The Red Abbey Chronicles
#5613.90 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2014–2018 Reading commitment Low Maria Turtschaninoff Last reviewed 2026-08-20
Overview
The Red Abbey Chronicles is a young-adult fantasy trilogy by Finland-Swedish author Maria Turtschaninoff, set on the matriarchal island of Menos and its Red Abbey, a refuge for women and girls fleeing violence or seeking knowledge, governed entirely outside the patriarchal power structures of the surrounding world. Maresi (2014) follows a girl who has found safety within the Abbey's walls after fleeing famine and hardship at home, only for a new arrival's own past to bring danger to the Abbey's door; Naondel (2016) moves backward in time to trace how the Abbey's founders escaped a harem ruled by a cruel, magically empowered man; and Maresi Red Mantle (2018) follows Maresi back out into the wider world she had never seen beyond the Abbey. Published originally in Swedish between 2014 and 2018 and translated into English by Pushkin Press, the first novel won Finland's Finlandia Junior Prize in 2014.
Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Red Abbey Chronicles Maria Turtschaninoff
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Maresi | 2014 | core | 3.76 (8,682 ratings) |
 | Naondel | 2016 | core | 4.18 (2,880 ratings) |
 | Maresi Red Mantle | 2018 | core | 4.18 (1,545 ratings) |
The complete Red Abbey Chronicles trilogy, Core Canon in full.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Red Abbey Chronicles? The Red Abbey Chronicles's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Red Abbey Chronicles? Publication order, starting with Maresi. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Red Abbey Chronicles finished? Complete (2014–2018).
- How much reading does The Red Abbey Chronicles take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~1,070 pages).
- How is The Red Abbey Chronicles ranked? #561 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,107 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #561?
Ranked #561 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.90 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (13,107 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.76 to 4.18.
- Less than 0.01 behind #560, Their Bright Ascendency (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 13k ratings · Ranks #561 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Maresi (2014)
- Naondel (2016)
- Maresi Red Mantle (2018)
Awards (verified)
- Finlandia Junior Prize (Best Book), 2014: won: Maresi; Awarded to Maresi, the first Red Abbey Chronicles novel.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.90 across 13,107 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit The Red Abbey Chronicles (Maria Turtschaninoff) as a new universe accepted 2026-08-20
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Encyclopedia entry: Maria Turtschaninoff Tier 2
- Publisher listing: Maresi Tier 1
- Publisher listing: Naondel Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-08-20
Rule: The trilogy's three published novels form the whole of Core Canon.