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Thursday Next

by Jasper Fforde

8 books Started 2001 Latest 2025
Publication Reading Order

The Thursday Next is a Science Fiction / Crime Fiction series by Jasper Fforde, made up of 8 books published between 2001 and 2025. It begins with The Eyre Affair (2001), and is best read in publication order. The most recent entry is Dark Reading Matter (2025), spanning 24 years of storytelling.

8books
24years active
3decades
~3.4yrs between books
2025latest release
# Title Year Buy
2000s
1 The Eyre Affair 2001 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
2 Lost in a Good Book 2002 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
3 The Well of Lost Plots 2003 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
4 Something Rotten 2004 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
5 First Among Sequels 2007 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
2010s
6 One of Our Thursdays Is Missing 2011 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
7 The Woman Who Died A Lot 2012 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia
2020s
8 Dark Reading MatterLatest 2025 Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia

Thursday Next series: frequently asked questions

What order should I read the Thursday Next series?

Start with The Eyre Affair (2001), the first book in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Follow the books in publication order for the best reading experience.

How many books are in the Thursday Next series?

There are 8 books in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, published between 2001 and 2025.

What is the first book in the Thursday Next series?

The first book in the Thursday Next series is The Eyre Affair, published in 2001 by Jasper Fforde.

What is the latest book in the Thursday Next series?

The most recent book in the Thursday Next series is Dark Reading Matter (2025) by Jasper Fforde.

More books by Jasper Fforde View all series and reading orders →
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Featured in
Thursday Next Series Concludes: Jasper Fforde's Literary Detective Wraps Up → The 10 Best Series for People Who Love Reading About Books → Beyond The Eyre Affair: A Guide to Jasper Fforde's BookWorld → Dark Reading Matter: The Final Thursday Next Novel Is Coming in September 2026 →
About Jasper Fforde

Jasper Fforde, born August 11, 1961, is a Welsh author known for his witty and imaginative speculative fiction novels. He worked in film special effects and graphic design before publishing his first novel, "The Eyre Affair," in 2001, which launched his bestselling Thursday Next series. This series combines literary fiction, mystery, and science fiction, featuring a female protagonist who can enter books. Fforde's other notable works include the "Nursery Crime" series, the "Dragonslayer" series, and the standalone novel "Shades of Grey." His writing has garnered critical acclaim for its humor, originality, and clever blending of genres. Fforde has won the British Book Awards Literary Fiction Award and the Italian Premio Italia Award, among others. His books have been praised for their imaginative world-building, engaging characters, and thought-provoking themes on literature, identity, and the power of imagination.

View all Jasper Fforde series →

About the Thursday Next series

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels are gleefully inventive comic fantasies for book lovers. Thursday is a literary detective in an alternate Britain where people can physically enter the world of fiction — and she polices crimes inside books themselves, from a kidnapped Jane Eyre to grammatical terrorism.

Fforde packs every page with literary in-jokes, wordplay, time travel and absurdist invention. It's a series that rewards readers who love books about books, with a warm, clever heroine at its centre.

The series is best read in order from "The Eyre Affair," as the rules of Fforde's bookish multiverse and Thursday's story build across the novels.