The Inquisitor's Tale
#1934.14 adjusted 4.13 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2016 Reading commitment Low Adam Gidwitz Last reviewed 2026-10-25
Overview
Adam Gidwitz's The Inquisitor's Tale is a standalone historical fantasy set in thirteenth-century France, told like The Canterbury Tales: on a dark night in 1242, travellers at an inn tell stories of three children with miraculous powers, Jeanne, a peasant girl with visions of the future, William, an oblate of partial African heritage with superhuman strength, and Jacob, a Jewish boy who can heal almost any wound, together with Jeanne's greyhound Gwenforte, recently brought back from the dead. Pursued by King Louis IX across France, they set out to save holy texts from being burned. Illuminated throughout by Hatem Aly, it was a Newbery Honor book.
Historical fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Inquisitor's Tale Adam Gidwitz
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Inquisitor's Tale; Full title: The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog; illuminated by Hatem Aly. | 2016 | 1 | core | 4.14 (13,149 ratings) |
Adam Gidwitz's standalone historical fantasy.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Inquisitor's Tale? The Inquisitor's Tale's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Inquisitor's Tale finished? Complete (2016).
- How much reading does The Inquisitor's Tale take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is The Inquisitor's Tale ranked? #193 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,149 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #193?
Ranked #193 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.14 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (13,149 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #192, Saga of Pliocene Exile (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 13k ratings · Ranks #193 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Newbery Medal (Newbery Honor), 2017: nominated: The Inquisitor's Tale; 2017 Newbery Honor.
- Mythopoeic Award (Children's Literature), 2017: won: The Inquisitor's Tale
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.14 across 13,149 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Inquisitor's Tale (Adam Gidwitz) and Circus Mirandus (Cassie Beasley) accepted 2026-10-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia (The Inquisitor's Tale) Tier 2
- Reader list on the rating platform (rating with title) Tier 2
- Mythopoeic Society (final ballots) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25
Rule: Core Canon = The Inquisitor's Tale (2016), a standalone.