Alison Weir Books in Order

Where to Start with Alison Weir

Alison Weir has built a phenomenal career on making British history accessible, engaging, and deeply emotional. Because she writes both historical fiction and scholarly non-fiction, deciding where to start depends on your preferred genre. If you want gripping drama, start with her historical novels. If you want historical accuracy directly from primary sources, begin with her biographies.

For fiction lovers, the absolute best starting point is Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, the first book in her acclaimed Six Tudor Queens series. It perfectly showcases Weir's ability to combine deep historical research with intimate, novelistic storytelling.

For non-fiction readers, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1991) is her breakout classic and remains the gold standard for anyone interested in the Tudor court. It acts as a perfect companion to her fiction works.

The Six Tudor Queens Series in Chronological Order

This is Alison Weir's most famous fiction project. Each of the six main novels focuses on one of Henry VIII's wives, following their lives chronologically. Weir also wrote several companion novellas and short stories that fill in the gaps. While these were originally released as individual e-shorts, they are now compiled in the collection In the Shadow of Queens: Tales from the Tudor Court (2021).

For the complete experience, you should read them in chronological order, integrating the novellas as follows:

• Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen (2016)
• The Blackened Heart (2017) – Novella (Book 1.5)
• Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession (2017)
• The Tower is Full of Ghosts Today (2017) – Novella (Book 2.5)
• The Chateau of Briis: A Lesson in Love (2018) – Novella (Book 2.6)
• Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen (2018)
• The Grandmother's Tale (2018) – Novella (Book 3.5)
• The Unhappiest Lady in Christendom (2018) – Novella (Book 3.6)
• Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets (2019) (Also published as Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait)
• The King's Painter (2019) – Novella (Book 4.5)
• The Curse of the Hungerfords (2019) – Novella (Book 4.6)
• Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen (2020) (Also published as Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen)
• The Princess of Scotland (2020) – Novella (Book 5.5)
• The Wicked Wife (2021) – Novella (Book 5.6)
• Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife (2021)
• The Queen's Child (2021) – Novella (Book 6.5)
• In This New Sepulchre (2021) – Novella (Book 6.6)

The Tudor Rose Trilogy

This historical fiction series spans three generations of the Tudor dynasty. The trilogy traces the family from the end of the Wars of the Roses through to the reign of Mary I. Like the queens series, it features short stories that serve as prequels and bridge the main novels.

Read the trilogy in this order:

1. Firstborn (2022) – Prequel Short Story (Book 0.5) focusing on the birth of Elizabeth of York.
2. Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose (2022) – The first full-length novel.
3. The Golden Prince (2023) – Novella (Book 1.5) focusing on wet nurse Anne Oxenbridge and the infant Prince Henry.
4. Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown (2023) – The second novel. Note: This was published as The King's Pleasure in the United States.
5. Mary I: Queen of Sorrows (2024) – The final novel. Note: This was published as The Passionate Tudor in the United States.

Elizabeth I Series

Before launching her massive chronological series, Weir wrote two historical novels focusing on Elizabeth I. These function perfectly as a duology:

1. The Lady Elizabeth (2008) – Focuses on Elizabeth's early life, from childhood to her ascent to the throne.
2. The Marriage Game (2014) – Explores the later years of Elizabeth's reign and her relationship with Robert Dudley.

Weir's Standalone Novels

Weir has written several standalone novels that explore other fascinating figures of English history. They can be read in any order, but chronological order of the historical subject makes for a satisfying experience:

• Captive Queen (2010) – Focuses on Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th Century).
• Innocent Traitor (2006) – Tells the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey (16th Century).
• A Dangerous Inheritance (2012) – Interweaves the stories of Lady Katherine Grey and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.
• The Cardinal (2025) – Follows the rise and fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
• The Boleyn Secret (2026) – Focuses on Mary Boleyn's daughter, Katherine Carey, and the secrets of the Boleyn family following Anne Boleyn's execution.

England's Medieval Queens (Non-Fiction Series)

If you want to read Weir's highly acclaimed non-fiction series, she has written a four-volume history mapping the lives of England's medieval queen consorts. These should be read in chronological order:

1. Queens of the Conquest (2017) – From Matilda of Flanders to the Empress Maud.
2. Queens of the Crusades (2020) – Plantagenet queens from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Eleanor of Castile.
3. Queens of the Age of Chivalry (2022) – Queens of the 14th century, including Isabella of France and Philippa of Hainault.
4. Queens at War (2025) – Explores the queens of the 15th century and the Wars of the Roses.

What to Know Before You Start

Alison Weir's unique strength is that she is a historian first. When writing fiction, she works hard to stick to historical facts, only filling in the emotional gaps where primary sources are silent. A common source of confusion for readers is that several of her books are released under different titles in the US and the UK. Keep an eye out for duplicates like The King's Pleasure / Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown and The Passionate Tudor / Mary I: Queen of Sorrows so you don't buy the same book twice!