Series

Books like Gavagan's Bar: 9 series to read next

Gavagan's Bar is fantasy, set in mid 20th century and our world, funny and whimsical in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Gavagan's Bar is 32 books, 1950–1978.

The Gavagan's Bar page →Narrow this list →

The Armitage Family
Tales of Magic
Five Children Universe
Kai Lung
Magic Shop
John Midas
Discworld
Matter-of-Fact Magic
Young Wizards

The Armitage FamilySeries

seriesJoan Aiken23 books1953

Set in british isles.

Start with Dragon Monday →

Tales of MagicSeries

seriesEdward Eager7 books1954

Set in contemporary.

“Each book follows a different, sometimes overlapping set of children and a different magical object or rule, from Knight's Castle to the deliberately ambiguous Magic or Not? and its sequel The Well-Wishers.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Half Magic →

Five Children UniverseSeries

seriesE. Nesbit, Helen Cresswell & Kate Saunders27 books1902

Set in early 20th century and british isles.

“Neither book is by Nesbit herself, and the two have no direct connection to each other beyond both drawing on her creation.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Return of the Psammead →

Kai LungSeries

seriesErnest Bramah62 books1900

Set in east asia.

Start with The Wallet of Kai Lung →

Magic ShopSeries

seriesBruce Coville7 books1982

About coming of age, set in contemporary.

“Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books each send a different kid into Mr. Elives's strange antique shop, where an ordinary-looking item turns out to carry real magic and consequences.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Monster's Ring →

John MidasSeries

seriesPatrick Skene Catling2 books1952

Fairy tale retelling, lighthearted in tone, about curses and coming of age.

“John Midas is delighted when, through a magical gift, everything his lips touch turns into chocolate.”
from the catalogue description of The Chocolate Touch

Start with The Chocolate Touch →

DiscworldUniverse

universe84 books1983

Set in secondary world.

“Death speaks IN SMALL CAPITALS and rides a horse called Binky.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Guards! Guards! →

Matter-of-Fact MagicSeries

seriesRuth Chew10 books1969

Lighthearted in tone, about witches, set in contemporary.

“WorldCat: The arrival of a witch who travels by magic vacuum cleaner is only the beginning of Mary Jane's strange adventures.”
from the catalogue description of The Wednesday Witch

Start with The Wednesday Witch →

Young WizardsSeries

seriesDiane Duane24 books1983

Adventurous in tone, about wizards and coming of age, set in contemporary.

“Across fifteen books published between 1983 and 2019, the two age forward in something close to real time as their missions escalate from New York streets to alien worlds and beyond.”
from the catalogue description

Start with So You Want to Be a Wizard →

Why these

No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.

Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.

Questions readers ask

What should I read after Gavagan's Bar?: The Armitage Family — the closest match to Gavagan's Bar on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Gavagan's Bar?: Elephas Frumenti. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Gavagan's Bar.
How big is Gavagan's Bar?: Gavagan's Bar is 32 books, 1950–1978.
Is Gavagan's Bar finished?: Yes — 32 books, 1950–1978.

Books like Gavagan's Bar: 9 series to read next

Read next in Gavagan's Bar

Why these

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