Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing was born in Kermanshah, Iran on October 22nd, 1919 and passed away at the age of 94 on November 17th, 2013.

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Doris Lessing Stats: The most read book by Doris Lessing on Book Notification is The Golden Notebook, a Standalone novel. The second most read book is The Fifth Child (Fifth Child #1).

Below is a complete list of Doris Lessing books in publication and chronological order, broken down by series.

List of Canopus in Argos Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta
1979
Go
2
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five
1980
Go
3
8.3
The Sirian Experiments
1980
Go
4
The Making of the Representative for Planet 8
1982
Go
5
The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire
1983
Go

List of Children of Violence Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Martha Quest
1952
Go
2
A Proper Marriage
1954
Go
3
A Ripple from the Storm
1958
Go
4
The Four-Gated City
1969
Go
5
Landlocked
1969
Go

List of The Diaries of Jane Somers Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
The Diary of Good Neighbour
1983
Go
2
8
The Diaries of Jane Somers
1983
Go
3
If the Old Could...
1984
Go

List of Fifth Child Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
8
The Fifth Child
1988
Go
2
Ben, In the World: The Sequel to the Fifth Child
2000
Go

List of Mara and Dann Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Mara and Dann
1999
Go
2
6
The Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog
2005
Go

List of Standalone Novels in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
6
The Grass Is Singing
1950
Go
2
Retreat to Innocence
1956
Go
3
9.3
The Golden Notebook
1962
Go
4
A Man and Two Women
1963
Go
5
Winter in July
1964
Go
6
The Black Madonna
1966
Go
7
10
Particularly Cats
1967
Go
8
7
Briefing for a Descent Into Hell
1971
Go
9
6
The Summer Before the Dark
1973
Go
10
The Memoirs of a Survivor
1974
Go
11
10
The Good Terrorist
1985
Go
12
Playing The Game (With: Charlie Adlard)
1994
Go
13
Love, Again
1995
Go
14
Old Age of El Magnifico
2000
Go
15
The Sweetest Dream
2001
Go
16
The Cleft
2007
Go
17
8
Alfred and Emily
2008
Go

List of Short Stories/Novellas in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
The Old Chief Mshlanga
1952
Go
2
The Day Stalin Died
1958
Go
3
Report on the Threatened City
1972
Go
4
Through the Tunnel
1989
Go
5
Adore
2003
Go
6
An Old Woman and Her Cat
2013
Go

List of Collections in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Five
1954
Go
2
4
The Habit of Loving
1957
Go
3
10
To Room Nineteen
1958
Go
4
Fourteen Poems
1959
Go
5
African Stories
1965
Go
6
Nine African Stories
1965
Go
7
The Temptation of Jack Orkney
1972
Go
8
Stories
1978
Go
9
The Story of a Non-Marrying Man
1979
Go
10
The Real Thing / London Observed
1991
Go
11
The Doris Lessing Reader
1991
Go
12
Spies I Have Known
1995
Go
13
Play With A Tiger
1996
Go
14
Problems, Myths and Stories
1999
Go
15
The Grandmothers
2003
Go

List of Doris Lessing's Collected African Stories Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
This Was the Old Chief's Country
1952
Go
2
The Sun Between Their Feet
1989
Go

List of Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Going Home
1957
Go
2
In Pursuit Of The English
1960
Go
3
On Cats
1967
Go
4
A Small Personal Voice
1974
Go
5
9
Prisons We Choose to Live Inside
1986
Go
6
The Wind Blows Away Our Words
1987
Go
7
8
African Laughter
1992
Go
8
Under My Skin
1994
Go
9
Putting the Questions Differently
1996
Go
10
Walking in the Shade
1997
Go
11
Doris Lessing: Conversations
2000
Go
12
Time Bites
2004
Go

List of Doris Lessing Anthologies in Publication Order

#ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Women and Fiction
1975
Go
2
Best for Winter
1979
Go
3
The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories
1987
Go
4
Through Other Eyes
1988
Go
5
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers
1994
Go
6
Granta 58: Ambition
1997
Go
7
Mistresses of the Dark
1998
Go
8
Granta 13: After the Revolution
1999
Go
9
Great Modern Stories
2009
Go
10
Short Stories: The Thoroughly Modern Collection
2009
Go
11
Fathers: A Literary Anthology
2011
Go
12
London Stories
2013
Go
13
Letters to Change the World: From Pankhurst to Orwell
2018
Go
Show All Anthologies
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Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing (Doris May Lessing) was born on October 22nd, 1919. Doris passed away November 17th, 2013 at 94 years old. Doris Lessing was born in Kermanshah, Iran.

Doris Lessing had written 17 standalone novels, starting with The Grass Is Singing in 1950. The most recently released novel was Alfred and Emily, which was released in 2008.

Doris Lessing also wrote the Collections series which has 15 books including Five and The Habit of Loving.

Doris Lessing: Awards & Accolades

Doris Lessing was nominated for multiple awards including: The International Booker Prize, Outstanding Achievement in Fiction, in 2005, and the International Booker Prize, Outstanding Achievement in Fiction, in 2007.

Doris Lessing books have been nominated for multiple awards, Briefing for a Descent Into Hell was nominated for the Booker Prize, Best Fiction Book, in 1971. The Sirian Experiments was nominated for the Booker Prize, Best Fiction Book, in 1981. The Good Terrorist was nominated for the Booker Prize, Best Fiction Book, in 1985. The Fifth Child was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Fiction, in 1988. The Golden Notebook was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Female Narrator, in 2011.

Doris Lessing: Lists & Other Mentions

  • The Golden Notebook has made several lists including:
    1. Good Housekeeping: 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors Selection in 2021.
    2. The Guardian: 100 Best Novels Written in English Selection in 2015.
    3. BBC: 100 Greatest British Novels Selection in 2015.
    4. The Guardian: 100 Greatest Novels of All Time Selection in 2015.
    5. The Telegraph: 100 Novels Everyone Should Read Selection in 2009.
    6. Jezebel: 75 Books Every Woman Should Read Selection in 2008.
    7. Time Magazine: All-Time 100 Novels Selection in 2005.
    8. Book Riot: From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books Selection in 2013.
    9. Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 Selection in 1984.
    10. Entertainment Weekly: Top 100 Novels Selection in 2013.
  • The Memoirs of a Survivor was a BBC: 100 Greatest British Novels Selection in 2015.

Related Authors

Fans of Doris Lessing also enjoy these authors:

  1. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale Series.
  2. Kazuo Ishiguro, author of: Never Let Me Go.
  3. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
  4. Neil Gaiman, author of the American Gods Series.
  5. Barbara Kingsolver, author of: The Poisonwood Bible.

Doris Lessing: F.A.Q

When was Doris Lessing Born?

Doris Lessing was born on October 22nd, 1919.

When did Doris Lessing die?

Doris Lessing died on November 17th, 2013 at 94 years old.

Where was Doris Lessing Born?

Doris Lessing was born in Kermanshah, Iran.

What was the first book Doris Lessing wrote?

The first book written by Doris Lessing was The Grass Is Singing, published in 1950.

What was the most recent book Doris Lessing wrote?

Her most recently released work was An Old Woman and Her Cat (a short story) on March 28th, 2013.

What is the most popular book by Doris Lessing?

Based on the number of readers on Book Notification, the most popular Doris Lessing book is The Golden Notebook. Here are her most popular books:
  1. The Golden Notebook (9.33)
  2. The Fifth Child (8)
  3. The Sirian Experiments (8.33)
  4. Briefing for a Descent Into Hell (7)
  5. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside (9)

How many books has Doris Lessing written?

Doris Lessing has written 69 books across 11 series, excluding contributions to anthologies.
  • 5 books in the Canopus in Argos Series
  • 5 books in the Children of Violence Series
  • 3 books in The Diaries of Jane Somers Series
  • 2 books in the Fifth Child Series
  • 2 books in the Mara and Dann Series
  • 17 Standalone Novels
  • 6 Short Stories/Novellas
  • 15 Collections
  • 2 books in the Doris Lessing's Collected African Stories Series
  • 12 Non-Fiction Books

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