Parasol Protectorate
#4453.98 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 2009–2012 Reading commitment Medium Gail Carriger Last reviewed 2026-10-16
Overview
The Parasol Protectorate is a steampunk/urban fantasy comedy of manners set in an alternate Victorian England where vampires and werewolves have long since come out of the shadows and taken their place, closely regulated, within polite society. Alexia Tarabotti is a preternatural — a woman born without a soul — whose touch cancels supernatural powers outright, making her both a social outcast and, when vampires begin mysteriously vanishing from London, an unlikely asset to the supernatural authorities investigating the disappearances. Across all five novels she navigates marriage to the brusque Scottish werewolf Lord Maccon, an impossible pregnancy, exile, and ever-widening supernatural politics stretching from London and Scotland to Italy and Egypt, all narrated with a dry, mannered wit closer to a drawing-room comedy than conventional gothic horror.
Fantasy of manners, Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
Parasol Protectorate Gail Carriger
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Soulless | 2009 | 1 | core | 3.90 (115,019 ratings) |
 | Changeless | 2010 | 2 | core | 3.99 (48,825 ratings) |
 | Blameless | 2010 | 3 | core | 4.00 (42,780 ratings) |
 | Heartless | 2011 | 4 | core | 4.06 (36,529 ratings) |
 | Timeless | 2012 | 5 | core | 4.12 (32,760 ratings) |
A completed five-book steampunk/urban fantasy comedy-of-manners set in an alternate Victorian England where vampires and werewolves are a regulated part of polite society, following Alexia Tarabotti, a soulless woman whose touch neutralises supernatural powers, across marriage, motherhood, and widening supernatural politics.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Parasol Protectorate? Parasol Protectorate's Core Canon is 5 books.
- What is the reading order for Parasol Protectorate? Publication order, starting with Soulless. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Parasol Protectorate finished? Complete (2009–2012).
- How much reading does Parasol Protectorate take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~1,984 pages).
- How is Parasol Protectorate ranked? #445 in this site's official ranking, based on 275,913 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #445?
Ranked #445 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.98 across 5 core books.
- Backed by 276k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #444, Tailchaser's Song (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 5 books · Complete · 276k ratings · Ranks #445 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length fantasy-of-manners universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- Soulless (2009)
- Blameless (2010)
- Changeless (2010)
- Heartless (2011)
- Timeless (2012)
Documented internal/story order
- Soulless (2009)
- Changeless (2010)
- Blameless (2010)
- Heartless (2011)
- Timeless (2012)
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 2010: finalist: Soulless
- John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, 2010: nominated: Soulless
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.98 across 275,913 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Parasol Protectorate admitted accepted 2026-09-23
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Gail Carriger — Wikipedia Tier 2
- Soulless (novel) — Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-23
Rule: Core Canon is all five books of the completed pentalogy: Soulless (2009), Changeless (2010), Blameless (2010), Heartless (2011), and Timeless (2012).