Dorothy Gilman Books in Order
Dorothy Gilman has written 36 books, published between 1949 and 2002. The first book is Enchanted Caravan (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters) (1949) and the newest is Kaleidoscope (2002). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 36
- Published
- 1949–2002
- Pages on record
- 4,405 in 21 of 36 books
- Reading time
- 73–110 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,405 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 36 titles with a page count on record.
Dorothy Gilman (June 25, 1923 – February 2, 2012) was an American writer known above all for the Mrs. Pollifax spy novels, whose heroine Emily Pollifax is a grandmother who takes up spying in her 60s. The Mystery Writers of America gave Gilman its Grand Master Award in 2010. The catalogue holds 36 titles published between 1949 and 2002. Early books such as Enchanted Caravan (1949), Carnival Gypsy (1950) and The Calico Year (1953) appeared under the name Dorothy Gilman Butters. Madame Karitska is Gilman's second series, and the last listed title is Kaleidoscope (2002).
How many Dorothy Gilman books are there?
Dorothy Gilman has 36 books, released between 1949 and 2002. They include 2 series and 20 titles listed outside any series.
Dorothy Gilman Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 36 Dorothy Gilman books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Enchanted Caravan (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1949 · confirmed 2/41949–2/4
- 2Carnival Gypsy (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1950 · confirmed 2/41950–2/4
- 3Ragamuffin Alley (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1951 · confirmed 2/41951–2/4
- 4The Calico Year (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1953 · confirmed 2/41953–2/4
- 5Four-Party Line (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1954 · confirmed 2/41954–2/4
- 6Papa Dolphin's Table (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1955 · confirmed 2/41955–2/4
- 7Girl in Buckskin1956 · confirmed 2/41956–2/4
- 8Heartbreak Street (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1958 · confirmed 2/41958–2/4
- 9Witch's Silver (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1959 · confirmed 2/41959–2/4
- 10Masquerade1961 · confirmed 2/41961–2/4
- 11Ten Leagues to Boston Town1962 · confirmed 2/41962–2/4
- 1219661922/4
- 13Uncertain Voyage1967 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/419671922/4
- 1419701762/4
- 1519712082/4
- 1619731912/4
- 1719752242/4
- 18A Nun in the Closet1975 · 213 pages · confirmed 2/419752132/4
- 1919762232/4
- 20A New Kind of Country1978 · 130 pages · confirmed 2/419781302/4
- 21The Tightrope Walker1979 · confirmed 2/41979–2/4
- 2219832162/4
- 23The Maze in the Heart of the Castle1983 · confirmed 2/41983–2/4
- 24The Bells of Freedom (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters)1984 · confirmed 2/41984–2/4
- 2519852172/4
- 2619881992/4
- 27Incident at Badamyâ1989 · 216 pages · confirmed 2/419892162/4
- 281990–2/4
- 29Caravan1992 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/419922562/4
- 3019931972/4
- 3119952402/4
- 3219962182/4
- 3319972152/4
- 34Thale's Folly1999 · 217 pages · confirmed 2/419992172/4
- 3520002242/4
- 3620022412/4
Dorothy Gilman series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Mrs. Pollifax books in order 14 books
Dorothy Gilman books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Madame Karitska in order
2 booksStandalone books
20 books20 Dorothy Gilman titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Dorothy Gilman books in order?
You only need to read Dorothy Gilman books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Dorothy Gilman
Start with The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (1966), the first Mrs. Pollifax book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Enchanted Caravan (As: Dorothy Gilman Butters) (1949).
What is the newest Dorothy Gilman book?
Kaleidoscope (2002) is the newest Dorothy Gilman book released so far.
Is there a new Dorothy Gilman book coming?
No next Dorothy Gilman book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Dorothy Gilman has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Dorothy Gilman. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Edgar Awards2010Won
Dorothy Gilman at a glance
- Died
- Dorothy Gilman died in 2012, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to Dorothy Gilman on record dates from 2002.
- Release pace
- Dorothy Gilman books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 4,405 pages across the 21 of 36 books with a recorded length, a median of 216 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Dorothy Gilman books, 8 of 36, were published in the 1970s.
What the Dorothy Gilman books are about
23 of the 36 Dorothy Gilman books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: women spies is tagged on 13 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Women spies 13 of 23 books
- Emily Pollifax (Fictitious character) 12 of 23 books
- Intelligence service 12 of 23 books
- Pollifax, emily (fictitious character) 10 of 23 books
- Americans 5 of 23 books
- Mystery & detective, women sleuths 5 of 23 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 23 books
- Africa 3 of 23 books
- Fiction in English 3 of 23 books
- Novelists 2 of 23 books
- American Spy stories 2 of 23 books