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This page lists novels and non-fiction by Dorothy Gilman.

Cover images are, when possible, of the first US edition and a more recent digital or paperback edition.

During the 1950's and early 1960's Dorothy Gilman published books for young people using her married name Dorothy Gilman Butters. Some of these books were subsequently published credited to Dorothy Gilman to take advantage of the success of the Mrs Pollifax books. The Dorothy Gilman Butters books fall outside the scope of this page.

By Dorothy Gilman
- novels
- omnibus editions
- non-fiction

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

Dorothy Gilman

1966

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent. This time, the assignment sounds as tasty as a taco. A quick trip to Mexico City is on her agenda. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War—and her country's enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady."

Uncertain Voyage

Dorothy Gilman

1967

"With a broken marriage and a nervous breakdown barely behind her, Melissa sails for Europe, reluctantly and absolutely on her own. When a strange traveler urgently asks her to deliver a book to a secret address, Melissa apprehensively agrees - much against her better judgement. Actually, she's half hoping she'll forget the entire unsettling incident and will find the book still packed away when she finally returns home. But Melissa is unable to completely dismiss the episode. She realizes she's been followed to Copenhagen, Paris, and even into Marjorca, where she's to deliver the package - should she be so uncharacteristically bold."

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax

Dorothy Gilman

1970

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"When Emily Pollifax answers the phone that Sunday morning, she quickly forgets all about her Garden Club tea that afternoon. For the voice on the other end belonged to a man she had never seen, a man from the CIA who asked her if she could leave immediately on a mission that would take her halfway across the world! What could Mrs. Pollifax say but yes?"

The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax

Dorothy Gilman

1971

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"While waiting for a view of her night-blooming cereus, the mild-seeming Mrs. Pollifax received urgent orders for a daring mission to aid an escape. Soon, the unlikely-looking international spy was sporting a beautiful new hat that hid eight forged passports...."

A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax

Dorothy Gilman

1973

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"A secret agent like no other, Mrs. Pollifax was leading a very full life: Garden Club, karate, yoga - and a little spying now and then. This time the mysterious Mr. Carstairs sent her to Switzerland - to a famous health resort where the world's intelligence agents had gathered. Her mission: to track down a missing package of plutonium - just enough to make a small atomic bomb. It was a job that suited Mrs. Pollifax's talents. She's good with people and even better at sniffing out their secrets. But it was not until she became enchanted with Robin, the young jewel thief, that her new adventure really began."

Clairvoyant Countess

Dorothy Gilman

1975

A Madame Karitska novel.

"As a psychic to the public, Madame Karitska has seen a lot. But when a chance encounter with Detective-Lieutenant Pruden of the Police Department catapults her into the unforseen, she must use all of her resources to keep danger - and death - at bay."

A Nun in the Closet

Dorothy Gilman

1975

"A mysterious benefactor donates an old house to the abbey of Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe, bringing ghosts, gangsters, and murder. A wounded man hides in the house. A suitcase stuffed with money sits at the bottom of the well. Apparitions haunt the nights. God knows what will happen next."

Mrs. Pollifax on Safari

Dorothy Gilman

1977

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Mrs. Pollifax has been sent on safari by the C.I.A. and told only to take pictures of all of her companions, in order to find the international assassin whose next target is the president of Zambia. It sounded so simple, but shortly after Mrs. Pollifax started taking pictures, someone stole her film. And right after that she was kidnapped by Rhodesian terrorists. And right after that - well, read for yourself."

The Tightrope Walker

Dorothy Gilman

1979

"'They’re going to kill me soon…' When the quiet and shy Amelia Jones reads these words, her life changes irrevocably. She’s just become the new owner of the Ebbtide Shop, a musty antique store filled with merry-go-round horses and hurdy-gurdies, and it is while fixing one of these barrel organs that the scrawled and threatening note falls out. Armed only with the strange woman’s first name and the note written years before, Amelia begins a journey into the past, a search that takes her from the protective cocoon she’s wrapped herself in to a precarious world where passions boil underneath the surface, where nothing is the way it seems, where fear is second nature, and dark secrets just might uncover murder - her own."

The Maze in the Heart of the Castle

Dorothy Gilman

1983

"His name was Colin, and although he still couldn't believe it, his parents were gone, both dead from the plague. Scared, confused, and angry, he sought out a monk who told him about a haunted castle on Rheembeck Mountain -- and the old, strange wizard who lived there. Perhaps there Colin would find a way to stop his pain."

Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station

Dorothy Gilman

1983

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Once again, Mrs. Pollifax, the cheerful little woman with the flyaway white hair and a penchant for old hats is plunged headfirst into another hair-raising CIA mission. Posing as a tourist in China, Emily Pollifax meets the sinister challenges of the Orient to safeguard a treasure for the CIA...and all but loses her life in the bargain."

Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha

Dorothy Gilman

1985

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Although recently married, Mrs. Pollifax is packed and ready to go to China, where a young agent, Sheng Ti, holds the answers to goings on at the sinister Feng Imports - a one-time agency front. Only Mrs. Pollifax has earned Sheng's trust, and only she can possibly stop what turns out to be a frightening and ominous plot involving drugs, smuggled diamonds, a famous cat burglar turned Interpol agent, a mysterious psychic, and, of course, murder...possibly her own!."

Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle

Dorothy Gilman

1988

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Although Mrs. Pollifax is determined to give up spying for good, she can't help but agree to carry a small object to an agent in Thailand, and get one in return. The moment she lands, however, Mrs. Pollifax is horrified to find her contact dead and her husband kidnapped. The next thing she knows, she's tramping through the ominous Thai countryside, led by a curious fellow who may be trying to help her find her husband. Or he may have other, more sinister plans...."

Incident at Badamya

Dorothy Gilman

1989

"After Gen Ferris's missionary father commits suicide in 1950, it is up to her to get out of Burma alone. She has one hundred dollars in her knapsack, a slingshot, a magical Burmese puppet, and the New York City address of an aunt she doesn't know. But Gen is captured by Red Chinese forces and imprisoned with six other lost travelers. She vows to escape, not believing that her destiny lies in captivity, never dreaming of the forces that will finally come to her aid."

Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish

Dorothy Gilman

1990

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Mrs. Pollifax is on hand in Morocco to back up an inept CIA agent, and it's a good thing. Their first informant is killed, and Mrs. Pollifax begins to get the idea that her colleague is not who he says he is. Still, she forges ahead, checking out suspicious informants, and coming to the conclusion that someone is an imposter and someone wants her dead...."

Caravan

Dorothy Gilman

1992

"With her anthropologist husband murdered and their caravan stolen by fierce Tuareg tribesmen, Caressa's choices are death or a life of slavery. Concealing her dangerous beauty beneath the faded robes of an Arab boy, she embarks on the adventure of her life, harassed by vicious nomads, slave traders and the envious witch doctor, Isa. Only a handful of carnival magic tricks stand between her and oblivion. Then she discovers an inner magic so mysteriously compelling that the desert people call her a sorceress. With it she will secure her freedom and discover the love of her life."

Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief

Dorothy Gilman

1993

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"The assignment is a snap: Mrs. Pollifax just has to shoot some pictures at a quiet funeral outside Washington and take them to Sicily, where her old friend Farrell - a former CIA agent turned art dealer — anxiously awaits them. But like all Mrs. P's assignments, so ostensibly suitable for the CIA's favorite garden club member, this one quickly turns lethal. Her welcoming committee in Palermo includes a most unlikely CIA agent and several unseen enemies. Unfriendly eyes also observe Mrs. P's rendezvous with Farrell in a secluded mountain village and weapons are soon displayed. With mysterious forces hot after them, she and Farrell scurry for safety to a fortified country villa, where the bizarre chatelaine, once a star on Madison Avenue, is almost as unnerving as the dangers she's protecting them from."

Mrs. Pollifax Pursued

Dorothy Gilman

1995

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"The last thing Mrs. Pollifax expects to find in her closet is a young woman hiding. Kadi Hopkirk insists that that she’s being pursued by two men in a van. Under the cover of darkness, Mrs. P. tries to drive Kadi home to Manhattan, only to have a dark green sedan give them a run for their money and, Mrs. P. begins to suspect, their lives. Finally Kadi shares the startling truth: her friend, Sammy, is the son of the assassinated president of an African country, and unbeknownst to the young man’s bodyguard, he passed her something important during a recent meeting. Ever resourceful, Mrs. P. puts in a call for help to her CIA colleague, Carstairs, who installs them in a safe house—at a carnival! Before Mrs. P. knows it, a dash to safety expands into an assignment that leads to hair-trigger violence in exotic places."

Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer

Dorothy Gilman

1996

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"In response to a desperate SOS, Kadi Hopkirk flies to the African country of Ubangiba, where her childhood friend, Sammat, is soon to be crowned king. Mrs. Pollifax, reluctant to allow the girl to venture alone into what she fears may be grave danger, crashes the party. On arrival, Kadi and Mrs. P. soon discover that Sammat has dangerous enemies. Rumors are springing up that he is a sorcerer who is responsible for a rash of shocking murders in which the victims appear to have been clawed to death by a lion. These crimes are especially terrifying because there are no lions in Ubangiba. So Mrs. Pollifax wades into the fray, hunting for the source of the bloody terrorism that threatens Sammat and Ubangiba—not to mention Kadi and Mrs. Pollifax."

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist

Dorothy Gilman

1997

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"Working with her retired CIA friend John Farrell, Mrs. Pollifax must smuggle a manuscript out of Jordan, a document that encodes the shocking truth of Saddam Hussein's reign. Hardly are the two airborne when the coils of Middle Eastern intrigue begin to unwind. Mrs. Pollifax's seatmate is not the affable Arab businessman he pretends to be. It is not imagination that persuades Mrs. P. that wherever they go, she and Farrell are followed. To elude their pursuers in such a politically volatile country isn't easy. In fact, it can be downright deadly."

Thale's Folly

Dorothy Gilman

1999

"At the request of his father, New York City novelist Andrew Thale tackles an odd assignment--to check out an old family property in western Massachusetts, neglected since Aunt Harriet Thale's death years ago. Much odder still is what he finds. Far from being deserted, Thale's Folly is fully inhabited - by a quartet of charming squatters, former 'guests' of kindhearted Aunt Harriet. Elegant Miss L'Hommedieu, Gussie the witch, Leo the bibliophile, and beautiful nineteen-year-old Tarragon, who is unlike any girl Andrew has ever met in Manhattan. Andrew is entranced by these unworldly creatures and their simple life. Yet all is not well in Thale's Folly. A thief breaks into the farmhouse, and an old friend of the 'family' disappears. While the peace that appears to have been Aunt Harriet's only legacy to her companions is destroyed, Andrew and Tarragon are drawn into mysteries they cannot fathom. But, for the first time, Andrew begins to understand that love and loyalty are life's greatest treasures."

Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled

Dorothy Gilman

2000

A Mrs. Pollifax novel.

"After facing down hijackers on a flight to the Middle East and saving the lives of the passengers on board, a young American woman steps off the plane in Damascus in a blaze of celebrity and disappears. The CIA believes Amanda Pym was kidnapped, possibly murdered. Masquerading as Amanda Pym’s worried aunt, Mrs. Pollifax begins her determined search, slipping through Damascus’s crooked streets and crowded souks . . . and trekking deep into the desert. Yet she is shadowed by deadly enemies, whose sinister agenda threatens not only Mrs. P. but the fragile stability of the entire Middle East. Only a miracle - or a brilliant counterplot - can forestall a disaster that will send shock waves around the world."

Kaleidoscope

Dorothy Gilman

2002

A Madame Karitska novel.

"When a brilliant young violinist dies in a horrific accident, Madame Karitska has only to hold the victim’s instrument in her hands to perceive the shocking truth. But when an insecure wife asks whether her husband will abandon her to join a sinister cult, Madame Karitska–as wise as she is lovely–chooses not to reveal all that she foresees. And when an attaché case is suddenly dropped into her lap by a man fleeing a crowded subway, she knows it’s time to consult her good friend Detective-Lieutenant Pruden. A nine-year-old accused of murder, a man dying a slow death by witchcraft– for the hunted and the haunted, Madame Karitska’s shabby downtown apartment becomes a haven, where brilliant patterns of violence, greed, passion, and strange obsessions mix and disintegrate with stunning, kaleidoscopic beauty."

Mrs Pollifax: Three Complete Mysteries

Dorothy Gilman

1988

A Mrs. Pollifax omnibus.

An omnibus edition that combines the three novels: The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax, Mrs. Pollifax on Safari; and Mrs Pollifax and the Golden Triangle.

Mrs Pollifax: Three Complete Mysteries

Dorothy Gilman

1993

A Mrs. Pollifax omnibus.

An omnibus edition that combines the three novels: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax; The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax; and The Elusive Mrs. Polfax.

Mrs Pollifax: Three Complete Mysteries

Dorothy Gilman

1994

A Mrs. Pollifax omnibus.

An omnibus edition that combines the three novels: A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax; Mrs. Pollifax on Safari; and Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station.

A New Kind of Country

Dorothy Gilman

1978

A memoir.

"Novelist Dorothy Gilman, author of the bestselling Mrs. Pollifax series, had reached a point of no return in her life. With her sons in college, Ms. Gilman was searching for something unknowable, unnameable . . . until she bought a small house in a little lobstering village in Nova Scotia, Canada. And so she began her life again, discovering talents and interests she never realized were hers, accepting the inner peace she had always fought, and most of all, understanding the untapped part of herself, almost as if it were a new kind of country, to challenge, explore, and love."