🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Doris Lessing
Doris May Tayler, commonly known as Doris Lessing was a literary fiction, horror, mystery, and science fiction author from London, England. She was born to British parents living in Kermanshah Iran in 1919. Her father had been a soldier who was nearly killed in a burst of shrapnel during World War I in an incident in which he lost his leg. He had met his mother who was a nurse at the London hospital where he was sent to recover after his amputation. In 1925, Lessing’s family moved to Zimbabwe to become maize farmers even though they struggled in the endeavor. It was an unhappy childhood and Lessing remembers living in an inhuman, cold, and provincial society and she was always running from her mother or fighting with her.
All Book Series by Doris Lessing
The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 1983
Ben, In the World: The Sequel to the Fifth Child
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2000
The Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2005
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers
Book 5 of 13 · published 1994
Letters to Change the World: From Pankhurst to Orwell
Latest in the series · book 13 of 13 · published 2018
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Doris Lessing?
Doris May Tayler, commonly known as Doris Lessing was a literary fiction, horror, mystery, and science fiction author from London, England. She was born to British parents living in Kermanshah Iran in 1919. Her father had been a soldier who was nearly killed in a burst of shrapnel during World War I in an incident in which he lost his leg.
Which Doris Lessing series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Children of Violence series, the earliest of Doris Lessing's multi-book series: it opens with Martha Quest (1952) and runs to 5 books across 1952–1969, ending with Landlocked (1969). Doris Lessing's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Doris Lessing written?
Doris Lessing has 82 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1950 and 2018. 19 of them belong to 6 named series — the largest being the Canopus in Argos series with 5 books — and 63 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Doris Lessing's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Doris Lessing's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Children of Violence (1952–1969, 5 books), Doris Lessing's Collected African Stories (1952–1989, 2 books) and Canopus in Argos (1979–1983, 5 books), plus 3 more.
How are Doris Lessing's books organised into series?
This guide splits Doris Lessing's 82 books into 6 named series and 63 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Canopus in Argos (5 books, 1979–1983); Children of Violence (5 books, 1952–1969); The Diaries of Jane Somers (3 books, 1983–1984); Fifth Child (2 books, 1988–2000); Mara and Dann (2 books, 1999–2005), plus 1 further series.