Order of Book Series
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Gail Godwin Books in Order

Gail Godwin has written 25 books, published between 1970 and 2026. The first book is The Perfectionists (1970) and the newest is The Art of Becoming a Citizen (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
25
Published
1970–2026
Pages on record
5,604 in 16 of 25 books
Reading time
93–140 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,604 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 16 of 25 titles with a page count on record.

See all 25 books in order Printable Gail Godwin checklist
Photo of Gail Godwin, author of the Margaret Bonner series

Gail Godwin, born in 1937, is an American novelist and short story writer. Her output counts 14 novels, two story collections, three non-fiction books and ten libretti; five of the novels were best-sellers and three were National Book Award finalists. The catalogue lists 25 titles between The Perfectionists (1970) and The Art of Becoming a Citizen (2026), among them The Odd Woman (1974), Violet Clay (1978), A Mother and Two Daughters (1982), The Finishing School (1984), A Southern Family (1987) and Father Melancholy's Daughter (1991). The novels are realistic fiction tracing a character's psychological and intellectual development, often out of Godwin's own life. Godwin was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised largely in Asheville, North Carolina.

How many Gail Godwin books are there?

Gail Godwin has 25 books, released between 1970 and 2026. 2 of them belong to the Margaret Bonner series.

Gail Godwin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 25 Gail Godwin 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.

  1. Cover of Glass People by Gail Godwin (1972)
  2. Cover of The Odd Woman by Gail Godwin (1974)
  3. Cover of Dream Children by Gail Godwin (1976)
  4. Cover of Violet Clay by Gail Godwin (1978)
  5. Cover of A Mother and Two Daughters by Gail Godwin (1982)
  6. Cover of A Southern Family by Gail Godwin (1987)
  7. Cover of Father Melancholy's Daughter by Gail Godwin, book 1 of the Margaret Bonner series (1991)
  8. Cover of The Good Husband by Gail Godwin (1994)
  9. Cover of Evensong by Gail Godwin, book 2 of the Margaret Bonner series (1999)
  10. Cover of Heart by Gail Godwin (2001)
  11. Cover of The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961-1963 by Gail Godwin, book 1 of the Biographies & Memoirs series (2007)
  12. Cover of Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin (2009)
  13. Cover of Flora by Gail Godwin (2013)
  14. Cover of Publishing: A Writer’s Memoir by Gail Godwin, book 3 of the Biographies & Memoirs series (2015)
  15. Cover of Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin (2017)
  16. Cover of Old Lovegood Girls by Gail Godwin (2020)
  1. 1
    The Perfectionists1970 · confirmed 2/4
    1970–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Glass People1972 · 207 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Odd Woman1974 · 419 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1974419
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Dream Children1976 · 242 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1976242
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Violet Clay1978 · 384 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    A Mother and Two Daughters1982 · 544 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Mr. Bedford and the Muses1983 · confirmed 2/4
    1983–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Finishing School1984 · confirmed 2/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    A Southern Family1987 · confirmed 2/4
    1987–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Father Melancholy's DaughterMargaret Bonner #11991 · 416 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1991416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Good Husband1994 · 468 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1994468
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    EvensongMargaret Bonner #21999 · 405 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1999405
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Heart2001 · 308 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Evenings at Five2003 · confirmed 2/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Queen of the Underworld2006 · confirmed 2/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961-1963Biographies & Memoirs #12007 · 333 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007333
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Unfinished Desires2009 · 396 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2009396
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Making of a Writer, Volume 2: Journals, 1963-1969Biographies & Memoirs #22010 · 319 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2010319
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Flora2013 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Publishing: A Writer’s MemoirBiographies & Memoirs #32015 · 209 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2015209
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Grief Cottage2017 · 324 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2017324
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Old Lovegood Girls2020 · 352 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Gabrielle: My Life As I Remember ItBiographies & Memoirs #42021 · confirmed 2/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Getting to Know Death: A Meditation2024 · confirmed 2/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Art of Becoming a Citizen2026 · confirmed 2/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Gail Godwin 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.

Biographies & Memoirs in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961-1963
  2. 2. The Making of a Writer, Volume 2: Journals, 1963-1969
  3. 3. Publishing: A Writer’s Memoir
  4. 4. Gabrielle: My Life As I Remember It

Margaret Bonner in order

2 books
  1. 1. Father Melancholy's Daughter
  2. 2. Evensong

Standalone books

19 books

19 Gail Godwin titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Gail Godwin books in order?

You only need to read Gail Godwin books in order within the Margaret Bonner series, which holds 2 of the 25 Gail Godwin books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Gail Godwin

Start with The Perfectionists (1970), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Gail Godwin book?

The Art of Becoming a Citizen (2026) is the newest Gail Godwin book released so far.

Is there a new Gail Godwin book coming?

No next Gail Godwin 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 Gail Godwin has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Gail Godwin. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize1987Won

Gail Godwin at a glance

Still publishing
Gail Godwin published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Gail Godwin books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
5,604 pages across the 16 of 25 books with a recorded length, a median of 342 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Gail Godwin books, 5 of 25, were published in the 2000s.

What the Gail Godwin books are about

17 of the 25 Gail Godwin books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: authorship is tagged on 3 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.