Boots (2000)
  14. The Scarecrow and His Servant (2004)
  15. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (2010)

Philip Pullman Short Stories, Fairy Tales, and Collections

Pullman has always had a strong fairy-tale streak. This section gathers his collections, retellings, companion stories, and short standalone pieces.

  1. Detective Stories (1998) (Editor)
  2. Whodunit? (2007) (Editor)
  3. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm / Grimm Tales for Young and Old (2012)
  4. The Golden Key (2012)
  5. The Collectors (2014)
  6. Imaginary Friends (2017)
  7. Four Tales (2019)
  8. Serpentine (2020)
  9. The Imagination Chamber (2022)

Four Tales collects The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, I Was a Rat!, Clockwork, and The Scarecrow and His Servant. It’s useful if you want those shorter stories together, but it duplicates books listed elsewhere on this page.

Philip Pullman Nonfiction, Plays, and Other Work

This section is for readers who want the fuller bibliography beyond novels. These aren’t the best starting points for casual readers, but they matter if you’re trying to track Pullman’s work beyond fiction.

  1. Using the Oxford Junior Dictionary (1978)
  2. Ancient Civilizations (1979)
  3. Frankenstein (1990) (Play adaptation of Mary Shelley)
  4. Sherlock Holmes and the Limehouse Horror (1992) (Play)
  5. Daemon Voices (2017) (Essays)

About Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman is an English author from Norwich, though Oxford is the place most readers associate with him. He studied English at Exeter College, Oxford, then worked as a teacher and lecturer before becoming a full-time writer.

That teacher’s background matters. You can feel it in the way his books trust readers. Pullman doesn’t flatten hard ideas just because young people might be reading. He writes about power, fear, religion, story, innocence, experience, love, death, and freedom, but he does it through plot first. The ideas come through because the story is alive.

That’s why His Dark Materials still stands apart from a lot of fantasy. The armored bears, daemons, witches, angels, and parallel worlds are exciting, but the books last because Lyra’s story keeps asking bigger questions without stopping to lecture the reader.

Pullman’s other books show the same instincts in different shapes. The Sally Lockhart books are sharp Victorian mysteries. Clockwork and The Firework-Maker’s Daughter feel closer to fables. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm shows how deeply he understands old stories, while Daemon Voices lets him talk directly about how stories work.

If you only read one part of his bibliography, make it His Dark Materials. If you want to understand the full writer, keep going. Pullman’s books reward readers who like stories with teeth.

Looking for more books in order?

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

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