The Dalemark Quartet
#4963.95 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 1975–1993 Reading commitment Medium Diana Wynne Jones Last reviewed 2026-08-12
Overview
Diana Wynne Jones's secondary-world fantasy quartet set in the land of Dalemark, a country divided between the oppressive North and the freer South, distinct from Jones's Chrestomanci and Howl's Moving Castle. Cart and Cwidder (1975) introduces a family of traveling musicians whose enchanted instrument, the cwidder, carries old magic through a land on the edge of civil war; it was published first even though it falls chronologically third among the quartet's four books, Drowned Ammet, The Spellcoats, and The Crown of Dalemark, which together span centuries of Dalemark's invented history. The quartet's non-chronological publication order, revisiting the same country across widely separated eras with different casts, became one of Jones's recurring structural devices, letting each book stand alone while quietly deepening the wider Dalemark timeline for readers who continue through the series.
Epic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Dalemark Quartet Diana Wynne Jones
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cart and Cwidder | 1975 | 1 | core | 3.86 (5,970 ratings) |
 | Drowned Ammet | 1977 | 2 | core | 3.92 (4,197 ratings) |
 | The Spellcoats | 1979 | 3 | core | 3.97 (3,836 ratings) |
 | The Crown of Dalemark | 1993 | 4 | core | 4.07 (4,200 ratings) |
A distinct continuity from Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci and Howl's Moving Castle -- shares no characters, setting, or continuity with either. The Crown of Dalemark was published 14 years after the first 3 books, completing the quartet.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Dalemark Quartet? The Dalemark Quartet's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Dalemark Quartet? Publication order, starting with Cart and Cwidder. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Dalemark Quartet finished? Complete (1975–1993).
- How much reading does The Dalemark Quartet take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~780 pages).
- How is The Dalemark Quartet ranked? #496 in this site's official ranking, based on 18,203 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #496?
Ranked #496 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.95 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (18,203 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #495, House of Dusk (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 4 books · Complete · 18k ratings · Ranks #496 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Cart and Cwidder (1975)
- Drowned Ammet (1977)
- The Spellcoats (1979)
- The Crown of Dalemark (1993)
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 3.95 across 18,203 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Dalemark Quartet admitted; Core Canon = all 4 novels accepted 2026-08-12
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Cart and Cwidder Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12
Rule: Core = all 4 novels: Cart and Cwidder (1975), Drowned Ammet (1977), The Spellcoats (1979), The Crown of Dalemark (1993).