Order of M.C. Beaton Books
Marion Chesney was a prolific Scottish novelist who often went under the pen name M.C. Beaton. Under her real name (actually, her real last name is “McChesney”), she writes romance novels including the Travelling Matchmaker series. Under the name M.C. Beaton, she has written over 20 Agatha Raisin and nearly 30 Hamish Macbeth mystery novels. Chesney has also used the pseudonyms Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Marion Gibbons and Charlotte Ward.
Chesney had her first novel published in 1979. Since that time, she has barely put the pen down, having written over 100 novels. Below is the order of when all of Marion Chesney’s novels were originally published.
Please note: the only novels listed are the novels written under the pen name of M.C. Beaton originally. While Marion did republish the majority of her novels under M.C. Beaton, the books listed below are the ones truly written under that pseudonym. To see a full list you can see our page on Marion Chesney.
Publication Order of Agatha Raisin Books
| The Quiche of Death | (1992) |    |
| The Vicious Vet | (1993) | |
| The Potted Gardener | (1994) | |
| Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener | (1994) | |
| The Walkers of Dembley | (1995) | |
| The Murderous Marriage | (1996) | |
| The Terrible Tourist | (1997) | |
| The Wellspring of Death | (1998) | |
| The Wizard of Evesham | (1999) | |
| The Witch of Wyckhadden | (1999) | |
| The Fairies of Fryfam | (2000) | |
| The Love from Hell | (2001) | |
| The Day the Floods Came | (2002) | |
| The Case of the Curious Curate | (2003) | |
| The Haunted House | (2003) | |
| The Deadly Dance | (2004) | |
| The Perfect Paragon | (2005) | |
| Love, Lies and Liquor | (2006) | |
| Kissing Christmas Goodbye | (2007) | |
| A Spoonful of Poison | (2008) | |
| There Goes the Bride | (2009) | |
| Busy Body | (2010) | |
| As The Pig Turns | (2011) | |
| Hiss and Hers | (2012) | |
| Christmas Crumble | (2012) | |
| Something Borrowed, Someone Dead | (2013) | |
| The Blood of an Englishman | (2014) | |
| Agatha's First Case | (2015) | |
| Dishing the Dirt | (2015) | |
| Pushing up Daisies | (2016) | |
| The Witches' Tree | (2017) | |
| The Dead Ringer | (2018) | |
| Beating about the Bush | (2019) | |
| Hot to Trot | (2020) | |
| Down the Hatch | (2021) | |
| Agatha’s First Case is a prequel novella in the series. | ||
Publication Order of Agatha Raisin Non-Fiction Books
| The Agatha Raisin Companion | (2010) | |
Publication Order of Hamish Macbeth Books
| Death of a Gossip | (1985) | |
| Death of a Cad | (1987) | |
| Death of an Outsider | (1988) | |
| Death of a Perfect Wife | (1989) | |
| Death of a Hussy | (1990) | |
| Death of a Snob | (1992) | |
| Death of a Prankster | (1992) | |
| Death of a Glutton / Of a Greedy Woman | (1993) | |
| Death of a Travelling Man | (1993) | |
| Death of a Charming Man | (1994) | |
| Death of a Nag | (1995) | |
| Death of a Macho Man | (1996) | |
| Death of a Dentist | (1997) | |
| Death of a Scriptwriter | (1998) | |
| Death of an Addict | (1999) | |
| A Highland Christmas | (1999) | |
| Death of a Dustman | (2001) | |
| Death of a Celebrity | (2002) | |
| Death of a Village | (2003) | |
| Death of a Poison Pen | (2004) | |
| Death of a Bore | (2005) | |
| Death of a Dreamer | (2006) | |
| Death of a Maid | (2007) | |
| Death of a Gentle Lady | (2008) | |
| Death of a Witch | (2009) | |
| Death of a Valentine | (2009) | |
| Death of a Chimney Sweep | (2011) | |
| Death of a Kingfisher | (2012) | |
| Death of Yesterday | (2013) | |
| Death of a Policeman | (2014) | |
| Death of a Liar | (2015) | |
| Knock, Knock, You're Dead! | (2016) | |
| Death of a Nurse | (2016) | |
| Death of a Ghost | (2017) | |
| Death of an Honest Man | (2018) | |
| Death of a Green-Eyed Monster | (2021) | |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| The Poor Relation | (1984) | |
| Summertime Splendor | (1992) | |
| The Skeleton in the Closet | (2001) | |
| Summer of Discontent | (2015) | |
Publication Order of Cozy Case Files Books
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 1 | (2017) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 2 | (2017) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 3 | (2017) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 4 | (2018) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 5 | (2018) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 6 | (2019) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 7 | (2019) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 8 | (2020) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 9 | (2020) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 10 | (2020) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 11 | (2021) | |
| A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 12 | (2021) | |
| Anthology series.If authors listed on a book then this author wrote a story within that book. | ||
Notes: Agatha Raisin, Hamish Macbeth and The Skeleton Under the Closet were written under the name M.C. Beaton. My Dear Duchess was written under the pseudonym Ann Fairfax. The “Jennie Tremaine” books listed are the books Chesney wrote under that pen name. The remaining novels listed here were published under the name Marion Chesney.
Death of a Glutton was also published as Death of a Greedy Woman.
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One of her books I liked was ‘Duke’s Diamonds’ – so many more under her other names. I do like the Agatha Raisin series. I liked The House for a Season series and The Daughters of Mannerling. But oh we do want to see Hamish with a worthy lass – a real stayer.
Another author I like is Carol O’Connell – though American is published in England as they were the first to accept her.
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden is missing from the list.
http://www.agatharaisin.com/?section=series&book=agatha_raisin_and_the_witch_of_wyckhadden_9781849011426_paperback
Added. Thanks!
I also considered adding the whole titles to each of the books (“Agatha Raisin and the…”), but I think it might make the titles too long. You can let me know what you think if you like.
Thanks for providing these lists so we can read our favorite series in chronological order. Sometimes it doesn’t matter, but usually reading out of order spoils a surprise of some kind. Characters and relationships develop; and like in life, people are a sum of all the their experiences. So reading in the order the author intended is more fun.
Well put. Thank you for the kind words!