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.
Last updated:
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Jill Paton Walsh books in publication order
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
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.

















































Comments
Did we miss something? Have feedback?
Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts