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Jill Paton Walsh Books in Order

The continuation of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Jill Paton Walsh, including the completion of Sayers' unfinished manuscript and original sequels.

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Jill Paton Walsh books in publication order

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34 books

Hengest's Tale

by Jill Paton Walsh

1966

Hengest looks back on a life caught between the competing claims of Jutes, Danes, and Frisians in fifth-century northern Europe. His recollections explore how loyalty, vengeance, and sworn obligations can collide when survival depends on alliances with former enemies.

Fireweed

by Jill Paton Walsh

1969

Teenage runaways Bill and Julie refuse evacuation and struggle to survive in London during the Blitz. Their attempt to live independently amid the bombing brings friendship and first love, while war steadily exposes the limits of their fragile refuge.

The Dolphin Crossing

by Jill Paton Walsh

1970

Boarding school boy John and London evacuee Pat come from different worlds, but form a friendship during the Second World War. Determined to help soldiers stranded at Dunkirk, they plan to take a boat across the dangerous English Channel.

Farewell, Great King

by Jill Paton Walsh

1972

Athenian statesman Themistokles devotes his life to protecting his city against Persian attack and rival Greek powers. His political judgment and complicated attachment to Aristides unfold amid shifting alliances, as serving Athens increasingly demands decisions that could threaten his standing.

Goldengrove

by Jill Paton Walsh

1972

During a summer at their grandmother's Cornish home, Madge and Paul confront changes in their relationship and the approach of adulthood. Madge's interest in a blind professor deepens her awareness of suffering, while family secrets disturb their familiar world.

The Emperor's Winding Sheet

by Jill Paton Walsh

1974

Shipwrecked and alone, an English boy reaches Emperor Constantine's court and is treated as a good-luck omen. Required to remain near the ruler, he witnesses the mounting threats and divided loyalties surrounding Constantinople as Turkish forces close in.

The Butty Boy / The Huffler

by Jill Paton Walsh

1975

Fascinated by the canal boats passing her comfortable home, a young girl leaves her familiar surroundings and finds herself traveling as part of a crew. Life aboard a narrowboat introduces a different world from the household she wanted to escape.

Unleaving

by Jill Paton Walsh

1976

During a Cornish summer, Madge grows close to Patrick Tregeagle, a troubled man caring for his disabled sister Molly. Their developing bond unfolds beside philosophical discussions and family tensions, as experiences of love and loss challenge their understanding of life.

The Walls of Athens

by Jill Paton Walsh

1977

Demeas helps restore his family's olive farm after Persian devastation but longs to join the rebuilding of Athens. Finding an injured messenger sends him racing toward Sparta with news for Themistokles, whose political maneuvering depends on the city's unfinished walls.

A Chance Child

by Jill Paton Walsh

1978

An abused child called Creep escapes the closet where his mother has hidden him and takes refuge in a boat. Traveling into the Industrial Revolution, he encounters exploited young workers and discovers companionship amid conditions that echo his own suffering.

Children of the Fox

by Jill Paton Walsh

1978

Three linked stories follow children caught up in the career of Athenian statesman Themistokles. A refugee girl, an olive farmer's son, and a young princess encounter war and political danger as their ordinary lives intersect with ancient Greece's larger conflicts.

A Parcel of Patterns

by Jill Paton Walsh

1983

In 1665 Eyam, shepherd girl Mall Percival's ordinary life is disrupted when a parcel from London brings plague to her village. As illness spreads, the residents decide to isolate themselves, confronting the cost of protecting surrounding communities from infection.

Lost and Found

by Jill Paton Walsh

1985

Across four periods in an English town's history, children set out to deliver objects to their grandparents and lose them along the way. Each misplaced object connects to another child's discovery, linking changing surroundings with familiar family relationships.

Lapsing

by Jill Paton Walsh

1986

In 1950s Oxford, student Tessa, academic Ben, and priest Theodore share a Catholic community. Tessa and Theodore's chaste attachment unsettles his faith, while her relationship with Ben and their continuing connection force all three to confront belief, love, and commitment.

Torch

by Jill Paton Walsh

1988

Long after industrial civilization has collapsed, Cal and Dio visit a dying elder before their arranged wedding. His mysterious charge to guard a treasure draws them into a journey across Europe carrying a flame inherited from a barely understood past.

A School for Lovers

by Jill Paton Walsh

1989

Two intertwined narratives draw on Mozart's Cosi fan tutte to examine love and infidelity. Students studying the opera and an attempt to reenact its plot for a wager bring questions of fidelity out of performance and into personal relationships.

Birdy and the Ghosties

by Jill Paton Walsh

1989

Birdy helps her father Papajack operate a ferry across a river and out to sea. When three ghostly passengers summon them toward an unfamiliar island, her ability to see what her father cannot turns the crossing into an unusual adventure.

Grace

by Jill Paton Walsh

1991

Lighthouse keeper's daughter Grace Darling joins her father in a dangerous rescue after a steamship wreck in 1838. The deed brings nationwide admiration, but also local resentment, forcing Grace to confront the conflicting demands of celebrity, conscience, and community.

When Grandma Came

by Jill Paton Walsh

1992

Grandma returns from journeys around the world with memories of remarkable sights, but her growing granddaughter Madeleine offers a different kind of wonder. This picture book connects faraway discoveries with the changes and pleasures of a child's early life.

The Wyndham Case

by Jill Paton Walsh

1993

Student Philip Skellow is found dead inside a locked specialist library at Cambridge's St. Agatha's College. College nurse Imogen Quy investigates, uncovering social tensions, a missing roommate, and academic rivalries that complicate the apparent circumstances of his death.

Knowledge of Angels

by Jill Paton Walsh

1994

A shipwrecked atheist and a child raised by wolves arrive on a medieval island ruled by the Church. Cardinal-prince Severo questions whether knowledge of God is innate, setting in motion an experiment whose conclusions could determine both strangers' fates.

A Piece of Justice

by Jill Paton Walsh

1995

Cambridge nurse Imogen Quy's lodger Frances undertakes a biography of mathematician Gideon Summerfield, then discovers that previous biographers have died or disappeared. Their inquiries lead into Wales, where an event from Summerfield's past may explain the disturbing pattern.

Pepi and the Secret Names

by Jill Paton Walsh

1995

Pepi's father must decorate an Egyptian prince's tomb and paints best from life. To help him, Pepi ventures out to summon dangerous animals by discovering their secret names, which appear as hieroglyphs for readers to decipher alongside the story.

Thomas and the Tinners

by Jill Paton Walsh

1995

Thomas shares his pasty with a small miner and receives a wish in return. When more miners appear, his generous impulse becomes troublesome, drawing him into a Cornish tale where food, kindness, and unexpected magical rewards create mounting complications.

Connie Came to Play

by Jill Paton Walsh

1996

When Connie visits, Robert refuses to share his toys, so she imagines playing with their real counterparts instead. Her make-believe adventures unfold beside his possessiveness, offering a different way for the two children to approach play and spending time together.

The Serpentine Cave

by Jill Paton Walsh

1997

After her artist mother's death, Marion discovers a portrait that may reveal the identity of her absent father. Her search takes her to St. Ives, where memories of childhood and an old lifeboat disaster draw her into unresolved family history.

When I Was Little Like You

by Jill Paton Walsh

1997

Walking beside the sea, Rosie listens as her grandmother compares the present with her own childhood. Memories of steam trains, fishing boats, and ice-cream sellers introduce a changed world, while their shared surroundings reveal connections between the two generations.

Thrones, Dominations

by Jill Paton Walsh

1998

Begun by Sayers in 1936 and completed by Walsh, this novel sees Peter and Harriet settling into married life in London. Their happiness is tested when they become involved in the murder of a theatrical producer's wife against the backdrop of King Edward VIII's abdication crisis.

A Desert in Bohemia

by Jill Paton Walsh

2000

In 1945, Eliska shelters in a deserted Eastern European castle alongside partisans and other displaced people. The owner's return and the arrival of Communist forces unsettle their fragile arrangements, beginning a web of loyalties and losses that spans decades.

A Presumption of Death

by Jill Paton Walsh

2002

Set during World War II, this sequel finds Harriet Vane living in the country at Talboys. When a young woman is murdered during an air-raid drill, Harriet must work with the local police—and a visiting Peter—to catch a killer in a village full of secrets.

Debts of Dishonor

by Jill Paton Walsh

2006

When wealthy businessman and potential college benefactor Sir Julius Farran falls from a cliff, Cambridge nurse Imogen Quy questions whether his death was accidental. Her inquiries draw St. Agatha's College into a complicated network of financial dealings and personal betrayals.

The Bad Quarto

by Jill Paton Walsh

2007

Research fellow John Talentire dies while climbing a Cambridge building, leaving questions about his supposedly accidental fall. During a student production of Hamlet, an actor makes a public accusation, drawing college nurse Imogen Quy into competing accounts of the death.

The Attenbury Emeralds

by Jill Paton Walsh

2010

In 1951, the new Lord Attenbury asks Peter for help proving the ownership of a family heirloom. The investigation prompts Peter to recount his very first case from 1921, weaving a narrative that spans thirty years of Wimsey history.

The Late Scholar

by Jill Paton Walsh

2013

Peter and Harriet return to Oxford when Peter is appointed 'Visitor' to settle a dispute at a fictional college. When fellows of the college start dying, the couple must unravel a mystery involving ancient manuscripts and academic rivalries.

Standalone Jill Paton Walsh books

  1. Book cover for "Hengest's Tale"

    Hengest's Tale

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1966
  2. Book cover for "Fireweed"

    Fireweed

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1969
  3. Book cover for "The Dolphin Crossing"

    The Dolphin Crossing

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1970
  4. Book cover for "Farewell, Great King"

    Farewell, Great King

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1972
  5. Book cover for "Goldengrove"

    Goldengrove

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1972Goldengrove, Book 1
  6. Book cover for "The Emperor's Winding Sheet"

    The Emperor's Winding Sheet

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1974
  7. Book cover for "The Butty Boy / The Huffler"

    The Butty Boy / The Huffler

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1975
  8. Book cover for "Unleaving"

    Unleaving

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1976Goldengrove, Book 2
  9. Book cover for "The Walls of Athens"

    The Walls of Athens

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1977
  10. Book cover for "A Chance Child"

    A Chance Child

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1978
  11. Book cover for "Children of the Fox"

    Children of the Fox

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1978
  12. Book cover for "A Parcel of Patterns"

    A Parcel of Patterns

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1983
  13. Book cover for "Lost and Found"

    Lost and Found

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1985
  14. Book cover for "Lapsing"

    Lapsing

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1986
  15. Book cover for "Torch"

    Torch

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1988
  16. Book cover for "A School for Lovers"

    A School for Lovers

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1989
  17. Book cover for "Birdy and the Ghosties"

    Birdy and the Ghosties

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1989Gripping Tales, Book 1
  18. Book cover for "Grace"

    Grace

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1991
  19. Book cover for "When Grandma Came"

    When Grandma Came

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1992
  20. Book cover for "The Wyndham Case"

    The Wyndham Case

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1993Imogen Quy, Book 1
  21. Book cover for "Knowledge of Angels"

    Knowledge of Angels

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1994
  22. Book cover for "A Piece of Justice"

    A Piece of Justice

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1995Imogen Quy, Book 2
  23. Book cover for "Pepi and the Secret Names"

    Pepi and the Secret Names

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1995
  24. Book cover for "Thomas and the Tinners"

    Thomas and the Tinners

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1995Gripping Tales, Book 2
  25. Book cover for "Connie Came to Play"

    Connie Came to Play

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1996
  26. Book cover for "The Serpentine Cave"

    The Serpentine Cave

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1997
  27. Book cover for "When I Was Little Like You"

    When I Was Little Like You

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1997
  28. Book cover for "Thrones, Dominations"

    Thrones, Dominations

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    1998Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane, Book 1
  29. Book cover for "A Desert in Bohemia"

    A Desert in Bohemia

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    2000
  30. Book cover for "A Presumption of Death"

    A Presumption of Death

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    2002Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane, Book 2
  31. Book cover for "Debts of Dishonor"

    Debts of Dishonor

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    2006Imogen Quy, Book 3
  32. Book cover for "The Bad Quarto"

    The Bad Quarto

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    2007Imogen Quy, Book 4
  33. Book cover for "The Attenbury Emeralds"

    The Attenbury Emeralds

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    2010Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane, Book 3
  34. Book cover for "The Late Scholar"

    The Late Scholar

    by Jill Paton Walsh

    2013Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane, Book 4

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