Amish Fiction Books and a Lancaster County Reading List
By Best of Lancaster · 22 min read
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Where to start
Start with Beverly Lewis, whose reading-order page opens The Heritage of Lancaster County with The Shunning. For a second Lancaster County series, use Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Daughters of Lancaster County, which begins with The Storekeeper’s Daughter. For a third, use Suzanne Woods Fisher’s Lancaster County Secrets, which her book list opens with The Choice. Cindy Woodsmall’s Sisters of the Quilt trilogy is the Pennsylvania set if you want a story outside those three series. A first gift is The Shunning for an adult and Patricia Polacco’s Just Plain Fancy for a young child.
Titles, series order, authors, and edition years below were checked on October 23, 2026 against the author and publisher pages linked here and against Open Library edition records. An ISBN-10 from Open Library is the product link. Where that record was missing, the link is a title-and-author search.
Why so much Amish fiction is set in Lancaster County
Beverly Lewis’s about page says she was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and that as a girl she was drawn to the Amish near her rural home. The same page says her maternal grandmother, Ada, was excommunicated from an Old Order Mennonite church, and that The Shunning is loosely based on that grandmother’s experiences. Her reading-order page then gives one series the name The Heritage of Lancaster County.
She is not the only novelist who uses the county by name. Brunstetter’s Daughters of Lancaster County page and Rachel Yoder page both say Lancaster County. Fisher’s book list has a series titled Lancaster County Secrets, and her page for The Waiting sends the characters home to Lancaster County. Other books on this list use other places: Sisters of Holmes County on Brunstetter’s book list, and Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania, on the Penguin Random House page for Sisters of the Quilt.
The Johns Hopkins page for The Amish says the largest Amish populations are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Lancaster County is one Pennsylvania settlement, which is why a Lancaster novel and an Ohio or Indiana novel are different books. For visiting, the ground rules are in the Amish culture and etiquette guide. For the church distinction Lewis’s own family story runs into, see Amish and Mennonite: the difference.
Beverly Lewis books in order
This table follows Beverly Lewis’s reading-order page, checked October 23, 2026. The year is the Bethany House edition year on the Open Library record for the ISBN linked under the table. The Heirloom is fourth on that page and is also the prequel her site describes.
| Series | Reading order | Year |
|---|---|---|
| The Heritage of Lancaster County | 1. The Shunning | 1997 |
| The Heritage of Lancaster County | 2. The Confession | 1997 |
| The Heritage of Lancaster County | 3. The Reckoning | 1998 |
| The Heritage of Lancaster County | 4. The Heirloom | 2023 |
| Seasons of Grace | 1. The Secret | 2009 |
| Seasons of Grace | 2. The Missing | 2009 |
| Seasons of Grace | 3. The Telling | 2010 |
| The Rose Trilogy | 1. The Thorn | 2010 |
| The Rose Trilogy | 2. The Judgment | 2011 |
| The Rose Trilogy | 3. The Mercy | 2011 |
| Amish Country Crossroads | 1. The Postcard | 1999 |
| Amish Country Crossroads | 2. The Crossroad | 1999 |
| Home to Hickory Hollow | 1. The Fiddler | 2012 |
| Home to Hickory Hollow | 2. The Bridesmaid | 2012 |
| Home to Hickory Hollow | 3. The Guardian | 2013 |
| Home to Hickory Hollow | 4. The Secret Keeper | 2013 |
| Home to Hickory Hollow | 5. The Last Bride | 2014 |
| Abram's Daughters | 1. The Covenant | 2002 |
| Abram's Daughters | 2. The Betrayal | 2003 |
| Abram's Daughters | 3. The Sacrifice | 2004 |
| Abram's Daughters | 4. The Prodigal | 2004 |
| Abram's Daughters | 5. The Revelation | 2005 |
| Sylvia Miller Duology | 1. The Tinderbox | 2019 |
| Sylvia Miller Duology | 2. The Timepiece | 2019 |
| Annie's People | 1. The Preacher's Daughter | 2005 |
| Annie's People | 2. The Englisher | 2006 |
| Annie's People | 3. The Brethren | 2006 |
| The Courtship of Nellie Fisher | 1. The Parting | 2007 |
| The Courtship of Nellie Fisher | 2. The Forbidden | 2008 |
| The Courtship of Nellie Fisher | 3. The Longing | 2008 |
The Shunning, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who wants her first adult novel. Her about page dates The Shunning to 1997 and says it is loosely based on her grandmother. Open Library lists this Bethany House edition in 1997 at 283 pages. See it on Amazon
The Confession, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Shunning and wants the next book her reading-order page lists in this series. See it on Amazon
The Reckoning, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who is on the third title in The Heritage of Lancaster County. See it on Amazon
The Heirloom, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who wants the prequel. Her site calls The Heirloom a prequel to The Shunning, and the reading-order page lists it fourth. Open Library dates this Bethany House edition to 2023. See it on Amazon
The Secret, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting Seasons of Grace, the next series on her reading-order page. See it on Amazon
The Missing, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Secret and wants the second Seasons of Grace novel. See it on Amazon
The Telling, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader closing Seasons of Grace with the third novel on her list. See it on Amazon
The Thorn, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting The Rose Trilogy, which her reading-order page lists as The Thorn, The Judgment, and The Mercy. See it on Amazon
The Judgment, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Thorn and wants the middle book of The Rose Trilogy. See it on Amazon
The Mercy, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader finishing The Rose Trilogy. See it on Amazon
The Postcard, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting the two-book Amish Country Crossroads series. See it on Amazon
The Crossroad, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Postcard and wants the second book in that series. See it on Amazon
The Fiddler, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting the five-book Home to Hickory Hollow series. See it on Amazon
The Bridesmaid, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Fiddler and wants the second Hickory Hollow novel. See it on Amazon
The Guardian, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader on the third Home to Hickory Hollow novel. See it on Amazon
The Secret Keeper, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader on the fourth Home to Hickory Hollow novel. See it on Amazon
The Last Bride, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader finishing Home to Hickory Hollow with the fifth novel on her list. See it on Amazon
The Covenant, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting Abram's Daughters, a five-book series on her reading-order page. See it on Amazon
The Betrayal, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Covenant. Open Library dates this Bethany House edition to 2003. See it on Amazon
The Sacrifice, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader on the third Abram's Daughters novel. See it on Amazon
The Prodigal, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader on the fourth Abram's Daughters novel. See it on Amazon
The Revelation, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader finishing Abram's Daughters. See it on Amazon
The Tinderbox, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting the two-book Sylvia Miller duology on her reading-order page. See it on Amazon
The Timepiece, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Tinderbox and wants the second Sylvia Miller novel. See it on Amazon
The Preacher's Daughter, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting Annie's People. See it on Amazon
The Englisher, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Preacher's Daughter and wants the second Annie's People novel. See it on Amazon
The Brethren, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader finishing Annie's People. See it on Amazon
The Parting, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader starting The Courtship of Nellie Fisher. See it on Amazon
The Forbidden, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who has finished The Parting and wants the second Nellie Fisher novel. See it on Amazon
The Longing, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader finishing The Courtship of Nellie Fisher. See it on Amazon
The Tinderbox, large print, Beverly Lewis. Suits a reader who wants the Sylvia Miller novel in the Thorndike Press Large Print edition Open Library lists for 2019. The Bethany House edition is the one linked above. See the large-print edition on Amazon
Other Amish fiction authors
These starters are the ones whose author or publisher pages name the series and the place. Lancaster County titles are marked from those pages. The Holmes County series and the Owl’s Perch trilogy are the contrast.
Wanda E. Brunstetter’s order for Daughters of Lancaster County is on her series page. Sisters of Holmes County is the name on her October 2019 book list. Suzanne Woods Fisher’s series names and ISBNs are on her book list. Cindy Woodsmall’s years are on her printable list, and the Pennsylvania setting is on the Penguin Random House series page.
The Storekeeper's Daughter, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader starting Daughters of Lancaster County. Her series page calls this book 1, and the series title on that page is Daughters of Lancaster County. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to 2005. See it on Amazon
The Quilter's Daughter, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader who has finished The Storekeeper’s Daughter. Her series page calls this book 2, and it sends Abby Miller from an Ohio quilt shop to Lancaster County. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to January 15, 2006. See it on Amazon
The Bishop's Daughter, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader finishing Daughters of Lancaster County. Her series page calls this book 3 and places Leona and Jimmy Scott in Lancaster County. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to July 1, 2006. See it on Amazon
A Sister's Secret, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader who wants her Holmes County series rather than a Lancaster one. Her book list numbers A Sister’s Secret as book 1 of Sisters of Holmes County. Open Library labels this Barbour copy large print and dates it to January 1, 2008. See the large-print edition on Amazon
The Keeper, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader starting the series her book list titles Stoney Ridge Seasons. That list prints this ISBN first in the series. Open Library dates the Revell edition to 2012. Her list gives this series its own name, separate from Lancaster County Secrets. See it on Amazon
The Haven, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader who has finished The Keeper. It is the second Stoney Ridge Seasons title on her book list. Open Library dates this Revell edition to 2012. See it on Amazon
The Letters, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader starting the series her book list titles The Inn at Eagle Hill. Open Library dates this Baker Publishing edition to 2013. Her list files this series apart from Lancaster County Secrets. See it on Amazon
When the Heart Cries, Cindy Woodsmall. Suits a reader starting Sisters of the Quilt. Her printable list calls it book 1 and dates it 2006. The Penguin Random House series page sets the trilogy in Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania. Open Library lists this WaterBrook Press paperback on September 19, 2006, at 328 pages. See it on Amazon
When the Morning Comes, Cindy Woodsmall. Suits a reader who has finished When the Heart Cries. Her list calls it book 2 and dates it 2007. The publisher’s description of this book names Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania, and a move toward Ohio. The linked Open Library edition is a 2008 Doubleday printing. See it on Amazon
When the Soul Mends, Cindy Woodsmall. Suits a reader finishing Sisters of the Quilt. Her list calls it book 3 and dates it 2008, and the publisher’s description returns Hannah Lapp to Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania. Open Library dates this Doubleday edition to 2008. See it on Amazon
Amish romance picks
The courtship series with a Lancaster County name on the author’s own list are Brides of Lancaster County and Lancaster County Secrets. Brunstetter’s book list numbers the four Brides novels. Fisher’s The Waiting page calls that novel book 2 of Lancaster County Secrets and places the engagement in Lancaster County. Beverly Lewis’s longer series order is in the table above.
A Merry Heart, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader starting Brides of Lancaster County. Her book list numbers it book 1 of that series. Open Library dates this Heartsong Presents edition to 1997. See it on Amazon
Looking for a Miracle, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader who has finished A Merry Heart. Her book list numbers it book 2 of Brides of Lancaster County. This link is a title-and-author search because the Open Library edition checked for this title was a later Center Point printing. See it on Amazon
Plain and Fancy, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader on book 3 of Brides of Lancaster County, which is the number on her book list. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to February 1, 2007. See it on Amazon
The Hope Chest, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader finishing Brides of Lancaster County. Her book list numbers it book 4. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to 2006. See it on Amazon
The Choice, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader starting Lancaster County Secrets. Her book list places The Choice first in that series and prints this ISBN. Open Library dates the Revell edition to 2010. See it on Amazon
The Waiting, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader who wants the novel her own page calls book 2 of Lancaster County Secrets. That page sends Jorie King and Benjamin Zook home to Lancaster County. Open Library dates ISBN 080073386X to 2010, and her page also prints October 2012 for the same ISBN. See it on Amazon
The Search, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader on the third Lancaster County Secrets title on her book list. Open Library dates this Revell edition to 2011. See it on Amazon
A Lancaster County Christmas, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader who wants the Christmas title she lists with Lancaster County Secrets. Her book list prints an ISBN for it. Open Library did not return an edition for that ISBN on October 23, 2026, so this is a title-and-author search. See it on Amazon
Nonfiction about Amish life
These are the scholar and publisher editions, for a reader who has finished a novel and wants the community described outside the plot. The publisher page for the first book is Johns Hopkins University Press.
The Amish, Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt. Suits a reader who wants the national overview from Johns Hopkins University Press. The publisher page lists all three authors, dates the paperback February 15, 2018, and says the largest populations are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Open Library’s record for this ISBN matches that date and the 520-page paperback. See it on Amazon
The Amish Way, Donald B. Kraybill. Suits a reader who wants a shorter book on practice. Open Library dates a 2010 Jossey-Bass edition to Donald B. Kraybill and records 267 pages. That edition record is the author credit used here. See it on Amazon
Amish Society, John A. Hostetler. Suits a reader who wants the older standard survey. Open Library’s first publication year for the work is 1963, and the edition linked here is a 1970 Johns Hopkins Press printing. See it on Amazon
The Amish and the State, Donald B. Kraybill. Suits a reader interested in government and the Amish. Open Library dates this Johns Hopkins University Press edition to 1993 and names Donald B. Kraybill. See it on Amazon
Amish Enterprise, Donald B. Kraybill. Suits a reader interested in Amish businesses. Open Library dates this Johns Hopkins University Press edition to 1995, records 300 pages, and names Donald B. Kraybill. See it on Amazon
Amish Peace, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader who wants Fisher’s nonfiction. Her book list files Amish Peace under adult nonfiction, apart from the novels, and prints this ISBN. Open Library dates the Revell edition to 2009. See it on Amazon
Lancaster County history
The Riddle of Amish Culture is the Lancaster-specific book in this section. The Johns Hopkins page dates the revised edition November 2, 2001. The Internet Archive record for that edition lists Lancaster County among its subjects. The other two titles are broader Amish histories from the same check.
The Riddle of Amish Culture, Donald B. Kraybill. Suits a reader who wants the Lancaster County study. Johns Hopkins University Press dates the revised edition November 2, 2001, and says the first edition was published in 1989. The Internet Archive record for the 2001 edition lists Lancaster County among its subjects. Open Library’s record for this ISBN is that 2001 Johns Hopkins edition. See it on Amazon
A History of the Amish, Revised and Updated, Steven M. Nolt. Suits a reader who wants a one-volume Amish history. Open Library lists this revised and updated edition under Steven M. Nolt, with Good Books as publisher and 2004 as the first publication year of that edition. See it on Amazon
Amish Roots, John A. Hostetler. Suits a reader who wants a source collection. Open Library dates this Johns Hopkins University Press edition to 1989, records 319 pages, and names John Andrew Hostetler. See it on Amazon
Quilting and craft books
Quilt books, not quilt shops. Janneken Smucker’s history is the one to read before a buying trip. The pattern books are the Good Books editions Open Library dates to Rachel T. Pellman. In Intercourse, the quilt shop on this site is The Old Country Store.
Amish Quilts: Crafting an American Icon, Janneken Smucker. Suits a reader who wants the history of the quilts as objects, art, and goods. Johns Hopkins University Press dates the paperback August 3, 2017. The publisher notes quilt displays in Lancaster County country stores. Open Library’s first publication year for the book is 2013, and this ISBN is the 2017 paperback. See it on Amazon
The World of Amish Quilts, Rachel T. Pellman. Suits a reader who wants a 1980s survey of Amish quilts. Open Library dates this Good Books edition to 1984 and records 128 pages under Rachel T. Pellman. See it on Amazon
A Treasury of Amish Quilts, Rachel T. Pellman. Suits a reader who wants a second Good Books quilt collection from the same author. Open Library dates this edition to 1990 and records 128 pages. See it on Amazon
Amish Quilt Patterns, Rachel T. Pellman. Suits a reader who wants patterns rather than a history. Open Library dates this Good Books edition to 1984 and records 128 pages. See it on Amazon
Children’s books
Two are chapter books set in Lancaster County on Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Rachel Yoder page. Life with Lily is the first title on Fisher’s children’s list. Just Plain Fancy is the picture book Penguin Random House sets in an Amish village in Pennsylvania, for ages 4 to 8.
School's Out, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader buying for a child who can handle a chapter book. Her Rachel Yoder page calls it book 1 and places Rachel in Lancaster County. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to July 2007. See it on Amazon
Back to School, Wanda E. Brunstetter. Suits a reader who has School’s Out and wants book 2. Her page sets this story in the rolling hills of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Open Library dates this Barbour edition to July 2007. See it on Amazon
Life with Lily, Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suits a reader starting The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Fisher’s book list prints this ISBN for that series. Open Library’s edition record names Mary Ann Kinsinger and dates the Revell edition to 2012. See it on Amazon
Just Plain Fancy, Patricia Polacco. Suits a reader buying a picture book for ages 4 to 8. Penguin Random House describes an Amish village in Pennsylvania and dates this Dragonfly paperback March 1, 1994. Open Library’s first publication year for the picture book is 1990. See it on Amazon
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Fiction and real life
The novels above are fiction. Lewis’s about page is specific about the family story behind The Shunning: her grandmother was excommunicated from an Old Order Mennonite church, and the novel is loosely based on that experience. A Mennonite family story and an Amish novel can share a county and still describe different churches. That distinction is the subject of the Amish and Mennonite guide.
For how scholars describe Amish life, including the Pennsylvania settlement, use The Amish and The Riddle of Amish Culture rather than a plot. Visiting rules, including photographs, are in the culture and etiquette guide.
Visit the settings
Kitchen Kettle Village is the shop village in Intercourse. Bird-in-Hand and Paradise are the neighboring farmland towns on this site’s town list. The Amish Farm and House is the long-running farm tour. Sight & Sound Theatres in Ronks is the Bible-story stage, which is the live counterpart to the faith stories in these novels.
For the cook on your list, see our Amish cookbook guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first Beverly Lewis book?
Her about page says The Shunning, published in 1997, was her first novel for adults. Her reading-order page lists it first in The Heritage of Lancaster County. The Heirloom is a later prequel. Her site calls it a prequel to The Shunning, and Open Library dates that Bethany House edition to 2023.
In what order should I read Beverly Lewis?
Use the series list on her reading-order page. For The Heritage of Lancaster County that page lists The Shunning, The Confession, The Reckoning, and The Heirloom. The table on this page copies the rest of that page: Seasons of Grace, The Rose Trilogy, Amish Country Crossroads, Home to Hickory Hollow, Abram’s Daughters, the Sylvia Miller duology, Annie’s People, and The Courtship of Nellie Fisher.
Who are the best Amish fiction authors?
Start with Beverly Lewis, Wanda E. Brunstetter, and Suzanne Woods Fisher, because each publishes a Lancaster County series and a reading order on an official page. Cindy Woodsmall’s Sisters of the Quilt trilogy is the Pennsylvania series on her own book list. This page is a verified starting list. It is not a sales rank.
Is Amish fiction Christian fiction?
The Beverly Lewis novels linked here are Bethany House editions. The Lancaster County Secrets novels are Revell editions. The Daughters of Lancaster County novels are Barbour editions. Readers who want a church-market novel usually start with those publishers. The books are still novels.
Are Beverly Lewis books set in Lancaster County?
Her reading-order page titles one series The Heritage of Lancaster County, and that series begins with The Shunning. Her about page says she was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Later series on the reading-order page are listed under their own series names, and this guide keeps those names.
Is there Amish fiction in large print?
Yes. Open Library labels a Thorndike Press Large Print edition of Beverly Lewis’s The Tinderbox, ISBN 1432862499, and a Barbour large-print edition of Wanda E. Brunstetter’s A Sister’s Secret, ISBN 1597899828. Both records were checked October 23, 2026. The main Tinderbox link on this page is the Bethany House edition.
Where should a Lancaster County novel start?
Beverly Lewis’s The Shunning is the first book in the series her site names for Lancaster County. Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Daughters of Lancaster County page starts with The Storekeeper’s Daughter. Suzanne Woods Fisher’s book list starts Lancaster County Secrets with The Choice.
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