T. A. Barron

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-09-23

T. A. Barron (born 1952) is an American author of fantasy and nonfiction for young readers, best known for the 13-book Merlin Saga, which opens with the pentalogy The Lost Years of Merlin. Raised partly on a ranch in Colorado, he studied history and politics at Princeton University, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and later earned business and law degrees from Harvard before serving as president of a private equity firm in New York City. In 1990 he left that career to write full-time and returned to Colorado, where he has also worked in wilderness conservation. His other books include The Ancient One, Heartlight, the Great Tree of Avalon trilogy, and the nonfiction The Hero's Trail; he has received the de Grummond Medallion for lifetime contribution to children's and young adult literature and the Wilderness Society's Robert Marshall Award.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Lost Years of Merlin (1996) · The Lost Years of Merlin Core Canon
• The Seven Songs of Merlin (1997) · The Lost Years of Merlin Core Canon
• The Fires of Merlin (1998) · The Lost Years of Merlin Core Canon
• The Mirror of Merlin (1999) · The Lost Years of Merlin Core Canon
• The Wings of Merlin (2000) · The Lost Years of Merlin Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 5 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 0 (None recorded)

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