Laurie R. King first introduced Mary Russell in 1994, and since then, the near-sighted genius has provided us with plenty of great tales. In the books, her mentor (and eventual husband) Sherlock Holmes helps her to solve mysteries, and despite many referring to these novels as the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books, she is definitely the star of the show.
Plus, who needs yet another Sherlock Holmes standalone?
If you want to dive into the Russell Memoirs, then read on to find out how to read all the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books in order.
How to read all the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books in order of their release
There are two ways to read the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books: in the order in which they were released, and the order in which they take place in the universe. Firstly, we’ll go through their release order.
The full-length novels appear as follows:
- The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (1994)
- A Monstrous Regiment of Women (1995)
- A Letter of Mary (1997)
- The Moor (1998)
- O Jerusalem (1999)
- Justice Hall (2002)
- The Game (2004)
- Locked Rooms (2005)
- The Language of Bees (2009)
- The God of the Hive (2010)
- Pirate King (2011)
- Garment of Shadows (2012)
- Dreaming Spies (2015)
- The Murder of Mary Russell (2016)
- Island of the Mad (2018)
- Riviera Gold (2020)
- Castle Shade (2021)
- The Lantern’s Dance (to be released in 2024)
There are also several short stories in the Mary Russell world, which appear as follows:
- “Mrs Hudson’s Case”(1997)
- “A Venomous Death” (2009)
- “My Story” (2009)
- “Birth of a Green Man” (2010)
- “A Case in Correspondence” (2010)
- “Beekeeping for Beginners” (2011)
- “Mary’s Christmas” (2014)
- “Mary Russell’s War” (2015)
- “The Marriage of Mary Russell” (2016)
- “Stately Holmes” (2016)
- “The Customer” (2017)
- “Ten Years On” (2020)
How to read all the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books in the order they take place in the universe
King utilizes time jumps and diary entries in her work, so this means that the order of publication isn’t actually the order of events in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes world. See below for the internal chronology of the universe!
Diary sections of the upcoming book The Lantern’s Dance go back to the 1830s, before Russell and Holmes even met. In The Murder of Mary Russell, there’s also some backstory for a character named Mrs. Hudson, as well as a younger Holmes (during the years 1855-81). Locked Rooms shows us some of Mary’s life between 1906 and 1914. “Mary’s Christmas” takes place in 1911, and “Mary Russell’s War” covers the first year of the Great War from her perspective.
The first novel, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, begins in 1915 and goes until 1919. O Jerusalem is also set in this time, from 1918 to 1919. A Monstrous Regiment of Women covers the tail end of 1920 and beginning of 1921, although the afternotes go a few months further into the future. From 1921 to 1923 there isn’t too much, bar “The Marriage of Mary Russell,” which is set in 1921, and “A Venemous Death” in 1923.
The third book, A Letter of Mary, takes place in late 1923, with The Moor covering most of the Autumn of that year. Winter of 1923 takes place in Justice Hall, and The Game begins on the first day of 1924, ending in March. A section of Dreaming Spies then takes place in 1924, followed by Locked Rooms (although there are also earlier events in that book). The Language of Bees covers most of August of that year, and it’s direct followup, God of the Hive, goes until September, with an epilogue that’s set on Halloween 1924.
Pirate King comes next, taking place in November 1924, and Garment of Shadows takes us through until the beginning of 1925. From there, we go back to the rest of Dreaming Spies, which is set across multiple time periods, but mostly March 1925. The parts of The Murder of Mary Russell that don’t cover Mrs Hudson’s story is set in May 1925, and Island of the Mad takes place in June of that year. Riviera Gold and Caste Shade cover July and August respectively, while The Lantern’s Dance is mostly set in September of that year (although there are sections that discuss events in 1835, as discussed above).
There you have it! A comprehensive guide to reading the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books in order!
