Bamarre
#3024.06 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2001–2017 Reading commitment Low Gail Carson Levine Last reviewed 2026-10-26
Overview
Gail Carson Levine's kingdom of Bamarre is a land beset by ogres, specters, gryphons and dragons, with an epic poem and a hero of long ago at its heart. The Two Princesses of Bamarre (2001) follows fearful, shy Princess Addie on a perilous quest when her bold sister Meryl is struck by a deadly illness; The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (2017), set generations earlier, follows Perry, raised among the conquering Lakti, who learns she was born Bamarre. The Two Princesses of Bamarre was a finalist for the 2002 Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature.
Fairy-tale retelling, Epic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Two Princesses of Bamarre Gail Carson Levine
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Two Princesses of Bamarre | 2001 | 1 | core | 4.06 (74,877 ratings) |
The first Bamarre novel.
The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre Gail Carson Levine
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre | 2017 | 1 | core | 3.96 (3,117 ratings) |
A prequel set generations before The Two Princesses of Bamarre.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Bamarre? Bamarre's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Bamarre? Publication order, starting with The Two Princesses of Bamarre. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Bamarre finished? Complete (2001–2017).
- How much reading does Bamarre take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books).
- How is Bamarre ranked? #302 in this site's official ranking, based on 77,994 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #302?
Ranked #302 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.06 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (77,994 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.10 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #301, Dragon Prince (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 2 books · Complete · 78k ratings · Ranks #302 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Two Princesses of Bamarre (2001)
- The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (2017)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Children's Literature), 2002: finalist: The Two Princesses of Bamarre
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Suggestions computed from what Bamarre and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Letter for the King Epic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.19
- Circle of Magic (Emelan) Epic fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.12
- The Girl Who Drank the Moon Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.11
- The School for Good and Evil Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.06
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.06 across 77,994 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: Bamarre (Gail Carson Levine, 2 books); Martine Leavitt bio accepted 2026-10-26
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- School Library Journal: The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (same world, generations earlier) Tier 2
- Mythopoeic Society (final ballots) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-26
Rule: Core Canon = The Two Princesses of Bamarre (2001) and The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (2017), set in one world; the Ella Enchanted books are a separate world.