The Keys to the Kingdom
#5693.90 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 2003–2010 Reading commitment High Garth Nix Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
A completed 7-novel middle-grade fantasy series following Arthur Penhaligon, an asthmatic 12-year-old chosen as Rightful Heir to the House, the center of the universe, as he battles the Trustees who usurped it, one day of the week (and one Trustee) per book. Garth Nix's Mister Monday (2003) through Lord Sunday (2010) follow Arthur as each new Key he claims grants him greater power over part of the House's bureaucratic, cosmically vast architecture, while also drawing him further from his ordinary human family and the mortal world he is meant to protect from the House's own overflow. The series' bureaucratic, filing-cabinet cosmology, in which the universe is governed as an elaborate civil service riddled with corrupt department heads, gave it a distinctive comic-satirical edge unusual among portal fantasies of its era. It remains a separate, unrelated world from Nix's own Old Kingdom sequence.
Portal fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
The Keys to the Kingdom Garth Nix
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mister Monday | 2003 | 1 | core | 3.81 (40,757 ratings) |
 | Grim Tuesday | 2004 | 2 | core | 3.89 (27,604 ratings) |
 | Drowned Wednesday | 2005 | 3 | core | 3.88 (27,795 ratings) |
 | Sir Thursday | 2006 | 4 | core | 3.96 (23,942 ratings) |
 | Lady Friday | 2007 | 5 | core | 3.93 (23,415 ratings) |
 | Superior Saturday | 2008 | 6 | core | 3.94 (15,936 ratings) |
 | Lord Sunday | 2010 | 7 | core | 4.02 (16,570 ratings) |
Core Canon = all 7 novels of the completed series (Scholastic US / HarperCollins UK / Allen & Unwin Australia, 2003-2010). Confirmed a separate, unrelated universe from Nix's The Old Kingdom, already in this canon -- different world, different magic system, no shared characters; both records are cross-referenced as being by the same author.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Keys to the Kingdom? The Keys to the Kingdom's Core Canon is 7 books.
- What is the reading order for The Keys to the Kingdom? Publication order, starting with Mister Monday. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Keys to the Kingdom finished? Complete (2003–2010).
- How much reading does The Keys to the Kingdom take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~2,403 pages).
- How is The Keys to the Kingdom ranked? #569 in this site's official ranking, based on 176,019 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #569?
Ranked #569 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.90 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 176k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #568, Masquerade (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 7 books · Complete · 176k ratings · Ranks #569 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- Mister Monday (2003)
- Grim Tuesday (2004)
- Drowned Wednesday (2005)
- Sir Thursday (2006)
- Lady Friday (2007)
- Superior Saturday (2008)
- Lord Sunday (2010)
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)
- Aurealis Award (Children's Long Fiction), 2004: won: Mister Monday; Wikipedia dates this award to Mister Monday's 2003 publication/eligibility year; sfadb.com (this canon's Locus-lineage-preferred aggregator, also used generally for award verification) dates it to the 2004 ceremony year -- both refer to the same award, no discrepancy.
- Ditmar Award (Novel), 2004: nominated: Mister Monday; Ditmar 'novel' nomination for Abhorsen appears alongside Mister Monday on this author's 2004 award listing per sfadb; retained here for Mister Monday specifically as sfadb attributes it to that title's eligibility year.
- Locus Award (Young Adult Book), 2005: finalist: Grim Tuesday; 9th place, no-cutoff convention.
- Aurealis Award (Children's Long Fiction), 2006: won: Drowned Wednesday
- Ditmar Award (Novel), 2006: nominated: Drowned Wednesday
- Locus Award (Young Adult Book), 2007: finalist: Sir Thursday; 5th place, no-cutoff convention.
- Locus Award (Young Adult Book), 2011: finalist: Lord Sunday; 10th place, no-cutoff convention.
Related universes
- Same author The Old Kingdom: Both by Garth Nix; confirmed separate, unrelated worlds.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Keys to the Kingdom and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Chrestomanci Portal fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.03
- Emily Windsnap Portal fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.02
- Young Wizards Portal fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.01
- Tales of Magic Portal fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.00
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.90 across 176,019 ratings on 7 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 Keys to the Kingdom admitted as a single-author universe; confirmed separate from Nix's The Old Kingdom accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Keys to the Kingdom Tier 2
- sfadb: Garth Nix Tier 2
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core Canon = all 7 novels of the completed series (Scholastic US / HarperCollins UK / Allen & Unwin Australia, 2003-2010). Confirmed a separate, unrelated universe from Nix's The Old Kingdom, already in this canon; different world, different magic system, no shared characters.