William Nicholson Books In Order

Publication Order of All The Hopeful Lovers Books

Publication Order of Noble Warriors Trilogy Books

Publication Order of The Wind on Fire Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Plays

Publication Order of William Nicholson Poems Books

Publication Order of Margery Williams Bianco's Childrens Books

William Nicholson is a British playwright, screenwriter and novelist deemed one of the biggest cultural icons of the UK. His father was a specialist in tropical medicine who worked to eradicate leprosy in Nigeria while his mother was the daughter of a South African Jew that went to Somerville, where she graduated with a First class in English. His parents met on the ship to Lagos as his father was going back to work as a doctor while she was going to start a lecturing job at the British Council in Nigeria. His parents then moved back to the UK and he grew up at an end of the line town named Seaford on the South Coast. Nicholson spent much of his time outdoors on the pebbly and bracken beaches until he was sent to school as an eleven-year-old.

It was while he was studying at Benedictines that he came of age intellectually. After graduating from school, he moved to Belize where he worked in the Voluntary Service Overseas as a teacher before he came back home and went to college at Cambridge to study English Literature. Nicholson had always had a love for writing and inspired by Ian Fleming, he had written his first novel aged only fifteen that he titled “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil.” After graduating from Cambridge, he got a job at the BBC though he still loved writing and would write for two hours in the morning before heading out to work. However, he made little headway and had a ton of rejections until the floodgates opened and he won a Spectator writing competition, had Encounter Magazine accept his first short story, and also had one of his plays accepted by Radio 4. During this time, he was also experiencing some modest success with a television documentary called “Everyman” that he wrote for the BBC. After several more successes in TV scriptwriting and very little on his fiction works, he decided that maybe his writing was meant to be expressed on TV. While he went on to become huge and even wrote Oscar award-nominated scripts such as “Gladiator,” he still wanted to be an author. One thing Hollywood had taught him was to not over-intellectualize his stories and this paved the way for his later career as a fiction author.

Nicholson’s first stab at fiction was in children’s fiction. Since the genre called for simple writing he soon had his first success in his debut novel “The Wind Singer” that would become the first of “The Wind on Fire” trilogy. The success of the novel gave him the confidence to circle back to writing novels. In 2004 he published the single standing novel “The Society of Others” followed in 2005 by “The Trial of True Love.” He then published the series for young readers titled “The Noble Warriors and All the Hopeful Lovers” among several other single standing novels. The novels are a realization and means of his deepest ambitions of writing truthfully about our modern lives. While his writing may look like it lacks direction as he moves from children’s books to plays, novels, movies to TV, everything is linked. All of his works are about making sense of the mess and chaos that is life. Right from his movies such as “Gladiator” that examines life after death, the reality behind the banality of everyday life in “The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life” or the “Wind of Fire” that tackles the mystery of evil in the world or “The Retreat from Moscow” which is about the collapse of his parents’ marriage are all are about life and the futility of it.

“The Wind Singer” By William Nicholson gives the term dystopia a new meaning and whole new look. The novel tells the story of Aramanth, a community that is obsessed with tests. The community lives and dies by a commitment to reach higher and strive harder to ensure that the future is better than the present. It is also structured in such a way that the citizens are brainwashed to be content in the ultimate caste system it had developed. In Amaranth, everything is organized around standardized but strict testing and everyone’s lives depend on how they score on the tests. The best things in life such as the nice houses are owned by the intelligent who know how to answer those quizzes effectively. For those that fail or do not like the tests, life is difficult as they are relegated to the lowest case in society. Given the rigid social system and tight control, there is hardly any insubordination or rebellion by the citizens. But everything changes when Kestrel Hath decides to take the consequences by challenging the world of tests which she hates. There seems to be no way out from the rigid regulations and rules until an ancient emperor tells her about the Wind Singer. The ancient gigantic construction of popes overlooks the town and once had the ability to sing and in doing so make the residents happy and calm their hearts. But the key to the “Wind Singer” had been stolen, which is what had led to the society becoming hardened and cold. Teaming up with her twin brother, they vow to find the key, save Amaranth and return it to its former state.

William Nicholson’s “Slaves of the Mastery” is a brilliant follow up to the debut that tells a compelling story of a wolf wearing sheepskin. The deceptive man is a dictator who for all intents and purposes has managed to trick people into believing that what he has created is a utopia. The story opens about five years after the happenings of the debut novel which means the leading protagonists are now fifteen years old. The Manth people are taken into slavery when Aramanth is attacked by a huge army of the Mastery which destroys their city. While their masters are cruel, they still allow them to use their skills to work and improve their lives and most of them are soon making a living and settling down. However, Kestrel was never taken and is now leading an insurrection that seeks to overthrow the Mastery overlords. The legend of the Singers underpins the story though the Masters in this tale are more horrible as compared to the Morah of the first novel.

“Firesong” the third novel of the “Wind on Fire trilogy” by William Nicholson continues the story of the Manth. Led by Kestrel’s mother and Bowman, they had finally been freed and can no go find the Promised Land. But the quest is hard and long, full of temptations dangers, distractions, and enemies. Each of them has their own worries which in itself is a threat to the unity of the group. Bowman cannot decide between his destiny to give his life for the good of the Manth and his attraction to a beautiful former princess known as Sisi. Meanwhile, Kestrel cannot think of life beyond the quest though she feels that he must complete the mission. Firesong is a brilliant ending to the epic adventure that tells a compelling story about death and rebirth in an incredibly poignant voice.