Left-Handed Booksellers of London
#8283.88 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Ongoing 2020–present Reading commitment Low Garth Nix Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is a fantasy series by Garth Nix, begun in 2020 with the novel of that name and continued in 2023 with The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. It is set in a slightly alternate Britain in 1983. Susan Arkshaw searches for her unknown father and meets the booksellers Merlin and his sister Vivien, who police the Old World when it intrudes on the modern one. A third book, The Even-Handed Booksellers of Edinburgh, is listed as expected in 2027.
Urban fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Left-Handed Booksellers of London Garth Nix
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Left-Handed Booksellers of London | 2020 | 1 | core | 3.84 (26,351 ratings) |
 | The Sinister Booksellers of Bath | 2023 | 2 | core | 4.01 (7,732 ratings) |
Two novels about magical booksellers who police the Old World in an alternate 1980s Britain, with a third announced.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Left-Handed Booksellers of London? Left-Handed Booksellers of London's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Left-Handed Booksellers of London? Publication order, starting with The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Left-Handed Booksellers of London finished? Ongoing (2020–present).
- How much reading does Left-Handed Booksellers of London take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books).
- How is Left-Handed Booksellers of London ranked? #828 in this site's official ranking, based on 34,083 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #828?
Ranked #828 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.88 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (34,083 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #827, Flora & Ulysses (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Ongoing · 34k ratings · Ranks #828 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (2020)
- The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (2023)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.88 across 34,083 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: 31 universes; 3 candidates ruled out; open items closed accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Penguin Random House series page Tier 2
- Gollancz Tier 2
- Clarion Books listing (Bookloft) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (2020) and The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (2023). The Even-Handed Booksellers of Edinburgh is excluded as unpublished.