Dorothy Gilman Books in Order

This reading order guide provides the complete list of Dorothy Gilman books in order, from the very first to the latest, so you won’t miss anything!

Dorothy Gilman was an American author best known for her mystery novels. Born June 25, 1923 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. As a child she loved to write stories. In fact she wrote her first ones at 9. At 11 she won a writing contest even though most of the other entrants were older than her.

Her parents were James Bruce and Essa Gilman. She also had an interest in art and later studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1940-1945. Originally she planned to write and illustrate children’s books. But her career took a different turn.

In 1945 she married Edgar Butters and they had two sons Jonathan and Christopher. They divorced after 20 years. During those years she worked as a teacher and telephone operator. She also wrote children’s books under the name Dorothy Gilman Butters.

She became more well known when she started writing novels for adults. Her most famous books are the Mrs. Pollifax series. The main character is Emily Pollifax, a widowed grandmother who becomes a spy for the CIA. She’s not like other spies—she’s older, friendly and very clever. Many people loved her because she was unique and showed that older people can have exciting lives.

Dorothy Gilman traveled a lot. She visited many of the places she wrote about—Mexico, China, the Middle East. This made her books feel real because she’d been to those places and seen them for herself.

Later in life she moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She lived a quiet life there, growing herbs and vegetables. She wrote a memoir called A New Kind of Country about this part of her life. Her love of nature and healing also appeared in some of her other books like A Nun in the Closet and Thale’s Folly.

One thing that stands out in her work is her characters. She often wrote about strong and independent women, especially older women who face big challenges and grow from them. These characters weren’t perfect but they felt real.2010 she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. She died in 2012 at 88 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Her books are still being read all over the world.