Bernardine Evaristo Books in Order: Complete Reading Guide
All Bernardine Evaristo books in order — from her debut poetry to Girl, Woman, Other. Reading guide for the Booker Prize-winning author's complete works.
Bernardine Evaristo is a British author whose nine books span verse-novels, satire, and conventional prose fiction. She won the 2019 Booker Prize for Girl, Woman, Other — the first Black woman to win the prize.
Bernardine Evaristo Books in Publication Order
1. Island of Abraham (1994)
Evaristo’s debut poetry collection. Specialist interest.
2. Lara — 1997
A verse-novel tracing Evaristo’s own mixed-heritage family history from Nigeria, Brazil, and England. Formally inventive and deeply personal.
3. The Emperor’s Babe — 2001
A verse-novel set in Roman London — a sixteen-year-old Sudanese girl married to a Roman nobleman has an affair with the Emperor Septimius Severus. One of Evaristo’s most formally audacious works and her first major critical success.
4. Soul Tourists — 2005
A verse-novel following a couple driving across Europe, encountering the Black figures history has forgotten.
5. Blonde Roots — 2008
A satirical counterfactual in which Africans enslaved Europeans — a white woman narrates her life in bondage in a world where the Atlantic slave trade ran in reverse.
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6. Hello Mum — 2010
A short verse-novel about a young Black man’s relationship with his mother. Brief and affecting.
7. Mr. Loverman — 2013
Barrington Jedidiah Walker — a 74-year-old Antiguan-British man — has maintained a secret homosexual relationship since his Caribbean childhood while being publicly married. A novel of voice and deception, identity and community.
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8. Girl, Woman, Other — 2019
Start here. Twelve characters — mostly Black British women — whose lives intersect in London across decades. Told in verse-fiction that flows like prose. 2019 Booker Prize winner (joint with The Testaments). Her most celebrated and accessible work.
➡ Full review → | Buy on Amazon →
9. Manifesto — 2021
Part memoir, part artistic manifesto — Evaristo reflects on her development as a writer and person. Essential context for readers who want to understand her whole project.
Where to Start with Bernardine Evaristo
Girl, Woman, Other — then Mr. Loverman — then Blonde Roots for her most formally demanding satire. Committed readers should then work backwards through the verse-novels.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What order should I read Bernardine Evaristo books in?
Start with Girl, Woman, Other (2019 Booker Prize winner) — it is her most accessible and celebrated work. Mr. Loverman is the natural second read. Blonde Roots is excellent but more demanding. Her earlier verse-novels reward dedicated readers.
What style does Bernardine Evaristo write in?
Evaristo writes in what she calls verse-fiction or novel-verse — prose that fragments across the page, abandons conventional punctuation, and moves between perspectives. It looks challenging on the page but reads fluidly once you adapt to the rhythm.
What is Girl, Woman, Other about?
Girl, Woman, Other follows twelve characters — mostly Black British women — whose lives intersect across London and its history. It won the 2019 Booker Prize jointly with The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
