The Letter for the King
#1274.19 adjusted 4.18 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 1962–1965 Reading commitment Low Tonke Dragt Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
The Letter for the King is Tonke Dragt's Dutch chivalric-quest classic, first published as De brief voor de koning (1962). Young squire Tiuri, on the eve of his knighthood, is entrusted with a secret letter he must deliver at all costs, setting off a journey through forests, mountains, and hostile kingdoms. A direct sequel, De geheimen van het Wilde Woud (1965, The Secrets of the Wild Wood), continues the story. Both books are foundational works of Dutch children's literature and have been translated into English. The original novel won the Dutch Best Youth Book of the Year award in 1963 and was voted the best Dutch youth book of the preceding fifty years in a 2004 national poll, with over a million copies sold in the Netherlands alone. It has been adapted twice for the screen: a 2008 Dutch theatrical film that won a Golden Film and honors at the International Film Festival for Children and Young Audiences, and a six-part television adaptation in 2020, extending the story's reach to new generations of readers well beyond its original Dutch audience.
Epic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Letter for the King Tonke Dragt
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Letter for the King | 1962 | 1 | core | 4.18 (14,871 ratings) |
 | The Secrets of the Wild Wood | 1965 | 2 | core | 4.22 (5,164 ratings) |
Tonke Dragt's original two-book duology (De brief voor de koning, 1962; De geheimen van het Wilde Woud, 1965), a Dutch chivalric quest classic following the young squire Tiuri. Both volumes have confirmed English translations (Laura Watkinson, Pushkin Press).
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Letter for the King? The Letter for the King's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Letter for the King? Publication order, starting with The Letter for the King. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Letter for the King finished? Complete (1962–1965).
- How much reading does The Letter for the King take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~1,009 pages).
- How is The Letter for the King ranked? #127 in this site's official ranking, based on 20,035 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #127?
Ranked #127 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.19 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (20,035 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.04 of each other.
- 0.01 behind #126, Jon Shannow (Stones of Power).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 2 books · Complete · 20k ratings · Ranks #127 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The Letter for the King (1962)
- The Secrets of the Wild Wood (1965)
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 4.19 across 20,035 ratings on 2 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 Letter for the King admitted; Core Canon = Dragt's original duology accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Letter for the King Tier 2
- Pushkin Press: The Secrets of the Wild Wood Tier 1
- Wikipedia: The Secrets of the Wild Wood Tier 2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Letter_for_the_King_(film)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon is the original two-book duology: The Letter for the King (1962) and its sequel The Secrets of the Wild Wood (1965). No further sequels exist in this world.