Where to start with Margaret Atwood
Begin with The Handmaid's Tale, the first book in the series published in 1985. It introduces the fictional world of Gilead and serves as the foundation for the subsequent novel in the series, The Testaments, published in 2019. To continue within the series, read the books in publication order: The Handmaid's Tale, then The Testaments. For the MaddAddam series, begin with Oryx and Crake, published in 2003, and proceed in publication order through The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam. The Canongate Myth Series begins with The Helmet of Horror, published in 2005. The Etnaḥta series starts with Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, published in 1963, followed by Seymour, An Introduction. The Claassen extra series begins with The Edible Woman, published in 1969. The Massey Lectures series begins with Like a Conquered Province: The Moral Ambiguity of America, published in 1967. Standalone works such as Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, Hag-Seed, The Heart Goes Last, and Survival are not part of a series and can be read in publication order.
Series by Margaret Atwood
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Buy on Amazon1985 · Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, published in 1985. Set in a near-future New England, it portrays the…
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Buy on Amazon2019 · Margaret Atwood
The Testaments is a 2019 novel by Margaret Atwood that serves as a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. It takes place 15 years after the sons of Jacob…
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Buy on Amazon2003 · Margaret Atwood
Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, may be the last human, mourning the loss of his friend Crake and the woman Oryx…
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Buy on Amazon2009 · Margaret Atwood
The Year of the Flood is a 2009 novel by Margaret Atwood. It is set in a dystopian future where rapid environmental and social changes have led to…
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Buy on Amazon2013 · Margaret Atwood
MaddAddam is the final novel in Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction trilogy, bringing together characters from Oryx and Crake and The Year of the…
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Buy on Amazon2005
The Helmet of Horror is a 2005 novel by Victor Pelevin. It consists of six chapters and was commissioned by the British publisher Canongate as part…
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Buy on Amazon2005 · Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad retells the story of Odysseus and Penelope from the perspectives of Penelope and the twelve maids hanged for…
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Buy on AmazonRaise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters; and Seymour, An Introduction
1955 · J. D. Salinger
Two semi-autobiographical novellas from Salinger's Glass family series, both written in stream-of-consciousness style. Raise High the Roof Beam is…
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Buy on Amazon1969 · Margaret Atwood
The Edible Woman is the first published novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, released in 1969. It follows a young woman whose structured life…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Margaret Atwood
A 1988 novel by Margaret Atwood. Elaine Risley, a controversial painter, returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art,…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Amélie Nothomb
Hygiene and the Assassin is the first novel by Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb, published in 1992 by Albin Michel. The story is presented almost…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride is a 1993 novel inspired by the Brothers Grimm tale "The Robber Bridegroom," in which a cruel groom lures and…
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Like a Conquered Province: The Moral Ambiguity of America
1967 · Paul Goodman
Like a Conquered Province: The Moral Ambiguity of America is a book based on Paul Goodman's Massey Lectures delivered for the Canadian Broadcasting…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Noam Chomsky
Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies is a 1989 book by Noam Chomsky that examines how political power uses propaganda to…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Charles Taylor
The Malaise of Modernity is a book by the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, based on his 1991 Massey Lecture of the same title. It was first…
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Buy on Amazon2004 · Ronald Wright
A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright explores how human progress has often led to downfall. The book uses examples from prehistoric times,…
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Buy on Amazon2005 · Lewis, Stephen
Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa is a non-fiction book written by Stephen Lewis for the Massey Lectures. It was written…
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Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
2008 · Margaret Atwood
Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth is a non-fiction book written by Margaret Atwood, based on the 2008 Massey Lectures. The book consists of…
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Buy on Amazon2010 · Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland's 2010 Massey Lecture is a five-hour story set in an airport cocktail lounge during a global disaster. Five characters are trapped…
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Winter: Five Windows on the Season
2011 · Adam Gopnik
Winter: Five Windows on the Season is a nonfiction book written by Adam Gopnik for the 2011 Massey Lectures. The book consists of five chapters, each…
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1969 · Margaret Atwood
The Edible Woman is the first published novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, released in 1969. It follows a young woman whose structured life…
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Buy on Amazon1981 · Margaret Atwood
Bodily Harm is a 1981 novel by Margaret Atwood. The story follows Rennie Wilford, a young journalist whose life is falling apart. She travels to the…
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Buy on AmazonAngel Catbird Volume 1 (Graphic Novel)
2016 · Written and Created by Margaret Atwood.
The Booker Prize-winning author of The Handmaid’s Tale writes her first graphic novel, a cat-centric all-ages New York Times bestselling adventure.…
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Buy on AmazonAngel Catbird Volume 2: To Castle Catula (Graphic Novel)
2017 · Margaret Atwood
The cat-centric adventure continues, in the all-ages follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood's debut graphic novel. Genetic engineer…
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Buy on AmazonAngel Catbird Volume 3: The Catbird Roars (Graphic Novel)
2017 · Margaret Atwood
The Booker Prize-winning author of The Handmaid’s Tale pens a conclusion to the dramatic, hilarious, and heartwarming Angel Catbird trilogy. It's…
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Frequently asked questions
How many books has Margaret Atwood written?
We list 30 books by Margaret Atwood across 7 series, published between 1955–2022 — each shown in full reading order.
What order should I read Margaret Atwood's books?
Read each series in publication order. A good place to start is “The Handmaid's Tale.” Open any series above for its complete numbered reading order.
Where can I buy Margaret Atwood's books?
Every title links to Amazon from its series page — see our affiliate disclosure in the footer for how that supports the site.
Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted a wrong order, a missing book, or any other mistake? and we'll correct it.