The Chronicles of St Mary's books in order

Where do the St Mary’s short stories go?

Read the optional short stories between the novels using the decimal placements in the table: 4.5, for example, follows book 4 and precedes book 5. This bookshelf follows the author’s preferred first-time route for the earlier stories and adds its existing suggested placements for later pieces. Collections gather several of these stories, so check their contents to avoid buying the same adventure twice.

Source: Author’s guidance

Is there a St Mary’s book 15?

Yes. Jodi Taylor has announced Well, That Could Have Gone Better as the fifteenth St Mary’s novel. It follows The Good, the Bad and the History in the main sequence. The book is forthcoming, so the table distinguishes it from the fourteen published novels. Follow its book page and the release-news guide for updates rather than treating an early retailer listing as a completed release.

Source: Bookshop.org

How many St Mary’s books are there?

This bookshelf lists 14 published St Mary’s novels and one announced novel. Short stories and the bonus scene are counted separately in the table; collections appear on their own shelf because they gather material from more than one series.

Source: Author’s guidance

What is the next St Mary’s book?

The next listed St Mary’s release is Twelfth Night, a Christmas short story with a publisher-listed date of 25 December 2026. The next announced main-series novel is Well, That Could Have Gone Better, book 15. Publisher-listed date; may change.

Source: Headline

Who narrates the St Mary’s audiobooks?

Zara Ramm narrates the main St Mary’s unabridged novels listed here. The Very First Damned Thing has an author-narrated standalone recording, and Just One Damned Thing After Another also has a separate full-cast adaptation. Check the exact edition on the audiobook guide before choosing.

Source: Audible

What it is

Madeleine Maxwell joins an institute whose historians can visit the periods they study. St Mary’s turns research into an adventure with physical danger: the past can resist interference, and Max has more to contend with than the historical events themselves.

The setting is both a workplace and a departure point. Colleagues, assignments and the consequences of a visit belong to the same continuing story.

The opening books move from Max’s recruitment to Victorian Whitechapel, then to investigations involving Newton’s Cambridge and ancient Troy. These are different historical situations encountered by a returning group, rather than independent novels with an entirely new cast each time.

Shorter stories make room for extra expeditions, festive misbehaviour and individual characters’ perspectives. The series therefore offers two pleasures together: exploring unfamiliar moments in history and returning to increasingly familiar people.

Who it suits

In the site’s view, this is the natural starting point for readers drawn to the combination of historical curiosity and a busy ensemble. The premise gives scholarly observation an immediate practical problem: knowing what happened is different from being present when it happens.

That tension is a useful reason to choose these books even if time-travel machinery is not your usual interest.

We recommend beginning here if you want humour alongside danger, rather than choosing between them. The institute’s comic reputation should not be taken as a promise that every adventure will be comfortable.

Our preference is to let the first novel establish that balance before deciding whether to undertake the longer sequence.

Where to start

Choose Just One Damned Thing After Another first. Meeting Max when she arrives gives the institute’s unusual work a clear introduction. Continue with A Symphony of Echoes and A Second Chance before trying to assemble a route from whichever historical settings happen to appeal most.

A later title’s destination can be enticing, but the characters carry earlier experiences into it.

Our suggested approach is to follow the numbered novels and add short works when you want another visit. Headline’s guide places When a Child is Born after the second novel and Roman Holiday after the third.

Those provide early opportunities to try the shorter format without making the reading plan unnecessarily complicated.

How it connects

Headline identifies the Time Police as a spinoff set in the same world. Smallhope and Pennyroyal also belong to that time-travel setting, with their own partnership at the centre. These connections offer another viewpoint once you know what interests you about St Mary’s.

They do not turn every Taylor book into part of one enormous compulsory sequence.

The site’s view is that staying with Max for the opening novels is the calmer introduction. Move to the Time Police when a new team and a different institution appeal; choose Smallhope and Pennyroyal for a double act.

Elizabeth Cage and Frogmorton Farm have their own starting points and markedly different premises. Treat those as fresh choices, rather than missing chapters of Max’s adventures.

Listening

An audiobook is a good way to follow the same route, beginning with the first novel rather than a short work selected only for its duration. The book pages distinguish individual recordings from collections and show the relevant edition information.

That matters when a story is available both separately and within a volume.

For listening in short sessions, our suggestion is to keep the novels as the main sequence and use the extras between them. Check a collection’s contents before buying stories you already own.

Reading and listening can be mixed freely; the useful organising principle remains the story’s place in the sequence, not the format in which you encounter it.