Megan Chance Books in Order
Explore Megan Chance books in order, with concise summaries, reading suggestions, series background, and an easy guide to where to begin.
Last updated: July 14, 2026
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Megan Chance books in publication order
30 books
A Candle in the Dark
by Megan Chance
1993
Fleeing toward California through dangerous Panama, a desperate woman and a drunken doctor pose as husband and wife. Ana needs escape, Cain needs redemption, and the perilous journey leaves neither safely untouched.
After the Frost
by Megan Chance
1994
Belle Sault returns to Ohio after six years, determined to reclaim the daughter she left behind. But the child is also Rand's, the man Belle once loved and hates, and facing him means confronting their painful past.
The Portrait
by Megan Chance
1995
Aspiring artist Imogene Carter insists that troubled New York painter Jonas Whitaker teach her. Drawn into his passionate, guarded world, she discovers that talent, desire, and his hidden past carry a dangerous cost.
A Heart Divided
by Megan Chance
1996
On the Colorado plains, Sarilyn Travers faces Conor Roarke, the man who once loved and betrayed her. Conor is hunting her brother for murder, but revenge becomes complicated when their old attraction returns.
Fall from Grace
by Megan Chance
1997
After the Sharpe gang murders her parents, Lily grows into a feared outlaw known as Lily the Cat. Her escape and planned revenge put her on a collision course with Texas Sharpe, the man who loved and betrayed her.
The Way Home
by Megan Chance
1997
Eliza Beaudry hopes a charming gambler will rescue her from poverty in Richmond, but he leaves her behind in trouble. Forced to turn to his quiet brother on a Texas farm, she begins to question what she really wants.
The Gentleman Caller
by Megan Chance
1998
Fresh from prison, Jack Waters accepts a rich New Orleans man's offer to court and marry his eldest daughter. Rosalie intends to become a nun, but Jack's presence stirs desires and memories neither can easily resist.
A Season in Eden
by Megan Chance
1999
After tragedy drains the joy from her Yakima Valley life, Lora Cameron is left alone while her husband works at a logging camp. A thoughtful hired hand offers companionship, hope, and a risky chance to rebuild her marriage.
Susannah Morrow
by Megan Chance
2002
In Salem, fifteen-year-old Charity Fowler watches suspicion close around her independent aunt, Susannah Morrow. As fear, desire, and religious fanaticism erupt into the witch trials, the family must face the cost of accusation.
The Fatal Key
by Megan Chance
2002
A young woman is drawn into a dangerous historical mystery where hidden motives and long-buried secrets threaten her future. As the past closes in, she must find the truth before those closest to her decide her fate.
An Inconvenient Wife
by Megan Chance
2004
In 1880s New York, wealthy Lucy Carelton is trapped by a controlling husband, a domineering father, and the label of hysteria. A controversial neurologist promises relief, but his treatment hides a far more troubling agenda.
The Spiritualist
by Megan Chance
2008
When her wealthy husband is murdered in 1856 New York, Evelyn Atherton becomes the chief suspect. To clear her name, she enters the world of séances and a charismatic medium, where deception may be more dangerous than ghosts.
Prima Donna
by Megan Chance
2009
After a disastrous attempt to escape her controlling lover leaves her tied to murder, opera star Sabine Conrad flees New York. Hidden in rough nineteenth-century Seattle, she must learn to survive before her past catches up.
City of Ash
by Megan Chance
2011
Banished Chicago socialite Geneva Langley and ambitious actress Beatrice Wilkes form an uneasy bond in 1880s Seattle. The great fire of 1889 binds them to a dark alliance that tests loyalty, survival, and self-forgiveness.
Bone River
by Megan Chance
2012
In nineteenth-century Washington Territory, Leonie Russell discovers an impossible mummy on her riverbank. As she investigates its origins, the arrival of her husband's estranged son and a warning from a Native elder deepen the danger.
Inamorata
by Megan Chance
2014
American artist Joseph Hannigan and his twin sister seek success among Venice's expatriate art world. Caught between a seductive courtesan-muse and her vengeful former lover, they must decide what fame is worth sacrificing.
The Elopement
by Megan Chance
2014
In Victorian New York, a young woman must choose between a respectable suitor who promises security and a cruel, thrilling lover who awakens her rebellious side. When both propose, her decision will shape the life she becomes.
The Shadows
by Megan Chance
2014
In Victorian New York, seventeen-year-old Grace Knox faces family ruin and unsettling dreams of ancient battles. Drawn to a mysterious Irish stableboy, she discovers a world of prophecy, magic, and legendary warriors that may demand everything from her.
The Fair-Haired Girl
by Megan Chance
2015
Oscar, the Fianna's finest warrior and son of Ossian, meets a mysterious woman in the woods. Her fateful challenge forces him to consider a path where battle may not be the answer he wants.
The Gift of the Deer
by Megan Chance
2015
Finn MacCool, leader of the Fianna, encounters a magical deer fleeing a dangerous Druid. The rescue leads him toward a love that changes both his life and the way he leads his legendary band of warriors.
The Lovespot
by Megan Chance
2015
While hunting a mythical stag, Diarmid Ua Duibhne discovers a strange power at an isolated croft. The gift he receives makes any girl who sees it fall in love with him, altering his life and destiny.
The Veil
by Megan Chance
2015
Grace seeks an archdruid who can teach her to control her power, but finds a dangerous fairy instead. As New York erupts in unrest, Grace, Patrick, and Diarmid race toward a ritual that could change Ireland and their lives.
The Visitant
by Megan Chance
2015
Sent to Venice after disgracing her family, Elena Spira cares for an ailing man in a decaying palazzo. Hallucinations, buried secrets, and a dangerous nobleman make her wonder whether the threat is madness or something darker.
The Web
by Megan Chance
2015
Grace Knox learns she is the veleda, a Druid priestess fated to choose between the Fianna and their enemies. With her life bound to an approaching ritual, she must decide whom to trust in a tense, magical New York.
Underwave's Daughter
by Megan Chance
2015
After showing mercy to an enchanted hag, Diarmid Ua Duibhne is sent on a quest beyond Ireland's borders. In the strange realm of Underwave, he learns that love, loyalty, and rescue are far from simple.
A Drop of Ink
by Megan Chance
2017
Disgraced sisters Adelaide and Louisa flee to Lake Geneva with a troubled poet, hoping for help from a celebrated writer. At Villa Diodati, a place linked to *Frankenstein*, ambition, passion, and resentment turn perilous.
A Splendid Ruin
by Megan Chance
2021
Penniless May Kimble joins wealthy relatives in San Francisco, only to find their mansion full of secrets, betrayal, and danger. When the 1906 earthquake destroys the city, May gets a perilous chance to reclaim her life.
A Dangerous Education
by Megan Chance
2023
During the McCarthy era, teacher Rosemary Chivers takes a job at a school for troubled girls while hiding a devastating secret. Certain one student is the daughter she surrendered, Rosemary's search soon turns dangerously consuming.
Glamorous Notions
by Megan Chance
2025
In 1955 Hollywood, costume designer Lena Taylor keeps stars' secrets while hiding a past of her own. Once an art student in Rome, she fled a murder-linked intrigue, and now her carefully built identity may unravel.
The Vermilion Sea
by Megan Chance
2026
In 1925, scientist Billie McKennan joins a wealthy yacht expedition to the Gulf of California by hiding part of her past. A mysterious specimen and old secrets turn the luxurious voyage into a deadly struggle for survival.
Where to start with Megan Chance
For historical mystery and Gothic tension: The Spiritualist → City of Ash → The Visitant.
For big historical settings and family secrets: A Splendid Ruin → A Dangerous Education → Glamorous Notions.
For romance with high emotional stakes: A Candle in the Dark → After the Frost → The Portrait.
For young adult fantasy rooted in Irish legend: The Shadows → The Web → The Veil.
Megan Chance sub-series and character series
Tales of the Fianna books in order
Explore this series
The Fair-Haired Girl
by Megan Chance
2015Tales of the Fianna, Book 3
The Gift of the Deer
by Megan Chance
2015Tales of the Fianna, Book 1
The Lovespot
by Megan Chance
2015Tales of the Fianna, Book 2
Underwave's Daughter
by Megan Chance
2015Tales of the Fianna, Book 4
Tales of the Fianna books in chronological order
The Fianna Trilogy books in order
Explore this seriesMegan Chance collections, short stories, and related book types
Standalone Megan Chance books

A Candle in the Dark
by Megan Chance
1993
After the Frost
by Megan Chance
1994
The Portrait
by Megan Chance
1995
A Heart Divided
by Megan Chance
1996
Fall from Grace
by Megan Chance
1997
The Way Home
by Megan Chance
1997
The Gentleman Caller
by Megan Chance
1998
A Season in Eden
by Megan Chance
1999
Susannah Morrow
by Megan Chance
2002
The Fatal Key
by Megan Chance
2002
An Inconvenient Wife
by Megan Chance
2004
The Spiritualist
by Megan Chance
2008
Prima Donna
by Megan Chance
2009
City of Ash
by Megan Chance
2011
Bone River
by Megan Chance
2012
Inamorata
by Megan Chance
2014
The Visitant
by Megan Chance
2015
A Drop of Ink
by Megan Chance
2017
A Splendid Ruin
by Megan Chance
2021
A Dangerous Education
by Megan Chance
2023
Glamorous Notions
by Megan Chance
2025
The Vermilion Sea
by Megan Chance
2026
Author bio
Megan Chance was born in Columbus, Ohio, and moved to Washington State as a girl. That move gave her a lasting connection to the Pacific Northwest, a region that later appears again and again in her fiction, from rough early Seattle to the waterways of Washington Territory.
Before her novels found readers, Chance worked as a television news photographer. She graduated from Western Washington University, then built a writing career that has moved comfortably between historical romance, historical suspense, young adult fantasy, and short fiction.
Her first novel, A Candle in the Dark, arrived in 1993. It begins with a dangerous journey through Panama during the California Gold Rush, setting the pattern for much of her early work: women in trouble, difficult choices, and a past that refuses to stay safely in the background.
Chance has written eight historical romances as well as stand-alone historical novels. In books such as After the Frost, The Portrait, and A Season in Eden, love stories are tied to questions of trust, survival, family, and the kind of life a woman is allowed to claim for herself.
The setting matters in a Megan Chance novel.
Her later fiction often leans into mystery and Gothic tension. The Spiritualist sends a murder suspect into the unsettling world of 1850s New York séances. City of Ash follows two very different women through the aftermath of Seattle's 1889 fire. Bone River brings a strange archaeological discovery to nineteenth-century Shoalwater Bay, while A Splendid Ruin places family secrets and revenge in San Francisco on the eve of the 1906 earthquake.
She also writes about women whose public roles conceal private risks. In Prima Donna, an opera star flees New York for a rougher life in Seattle. In Glamorous Notions, a Hollywood costume designer carries a dangerous past from Rome into 1950s Los Angeles. A Dangerous Education looks at a reform school for girls during the McCarthy era, where a teacher's search for the daughter she gave up becomes increasingly perilous.
There is usually a mystery at the center, but the emotional pressure is just as important. Chance's characters often face rigid social rules, unequal power, money troubles, hidden histories, or an unwanted return to the past. Their settings, whether Venice, Salem, New York, Seattle, or California, are full of beauty but rarely feel safe.
She has also written the young adult Fianna Trilogy, which combines Victorian New York, Irish politics, ancient legend, and a prophecy that puts teenager Grace Knox at the center of a conflict between old enemies. The related Tales of the Fianna revisit Irish myth through shorter stories about the legendary warriors.
Chance's work has been translated into several languages. Her novels have also received recognition from readers' and booksellers' programs, including selections for Bone River, An Inconvenient Wife, A Drop of Ink, and Glamorous Notions.
She still lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Alongside writing, she has taught and spoken at writers' conferences, libraries, and workshops, sharing the practical side of a career built across several corners of historical fiction.
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