10 Best Margaret Atwood Books In Order To Read

We can never get enough of books, can we? And that’s, today we are going to talk about one of the most popular authors from Canada, that is, Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is a poet, essay writer, novel writer, teacher, and environmental activist as well. She has managed to do so much at an early age and she has definitely won hearts with her writings. Margaret Atwood generally writes about historical fiction, speculative fiction, science fiction as well as dystopian fiction.
She has always written about gender equality and she has also written on a variety of other themes such as the power of language, myth, identity, religion, and climate. In short, her fans have got a wide range of themes and books to read.
So it would be a pleasure to read her books and in this article, we are going to tell you about books written by Margret Atwood. But before we do that, let take a look at the biography of the author and know a little more about her.
About the author –
Margaret Eleanor Atwood was born in Ontario, Canada in 1939. She developed an interest in writing at an early age of 5 and by the time she was fifteen she decided to take her passion for writing more seriously. She went to Victoria College at the University of Toronto and received her master’s degree in English literature from Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1962.
She starter her writing career with her poetry book, Double Persephone 1961. In her writing career, she wrote many poem collections, novels, short stories as well as written for the environment as well. She has also received many prestigious awards for her work including the PEN Printer award. And she is also one of the founders of Griffin Poetry Awards and Writer’s Trust in Canada.
She has also invented a LongPen device and associates technologies that facilitate remote robotic writing of documents.
Alright, this all you needed to know about the author. In this article, we are going to name each and every book by Margaret Atwood and some of them also have a description so you can know about her writing style and what you can expect from her novels and poems. Although her books are standalone so you don’t need to worry about the order of the books but still for the convenience we are going to name Margaret Atwood books in order.
Let’s start our list of Margaret Atwood books in order o that you can find one or two books to read.

Margaret Atwood books

1. Double Persephone

Double Persephone is the first poetry by Margaret Atwood and it was self-published by in 1961. The content of the book is pretty great and almost everyone loved and praised her for her writing skills. The way she wrote the words and engaged us throughout the poetry is just a phenomenon. Overall if you are a fan of poetry then this one will be your favorite too as it takes you back in the time. The book has got 4.1 stars on the GoodReads.

2. The Animals in That Country

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This one is the second poetry collection by Margaret Atwood and it was published in 1968. The book highly focuses on human behavior and his relationship with nature. The poem is written in an ecocentric way of writing and it talks about the difference in the animals of Old World and New World. This highlights the theme of feminism, power politics, and human existence. If you too enjoy the nature-driven themes in poetry then this one should be a perfect read for you, although it’s definitely one of the best by Margaret Atwood so do give it a read sometime.

3. The Edible Woman

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After writing a number of poetry collections, Margaret Atwood came with her first novel, The Edible Woman in the year 1969. This novel has also helped to establish Margaret Atwood as a Prose Writer.
The story of the book features Maria, sane, focused, and structured women as the protagonist of the story. Maria has lost her focus when she is engaged. She feels like her body and self are separating and somehow she stopped eating. The novel is about emotional cannibalism and the desire to be consumed.
You will also read about how the relationship between men and women is affected by robotic emotions between them. It’s a good read and the author has shown a variety of emotions and how one is affected by their emotions. According to Margaret Atwood, it is a proto-feminism novel!

4. Procedures for Underground

top margaret atwood books

Procedures for Underground is another poetry book by Margaret Atwood which was published in 1970. This book too focuses on the theme of nature but it is something unpredictable. Here you will find a collection of 44 poets that will keep you engaged and hooked up withing the book till you finish it.
It’s kinda a book that you would wanna read it on a nice sunny day when you are in a mood to be happy and cherish nature. There are many gems here, so give it a read, you will be definitely a fan of this poetry collection.

5. The Journals of Susanna Moodie

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This one was also published in 1970. This poetry collection is based on Susanna Moodie who is a popular Canadian writer. The author has tried to describe Canadian life through the eyes of Susanna Moodie.
The poetry talks about the difficulties faced by the writer in those days. And Margaret Atwood hasn’t forgotten to appreciate nature either, as the poems also talk about the landscapes of Canada.
Margaret describes that this book feels like one is watching an opera with an empty stage and it’s just like a dream. Overall the poems are pretty delightful and one will definitely enjoy it.

6. Surfacing

margaret atwood books in order

This one is the second novel by Margaret Atwood and it was published in 1972. The story revolves around a woman who has returned to Canada to find her missing father. She is accompanied by her lover and a couple. The author kept the protagonist unnamed which is kinda unique and also adds beauty to the story.
The protagonists are trying to remember her past and everything about her childhood, her old house, the events which are responsible behind her father’s mysterious missing. She is driven to wildness and madness by her own self.
The novel is based on the major themes of separation and feminism which is quite amusing to read.

7. Lady Oracle

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Lady Oracle is another notable work by Margaret Atwood that you would love to read. The book was published in the year 1976. The book is based on psychological fiction. The book focused on the character of Joan Foster who is a romance novelist. She has spent her life running away from a difficult situation but still, she had a rough experience from childhood. She has suffered from being an overweight kid as well as the criticism of her mother. The book also focuses on her abnormal relationships and affairs.
There are many flashback scenes and you will be taken back and forth to show the different events in her life. At present, she is facing the biggest problem in her life, as her recent novel become a hit and she gained overnight fame. Although the fame came with threats as well. Overall it would be interesting to see a woman who has run away from a difficult situation, dealing with a death threat!
It’s quite enjoyable and you will have a good time reading the story.

8. Dancing Girls and other stories

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The Dancing Girls and other stories is a collection of short stories that was released in the year 1977. The collection has the following 14 short stories:-
  • The War in the Bathroom
  • The Moon from the Mars
  • Polarities
  • Under Glass
  • The Grave of the Famous Poet
  • Rape Fantasies
  • Hair Jewellery
  • When it Happens
  • A Travel Piece
  • The Resplendent Quetzal
  • Training
  • Lives of the Poets
  • Dancing Girls
  • Giving Birth
Its definitely something you should readout, the epic stories by Margaret Atwood are anyway too good to be missed.

9. Up in the Tree

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Up in the Tree is also a nature-centric book by Margaret Atwood which was published in the year 1978. The story of the book describes the relation of humans to nature through the adventures of two young boys.
This one is a children’s book and it has received a lot of praise for its theme and the writings. The book is made in an old fashioned way by simply using only two colors and mixing them to create various tones and textures. The book somehow makes us realize the importance of technology and what are its impacts on humans. It’s definitely a good read for children.

10. Two-headed Poems

margaret atwood books

Two-headed Poems is the 8th collection of poems by Margaret Atwood and it was published in the year 1978. The poems refer to the tension between the two lovers and what the feeling of separation feels like. This one is also a good piece of art and you would like the story of two lovers.

Conclusion

Here we named the Margaret Atwood book that you were looking for. And we hope you found the article helpful. So thank you for the hint with us and we hope you have found some good books by Margaret Atwood to read. Her writing is mesmerizing and you would definitely enjoy the themes of her novels as well as the poems. So thank you for being with us, we are glad we could help.

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