Juliet Marillier Books in Order
Explore the books of Juliet Marillier in order, with series overviews, book summaries and tips on where to start with her Celtic-inspired historical fantasy.
Last updated: January 12, 2026
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Publication Order
26 books
The Amber Owl
by Juliet Marillier
2025
Stasya, a quiet young woman with a rare gift for understanding animals, lives beside the forbidden Heartwood Forest until soldiers arrive to carve a road through its depths, dragging her to court and forcing her to defend the living wood from within.
A Song of Flight
by Juliet Marillier
2021
When the prince of Dalriada vanishes in a Crow Folk attack, Liobhan and Dau lead a search that tangles with Brocc's attempt to free the cursed Crow Folk and stop a plot that could shatter the kingdom.
A Dance with Fate
by Juliet Marillier
2020
After a training bout leaves Dau blinded, Liobhan accepts a year of service in his harsh family home as payment, and the two uncover abuse, dark magic and a chance to rebuild Dau's life on different terms.
The Harp of Kings
by Juliet Marillier
2019
Swan Island trainees Liobhan, Brocc and Dau go undercover as musicians and a mute stable hand to recover a missing ritual harp before a coronation, facing court intrigue, uncanny forces and tests of courage that could define their futures.
Den of Wolves
by Juliet Marillier
2016
While Blackthorn cares for troubled young Cara at Prince Oran's court, Grim oversees the building of a mysterious heartwood house at Wolf Glen, and together they expose hidden cruelties and a dangerous ritual that could cost them their hard won peace.
Tower of Thorns
by Juliet Marillier
2015
Summoned to a distant holding, Blackthorn and Grim investigate a screaming creature trapped in a tower behind a hedge of thorns, and uncover layers of grief, enchantment and old betrayal that mirror their own buried wounds.
The Caller
by Juliet Marillier
2014
As the rebellion against King Keldec nears open war, Neryn must finish her training, face a rival Caller who serves the crown and risk everything to unite humans and Good Folk in one last, perilous stand.
Dreamer's Pool
by Juliet Marillier
2014
Freed from wrongful imprisonment by a fey bargain, bitter healer Blackthorn and her giant companion Grim settle near the uncanny Dreamer's Wood, where Prince Oran begs them to unravel the disturbing mystery of his transformed bride.
Raven Flight
by Juliet Marillier
2013
Now allied with the rebels, Neryn sets out with fierce warrior Tali to seek the ancient Guardians who can train her as a Caller, while Flint’s dangerous double life at court threatens to unravel everything they are fighting for.
Prickle Moon
by Juliet Marillier
2013
This collection gathers some of Juliet Marillier's best short fiction, from wise women facing impossible choices to modern fairy tale retellings and a Sevenwaters novella that returns briefly to her most loved forest.
Shadowfell
by Juliet Marillier
2012
In a land where anyone with magic is hunted, sixteen year old Neryn flees King Keldec's Enforcers and journeys toward the rebel haven of Shadowfell, guided by cryptic Good Folk and an enigmatic fighter who may not be what he seems.
Flame of Sevenwaters
by Juliet Marillier
2012
Scarred Maeve returns reluctantly to her childhood home at Sevenwaters after years away, and uses her gift with troubled animals to face a ruthless fey prince whose cruel games threaten her family, the forest and a fragile peace.
Twixt Firelight and Water
by Juliet Marillier
2011
During a visit to Sevenwaters, adventurous Aisha meets druid Ciaran and his raven companion, and discovers that the bird is a cursed man whose long punishment can end only if she is willing to tie her own fate to his.
Seer of Sevenwaters
by Juliet Marillier
2010
On a final visit to the island of Inis Eala before taking her druid vows, young seer Sibeal rescues an amnesiac shipwreck survivor, and their growing bond pulls her into dangerous questions about identity, loyalty and the future she has promised herself.
Heart's Blood
by Juliet Marillier
2009
Fleeing an abusive home, skilled scribe Caitrin finds work in the eerie hill fortress of Whistling Tor, where reclusive chieftain Anluan and his haunted household need her help to untangle an old curse before it destroys them all.
Heir to Sevenwaters
by Juliet Marillier
2008
Practical Clodagh takes charge of caring for her fragile newborn brother, only to see him stolen and replaced with a changeling, and must venture into the Otherworld with prickly warrior Cathal to bargain for the real child’s return.
The Well of Shades
by Juliet Marillier
2007
Returning to his troubled homeland on Bridei's orders, Faolan confronts the abusive past that shaped him, rescues Eile and her child, and uncovers secrets that threaten both Fortriu's fragile unity and his own hard-won self control.
Cybele's Secret
by Juliet Marillier
2007
Bookish Paula travels with her merchant father to Istanbul to bid on a rare statue linked to the goddess Cybele, and is swept into a lethal tangle of secret cults, riddles, pirates and a magical quest that tests her heart.
Wildwood Dancing
by Juliet Marillier
2006
Responsible Jena and her four sisters secretly cross into the Other Kingdom every full moon to dance with magical folk, but when their cousin seizes control at home and Tati falls for a Night Person, Jena must protect family, forest and faerie realm.
Blade Of Fortriu
by Juliet Marillier
2005
Faolan, a scarred spy and assassin in Bridei's service, escorts gentle Ana to a politically dangerous marriage, and finds himself caught between duty, war and an unexpected love that could alter alliances across the Pictish kingdoms.
The Dark Mirror
by Juliet Marillier
2004
Chosen from childhood to be shaped into a king, Bridei grows up under the stern eye of druid Broichan, while his love for faery foundling Tuala and his horror at old sacrifices challenge the future laid out for him.
Wolfskin
by Juliet Marillier
2003
Ambitious young Eyvind wins his place as a Wolfskin warrior and follows his blood brother Somerled to the Light Isles, where his loyalty to Somerled clashes with his love for Pictish priestess Nessa and his sense of honour.
Foxmask
by Juliet Marillier
2002
Thorvald, son of a notorious traitor, sails north to find the father he has never known, accompanied by his friend Sam and stowaway Creidhe, and they become entangled in the fearful politics of a remote island community.
Child of the Prophecy
by Juliet Marillier
2001
Raised in isolation by her sorcerer father and ruthless grandmother, Fainne is sent to Sevenwaters to sabotage an ancient prophecy, and has to choose whether blood loyalty or her own conscience will decide the fate of sacred islands.
Son of the Shadows
by Juliet Marillier
2000
Liadan, Sorcha's practical daughter, is drawn into a band of mercenaries led by the mysterious Painted Man and must decide whether to betray her family or follow her heart as war and prophecy press in.
Daughter of the Forest
by Juliet Marillier
1999
Young Sorcha, only daughter of the Lord of Sevenwaters, must remain silent and weave painful nettle shirts to free her brothers from a witch's curse, even when she is carried into enemy lands and falls in love.
Where should I start?
If you want sweeping Celtic family saga: Daughter of the Forest → Son of the Shadows → Child of the Prophecy.
If you enjoy young adult fairy-tale fantasy: Wildwood Dancing → Cybele's Secret.
If you like rebel fantasy with a strong heroine: Shadowfell → Raven Flight → The Caller.
If you want gritty mystery threaded with healing and folklore: Dreamer's Pool → Tower of Thorns → Den of Wolves.
If you prefer fast-paced quests with music and spies: The Harp of Kings → A Dance with Fate → A Song of Flight.
Author bio
Juliet Marillier was born in 1948 in Dunedin, New Zealand, a city with strong Scottish roots, and grew up hearing Celtic stories and songs at home. That early mix of history, folklore and music sits at the heart of her novels, which set human dramas against old myths and half remembered gods.
She studied at the University of Otago, earning a degree in languages and an honours degree in music. Before she wrote full time she taught music at schools and universities, sang as an opera soloist and conducted choirs, as well as working in government roles. Those years trained her ear for rhythm and voice, something readers often notice in the cadence of her prose.
Writing began as a side project, fitted around teaching and raising a family.
When the first Sevenwaters books were published at the end of the 1990s, their blend of early medieval Ireland, fairy tale structure and family saga found readers in many countries. Success allowed her to shift from rehearsal rooms to the writing desk, and from 2002 onward she has made a living as a historical fantasy author. Along the way she has picked up multiple Aurealis and Sir Julius Vogel Awards, an Alex Award, a Prix Imaginales for translation and, in 2025, a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
Many readers meet her through the Sevenwaters series, beginning with Daughter of the Forest, a reimagining of the Six Swans story in which a young woman must save her brothers under a harsh vow of silence. Later volumes follow her descendants as they wrestle with prophecy, the politics of clan alliances and a fragile truce with the Fair Folk. The focus stays close on individual lives, even when the stakes reach as far as sacred islands and the future of Erin.
From there her imagined world expands. The Saga of the Light Isles takes Viking warriors and Pictish priestesses to the Orkney islands, while The Bridei Chronicles follow a fostered boy who grows into a king of the Picts in sixth century northern Britain. The Shadowfell trilogy, Blackthorn & Grim and Warrior Bards return to a myth rich version of ancient Ireland and Britain, where bards and healers stand alongside fighters, and justice is often won through persistence rather than grand heroics. Young adult readers often gravitate to Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret, or to the rebel story of Shadowfell; adult readers often start with the darker Blackthorn & Grim books, with Heart's Blood or with The Harp of Kings.
Her short fiction, collected in volumes such as Prickle Moon, shows the same mix of folklore, quiet magic and moral choice in a more concentrated form.
Marillier now lives in a century old cottage near the river in Western Australia's Swan Valley, where she writes full time. She is a long time member of the druid order OBOD, and her spiritual practice shapes the close bond with land, animals and seasonal cycles that runs through her work. Animal rescue is a practical part of that life, and she shares her home with a small pack of former waifs and strays.
In 2009 she was treated for breast cancer, an experience that echoes quietly through some of her later stories about illness, ageing and recovery. Again and again her fiction returns to survival, chosen family and the hard work of healing after damage. Whether the tale centres on a swan cursed girl, a burnt handed horse whisperer or a bitter wise woman on the edge of a haunted wood, her focus stays on people learning to live well in a world where magic and history are tightly intertwined.
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