O

Olivia Manning

6 Series • 21 Books

6
Series
21
Books
6
Active

🎯 Where Should I Start?

Best Starting Point
Publication Order of Balkan Trilogy Books
Start with: The Great Fortune (1960)
Popular Choice
Publication Order of Levant Trilogy Books
Start with: The Danger Tree (1977)
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Publication Order of Oliva Manning Short Story Collections
Start with: A Romantic Hero (1967)

ⓘ About Olivia Manning

Olivia Mary Manning was a novelist, poet, and writer. She was born in North End, Portsmouth on March 2, 1908. Both her fiction and nonfiction are widely known all across the globe and are admired for being artistically told, vividly descriptive, and beautifully honest. She mostly writes about long journeys or expeditions, and the challenges and joys of love and loss. Her two main trilogies are the Balkan and Levant Trilogies, but she has written many other books. The Balkan Trilogy follows a young couple, Guy and Harriet Pringle, who are forced to leave their home and flee to Greece as the German army invades during the WWII era.

All Book Series by Olivia Manning

1
The Great Fortune book cover

The Great Fortune

Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 1960

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1960
2
The Spoilt City book cover

The Spoilt City

Book 2 of 3 · published 1962

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1962
3
Friends and Heroes book cover

Friends and Heroes

Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 1965

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1965
1
The Danger Tree book cover

The Danger Tree

Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 1977

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1977
2
The Battle Lost and Won book cover

The Battle Lost and Won

Book 2 of 3 · published 1978

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1978
3
The Sum of Things book cover

The Sum of Things

Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 1981

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1981
1
A Romantic Hero book cover

A Romantic Hero

Single-title series · published 1967

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1967
1
Extraordinary Cats book cover

Extraordinary Cats

Single-title series · published 1967

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1967
1
The Wind Changes book cover

The Wind Changes

Series opener · book 1 of 9 · published 1937

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1937
2
The Remarkable Expedition book cover

The Remarkable Expedition

Book 2 of 9 · published 1947

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1947
3
Artist Among The Missing book cover

Artist Among The Missing

Book 3 of 9 · published 1949

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1949
4
The Dreaming Shore book cover

The Dreaming Shore

Book 4 of 9 · published 1950

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1950
5
School for Love book cover

School for Love

Book 5 of 9 · published 1951

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1951
6
A Different Face book cover

A Different Face

Book 6 of 9 · published 1953

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1953
7
The Doves of Venus book cover

The Doves of Venus

Book 7 of 9 · published 1955

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1955
8
The Play Room book cover

The Play Room

Book 8 of 9 · published 1969

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1969
9
The Rain Forest book cover

The Rain Forest

Latest in the series · book 9 of 9 · published 1974

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1974
1
Winter's Tales 15 book cover

Winter's Tales 15

Series opener · book 1 of 4 · published 1969

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1969
2
Penguin Modern Stories 12 book cover

Penguin Modern Stories 12

Book 2 of 4 · published 1972

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1972
3
The Colourful World of Cats book cover

The Colourful World of Cats

Book 3 of 4 · published 1975

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1975
4
Best for Winter book cover

Best for Winter

Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 1979

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1979

? Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Olivia Manning?

Olivia Mary Manning was a novelist, poet, and writer. She was born in North End, Portsmouth on March 2, 1908. Both her fiction and nonfiction are widely known all across the globe and are admired for being artistically told, vividly descriptive, and beautifully honest.

Which Olivia Manning series should I start with?

The best place to start is the Balkan Trilogy series, the earliest of Olivia Manning's multi-book series: it opens with The Great Fortune (1960) and runs to 3 books across 1960–1965, ending with Friends and Heroes (1965). Olivia Manning's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

How many books has Olivia Manning written?

Olivia Manning has 21 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1937 and 1981. 7 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the Balkan Trilogy series with 3 books — and 14 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

In what order should Olivia Manning's series be read?

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Olivia Manning's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Balkan Trilogy (1960–1965, 3 books), Oliva Manning Short Story Collections (1967, 1 book) and Levant Trilogy (1977–1981, 3 books).

How are Olivia Manning's books organised into series?

This guide splits Olivia Manning's 21 books into 3 named series and 14 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Balkan Trilogy (3 books, 1960–1965); Levant Trilogy (3 books, 1977–1981); Oliva Manning Short Story Collections (1 book, 1967).