Elodie Harper Books in Order

Where to Start with Elodie Harper

For the vast majority of readers, the absolute best entry point into Elodie Harper’s bibliography is The Wolf Den, the first novel in her acclaimed historical fiction trilogy. Set in the bustling, dangerous streets of ancient Pompeii, this trilogy is what catapulted Harper onto the international bestseller lists. It is best read in strict publication order, as the narrative follows a continuous journey of survival, agency, and political rise.

If you prefer contemporary psychological suspense, you can start with her debut thriller, The Binding Song. Alternatively, if you want a standalone historical epic that shifts from the ancient British Isles to the heart of the Roman Empire under Nero, her 2025 release Boudicca’s Daughter is an excellent place to begin.

The Wolf Den Trilogy (Pompeii Series)

Elodie Harper’s signature series is a trilogy of historical novels centering on Amara, a young Greek woman sold into slavery at Pompeii's infamous town brothel (the Lupanar). The books must be read in order, as they chronicle Amara's evolution from a captive fighting for basic survival to a wealthy courtesan navigating high-stakes Roman politics.

• The Wolf Den (2021): The novel that started it all. We meet Amara as a slave in Pompeii, trapped in a brutal environment but determined to use her intelligence, wits, and the support of her fellow "she-wolves" (lupae) to secure her freedom.
• The House with the Golden Door (2022): Now a freedwoman, Amara attempts to establish her own life in Pompeii. However, she remains bound to the city’s criminal underworld and the men who helped secure her release, showing that physical freedom is very different from true independence.
• The Temple of Fortuna (2023): The final act takes Amara to Rome and back to Pompeii on the eve of Vesuvius's catastrophic eruption. It is a tense, emotional culmination of her struggles for power, safety, and love.

Stand-Alone Historical Fiction

Following the conclusion of her Pompeii trilogy, Harper turned her focus to another iconic era of the ancient world.

• Boudicca's Daughter (2025): Released on August 28, 2025, by Bloomsbury (under their Apollo imprint), this standalone historical novel follows Solina, the daughter of the rebel Iceni queen Boudicca. Captured after the failed British rebellion, Solina is taken to Rome and forced to survive in the court of Emperor Nero, offering a fascinating parallel to Amara's struggle for agency in a male-dominated empire.

Psychological Thrillers & Suspense

Before achieving breakout success with historical fiction, Harper wrote atmospheric contemporary thrillers set in the rural landscapes of East Anglia, drawing on her career as a journalist in the region.

• The Binding Song (2017): Harper's debut novel is a dark, psychological thriller set inside a fictional prison in Norfolk. It follows Dr. Emma Hatcher, a psychologist trying to understand a series of bizarre inmate suicides, only to discover a terrifying presence that seems to haunt the prison walls.
• The Death Knock (2018): Her second thriller follows a young woman haunted by the sudden, suspicious death of her father. As she investigates, she is drawn into a web of local secrets, blackmail, and media manipulation, showing off Harper’s talent for building claustrophobic tension.

Early Work and Anthologies

Harper’s literary breakthrough originally began with a short story that earned the ultimate stamp of approval.

• Six Scary Stories (2016): This horror anthology features Harper's award-winning short story "Wild Swimming". The epistolary story, told through emails, follows a traveler in Lithuania who ignores local warnings to swim in a reservoir covering a flooded village. The story won a competition judged by Stephen King, who selected it as his top choice and recommended that the finalists be published together.

Complete Book List in Publication Order

If you wish to read Elodie Harper's works in the exact order they were released, follow this chronology:

1. "Wild Swimming" (Short story in the anthology Six Scary Stories) (2016)
2. The Binding Song (Standalone thriller) (2017)
3. The Death Knock (Standalone thriller) (2018)
4. The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Book 1) (2021)
5. The House with the Golden Door (Wolf Den Book 2) (2022)
6. The Temple of Fortuna (Wolf Den Book 3) (2023)
7. Boudicca's Daughter (Standalone historical novel) (2025)

What to Know Before You Start

While her thrillers and short stories are standalone works, The Wolf Den Trilogy is a single story split across three books. Do not attempt to read The House with the Golden Door or The Temple of Fortuna out of order, as they contain major spoilers for previous books and rely heavily on established character dynamics.

Readers should also be prepared for mature themes. Across both her modern thrillers and her Roman-era historical fiction, Harper does not shy away from the harsh realities of exploitation, violence, and the systemic oppression of women in the ancient world, though these elements are handled with historical sensitivity and a strong feminist focus.