A List of English & American Sequel Stories — Inside the Classic

Scope and Structure

The list includes four categories: stories in which the same character appears across multiple books; series forming a continuous narrative; trilogies and similar groupings; and a few additional notes. Aldred omits publication dates and publishers to keep printing costs down, noting that such details are “easily obtainable from the usual reference works.” Compound surnames are entered under the latter part of the name, and pseudonyms are used without cross-references to real names. The entries range from well-known series—such as Kipling’s The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book—to obscure sequences like the “Commuter’s series” or “Diary series.”

Notable Entries and Patterns

Several entries illustrate the variety of sequel types. For example, Sir H. Johnston’s “Little Colonel story hour books” spans twelve volumes, while Kay’s “Big War series” includes nine titles from The Search for the Spy to The Underground Spy. Some sequels are explicitly linked to canonical works: The Gay-Dombeys is noted as a sequel to Dickens’ Dombey and Son, and Mrs. Warren’s Daughter to Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Aldred also includes a note that Kipling’s character Mulvaney appears in “a number of stories in several of Kipling’s books,” acknowledging a looser form of series connection.

Compiler’s Voice and Limitations

Aldred’s preface reveals a practical, self-aware compiler. He describes the list as serving “useful purposes” and acknowledges the difficulty of obtaining reliable information about sequence-stories. The errata page further underscores the work’s provisional nature: it notes that E. Everett-Green’s Cheveley stories are entered both under “Anonymous stories” and under the author’s name—a clerical error. The list is a snapshot of early twentieth-century librarianship, shaped by constraints of budget and access, and its value lies in its documentary record of popular reading patterns rather than in bibliographic perfection.

Readers interested in the history of series fiction or in tracing the development of the sequel as a literary form will find this list a useful primary source. Aldred’s candid acknowledgment of gaps and errors invites users to treat the work as a starting point rather than a definitive bibliography. The volume also offers a glimpse into the reading tastes of the early 1900s, from juvenile series like the “Go-ahead boys” to literary continuations of classic novels.

Leafing through Aldred’s catalogue of sequel stories, I felt the gentle arithmetic of a bookshelf—each title waiting for its turn. It reminded me of another old list, one from 1886, full of promised adventures for young readers. That Blackie & Son's Books for Young People, Catalogue - 1886 — A Reader’s Guide holds a similar quiet optimism, a snapshot of stories yet to be unfolded.