Norah Lofts Books In Order

Publication Order of Gad's Hall Books

Publication Order of House Books

Publication Order of Sir Godfrey Tallboys Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Norah Lofts was a British author of fiction. In the twentieth century, she was a best selling writer. She is known for writing under the pen names also of Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley.

Norah was born August 27, 1904 in Shipdham, Norfolk, in the United Kingdom. Her parents were Ethel Garner and Isaac Robinson. She would spend her childhood in Bury St. Edmunds. Norah attended Guildhall Feoffment Girls School in town and then County Grammar School for Girls. She attended Norwich Training College and received her teaching diploma in 1925.

Later she would get married to Geoffrey Lofts in 1931. They shared one son together, Clive. Her husband would pass away in 1948. Norah eventually moved on and got married to her second husband in 1949. His name was Robert Jorisch and he was a technical consultant that worked for the British Sugar Corporation at the sugar beet factory in town. Norah also worked for Bury St. Edmunds as a town councillor for five years from 1957 to 1962.

During her career as an author, she composed over fifty novels. Some of them were in the historical fiction genre, but many were nonfiction too. She also wrote short stories. Some of her books such as the Suffolk trilogy cover a specific house’s history along with the residents that lived there. The trilogy was well researched and goes over five plus centuries of history in Suffolk, beginning with the 14th century life of a serf and concluding in the 1950s time period.

Her novels written in the murder mystery genre were released using the pen name of Peter Curtis. This was the wish of the author because she didn’t want her historical fiction readers to get one of her mystery novels while expecting the historical fiction stories that she wrote under her Norah Lofts name. Despite this, there are some elements of her own personal style of writing that show up in the murder mystery stories.

Historical novels written by this author can usually be sorted into two different categories. They are either biographical stories written about queens or stories that are set in the town of Baildon in East Anglia, a fictional town based on Bury St. Edmunds. The fictional creation of a place in England is similar to what Thomas Hardy did in Wessex. The stories in East Anglia show concern that the impoverished in society do not have the ability to make their conditions better and mirrors the social reform movement that became fashionable in post-war Britain.

Norah has also not shied away from putting sensitive topics into her stories, either. She included a Nativity scene, or at least a version of it, in How Far to Bethlehem?. She also included the expedition of the Donner Party in her book Road to Revelation, also known by the title of Winter Harvest.

Some of Norah’s books were adapted and made into feature films. Her book Jassy became the 1947 movie “Jassy” by the same name that starred Dennis Price and Margaret Lockwood. Her novel You’re Best Alone was adapted into the 1950 movie Guilt Is My Shadow. Her book The Devil’s Own was adapted into the movie The Witches, which came out in 1966. Also, John Ford’s movie 7 Women was also based on Lofts’ story “Chinese Finale”.

Lofts won a National Book Award in the United States for her book I Met a Gypsy. It was noted that her collection was that year’s forgotten book that was deemed not deserving of being forgotten. At the ceremony for the award, she was represented by Alfred Knopf.

Norah passed away on September 10, 1983.

Norah Lofts is the creator and the author of the Suffolk House series of fictional novels. The series first got started with the publication of the debut novel The Town House in 1959. This was followed by the publication of the sequel, The House at Old Vine, in 1961. The third novel in the series made it a trilogy. It was published in 1962 and was titled The House at Sunset. If you have been looking for a new historical fiction series to read, give the Suffolk House series a try.

The Town House is the first novel in the Suffolk House series, also known as the Suffolk House trilogy, by celebrated author Norah Lofts. This story focuses on the main character Martin Reed.

Martin Reed was born into the serf class system in the 14th century, in 1381. Even though some may have accepted their circumstances in his place, Martin does not enjoy or accept being a serf. He has a deep resentment for the feudal system and all that it does in shaping his life.

Then some circumstances change, and Martin finds that he has unbelievable luck. He is able to begin again, a new and free man. He even builds his own house and ends up starting a family. Put from the point of view of the characters that live in this house, this is a historical story that emulates the lives that people lived in the 14th and 15th centuries. Check it out and read to the end to catch all that happens!

The House At Old Vine is the second novel in the Suffolk House series of novels written by Norah Lofts. This is the continuation of the House trilogy and the stories set in history.

This one begins in the 15th century and goes along until the Restoration. This is the tale that goes into a particularly difficult part of history for England. There is social change, but there are also rebellions, war, religious persecution, and more.

This Suffolk house is the vehicle and the link for all of the people that live there. What will go on during this second volume of the trilogy? Pick up a copy and read to the very last page to catch all of the historical fiction for yourself! If you like the sequel, then conclude the series all the way to the end by picking up a copy of The House at Sunset, the last in the trilogy.

One Response to “Norah Lofts”

1. Patricia Anne Thompson: 11 months ago

   I read so many of Norah Lofts’ books decades ago. Thank you for this article as I’ve been wanting to read again!

   Reply