Diana Wynne Jones bibliography

Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British writer of fantasy novels for children and adults. She wrote a small amount of non-fiction.

Fiction

This list follows the Internet Speculative Fiction Database in grouping many works in five fiction series (sections 1.5 to 1.9): Chrestomanci comprising six novels and four shorter works (sec. 1.5); four series comprising two to four novels.[1] Some other classifications differ from ISFDB.

Picture books

Anthologies

Short stories

These short stories were not published as separate volumes and not included in any collections entirely written by Jones (the next section).[1]

Short story collections

These collections include about 25 pieces of short fiction with much repetition.[1]

Chrestomanci series

The Chrestomanci fantasy series comprises six novels and four short stories.[1]

Publication order

The books in order of release:

  1. Charmed Life (1977) – Guardian Children's Fiction Prize; Carnegie Medal commendation; Preis der Leseratten (ZDF Schülerexpress, Germany)
  2. The Magicians of Caprona (1980)
  3. Witch Week (1982)
  4. The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988) – Carnegie Medal commendation
  5. Mixed Magics (2000), short stories published 1982 to 2000
  6. Conrad's Fate (2005)
  7. The Pinhoe Egg (2006) – Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Children's finalist;[2] Locus Award Young Adult Book, 6th place

If the short stories in Mixed Magics are counted separately, the order of release is:

  1. Charmed Life (1977)
  2. The Magicians of Caprona (1980)
  3. "The Sage of Theare", in Hecate's Cauldron (1982) ed. Susan M. Schwartz
  4. "Warlock at the Wheel", in Warlock at the Wheel (1984) by Jones
  5. "Carol Oneir's Hundredth Dream", in Dragons and Dreams (1986) ed. Jane Yolen et al.
  6. The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)
  7. "Stealer of Souls", in Mixed Magics (2000) by Jones
  8. Conrad's Fate (2005)
  9. The Pinhoe Egg (2006)

Reading order

Diana Wynne Jones herself, however, recommended reading the books in this order:[3]

  1. Charmed Life (1977)
  2. The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)
  3. Conrad's Fate (2005)
  4. Witch Week (1982)
  5. The Magicians of Caprona (1980)

The short stories in Mixed Magics can be read in any order after that. The Pinhoe Egg can probably be read after The Magicians of Caprona.

Chronological order

Two works feature Christopher Chant as a boy and teen; the others are set during his tenure as Chrestomanci. The narrative sequence is clear for all but two(‡).

  1. The Lives of Christopher Chant
  2. Conrad's Fate
  3. Charmed Life
  4. "Warlock at the Wheel"
  5. "The Sage of Theare"‡
  6. Witch Week‡
  7. The Magicians of Caprona
  8. "Stealer of Souls"
  9. "Carol Oneir's Hundredth Dream"
  10. The Pinhoe Egg

‡ Three of the short stories follow soon after the novels as listed here. On the other hand, "The Sage of Theare" does not have a fictional date or any landmark that relates it closely to another work in the series. (There is some evidence that it predates Witch Week whose own place is uncertain. Both works were published in 1982. In the novel Chrestomanci observes that he likes to dress nicely and reveals that he has been called away in his dressing gown a couple of times in spite of his care. That may be an allusion to the short story, where he is summoned in pyjamas.)

‡ Witch Week is set sometime after Charmed Life, in which Chrestomanci acquires his legal ward Janet Chant.

Chronicles of Chrestomanci

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci series are set in three volumes:

Dalemark Quartet

In order of internal chronology:

  1. The Spellcoats (1979)
  2. Cart and Cwidder (1975)
  3. Drowned Ammet (1977)
  4. Crown of Dalemark (1993) – Mythopoeic Award, Children's Fantasy[2]

However, when the books were published by Oxford University Press, they were numbered in the order in which they were published (Cart, Ammet, Spellcoats, Crown) and it is possible to read them in this order without any spoilers. (Each of the three other than Crown is a self-contained story with no direct references to the characters or events of the other three books, except for tenuous connections between the characters of Spellcoats and the folkloric heroes they would be remembered as by the time of the later books. Thusly, minor spoilers can be avoided by reading Spellcoats third, but the order is otherwise irrelevant as long as Crown is read last.)

Derkholm series

  1. Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998) – Mythopoeic Award, Children's Fantasy[2] (see her remarks on winning the award)
  2. Year of the Griffin (2000)

Howl's Moving Castle series

  1. Howl's Moving Castle (1986) – Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Fiction runner-up;[4] 2006 Phoenix Award[5]
  2. Castle in the Air (1990) – Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Children's finalist[2]
  3. House of Many Ways (2008) – Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Children's finalist[2]

Magids series

Miscellaneous

Non-fiction and poetry

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (1996; revised and updated 2006) is presented as a travel guidebook such as Rough Guides; it is not overtly about fantasy fiction. ISFDB catalogues it as nonfiction.[1] The US Library of Congress catalogues it as a dictionary.[8]

Entire bibliography in order of publication

Five annotations briefly refer to the five fiction series covered in sections 1.5 to 1.9: Chrestomanci, Dalemark, Derkholm, Howl's Castle, and Magids. The four short stories and one poem now listed here are those that do not appear in any volume written entirely by Jones.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Published posthumously:

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Diana Wynne Jones at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2013-03-04. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Mythopoeic Awards – Fantasy". The Mythopoeic Society. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  3. ↑ http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/chresto.htm MacArdle, Meredith. "The Chrestomanci Series." The Official Diana Wynne Jones Website. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012". Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
    See also the current homepage, "Phoenix Award".
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Diana Wynne Jones". The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index to Literary Nominees. Locus Publications. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Diana Wynne Jones's final book completed by sister". Alison Flood. The Guardian. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-03. The headline is a poor match for the content which closes, 'Jones said there were also "other things were coming to light" among her sister's papers. "She left behind a mass of stuff", she said.'
  8. ↑ "The tough guide to Fantasyland" (2006 edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2014-12-20.

External links