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9th out of 299 books
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1,002 voters
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax #1)
Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, is a widow with grown children. She is tired of attending Garden Club meetings. She wants to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she becomes 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...more
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...more
Paperback, 204 pages
Published
January 12th 1985
by Fawcett
(first published 1966)
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I thought I should change my tone here a bit. I've "recently reviewed some audio books, mysteries that I listened to mainly because, well, I was looking for...a book. I figured any book was better than no book. My wife loved whatever series it might happen to be and I listened to them because we had them out of the library anyway.... I wasn't all that taken with many of them. They were sometimes well written, others not. Either I liked or didn't like the main character that much. On the whole I'...more
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Jul 28, 2008
Carolyn Jourdan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
mystery series lovers, elderly heroine, middle-aged heroine
I love all the Dorothy Gilman books, the Mrs. Pollifax mystery series as well as her other books outside the famous series.
I'm reading my way through a couple of dozen of them now, back-to-back.
What fun.
I adore her deep insights about all kinds of people and the spiritual phenomena we encounter in every day life.
Her stories always reveal the value of various kinds of people society tends to ignore (unmarried, middle-aged, and elderly people as well as minorities, misfits, outcasts, ...).
I'm reading my way through a couple of dozen of them now, back-to-back.
What fun.
I adore her deep insights about all kinds of people and the spiritual phenomena we encounter in every day life.
Her stories always reveal the value of various kinds of people society tends to ignore (unmarried, middle-aged, and elderly people as well as minorities, misfits, outcasts, ...).
10 likes · like · see review
When I first saw one of the books in the Mrs. Pollifax series, I assumed it was another cozy mystery. I was expecting an American Miss Marple.
Now that I've read it, I wouldn't necessarily call it a cozy "mystery" series, but it certainly is a fun spy novel. I think of it as a Jessica Fletcher-meets-John le Carré kind of tale.
This first book in the series shows us how an unassuming Mrs. Emily Pollifax leaves her elderly suburban life to depart on a spy adventure in Mexico. She begins the story...more
Now that I've read it, I wouldn't necessarily call it a cozy "mystery" series, but it certainly is a fun spy novel. I think of it as a Jessica Fletcher-meets-John le Carré kind of tale.
This first book in the series shows us how an unassuming Mrs. Emily Pollifax leaves her elderly suburban life to depart on a spy adventure in Mexico. She begins the story...more
5 likes · like · see review
If you enjoy Miss Marple, you'll like her American counterpart Mrs. Pollifax. The Mrs. Pollifax series were more suspenseful than I believed it would be, seeing how the heroine of the novel is in her 60s. However, that's part of the books--most people underestimate Mrs. Pollifax. This is the first book in the series, where Mrs Pollifax--deciding that she wasn't satisfied with her normal life--goes to the CIA and asks to become a spy. She is confused with being the courier spy the government need...more
It's taken me forever to read one of these Mrs. Pollifax books because I just didn't think a book could be entertaining enough for me with the heroin being an old lady. But then my sister told me how much she loves these books and how wonderfully fun and charming they are... she even lent me her entire collection to read (thanks, Mandy!) and I have been so delighted with these fun books and this charming character, Mrs. Pollifax. I couldn't have been more wrong or narrow-minded! It's so fun gett...more
This book series was recommended to me by a friend. I am not a mystery lover or spy book enthusiast but I decided to give it a try.
The book was published in the 1960s and has a dated feel and tone. It also has an antiquated political storyline in a Pre-Internet world but it was that part that I actually enjoyed. I liked the retro-factor. As for the rest of it...uh...not so much. I just didn't really get into it. I kept thinking that this was a book for the Murder She Wrote crowd and Mrs. Pollifa...more
I listened to this and two subsequent ones in the series, The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax and the Elusive Mrs. Pollifax, on audiobook read by Barbara Rosenblatt.
Cons:
Basically when you get to the 3rd book, you will have noticed that there are a lot of repetitive phrases that Mrs. Pollifax likes to use, such as "You've been so kind," and you will have noticed that everyone seems to speak English, even in the depths of the Iron Curtain states. Not only do they speak English, they can even use English id...more
Cons:
Basically when you get to the 3rd book, you will have noticed that there are a lot of repetitive phrases that Mrs. Pollifax likes to use, such as "You've been so kind," and you will have noticed that everyone seems to speak English, even in the depths of the Iron Curtain states. Not only do they speak English, they can even use English id...more
Mrs. Pollifax is bored. Her husband passed away, her children are grown. Oh sure, there's her volunteer work, but that's become rather tedious of late. Definitely lacking in excitement. So, Mrs. Pollifax does what any sensible woman in her 60s does in her situation. She volunteers to serve her country as a spy for the CIA. What should be a simple assignment in Mexico gives Mrs. Pollifax much more adventure than she bargained for.
Why I picked it up: I finished the Amelia Peabody series and the V...more
Why I picked it up: I finished the Amelia Peabody series and the V...more
Jul 04, 2012
Aldon Rau
added it
It appears that it has been longer than I would have estimated since my last book review. I find that one is easily distractable at my time of life, especially since...oh hey, my mother has left her mug of tea unattended! What an opportunity! I'll be back shortly...
...Ok, that is taken care of. Now that mommy is fully occupied with some sort of cleanup project, I can get back to...now where was I...oh yes, Mrs. Pollifax. When I began reading this book, I initially felt...oh dear, it appears that...more
...Ok, that is taken care of. Now that mommy is fully occupied with some sort of cleanup project, I can get back to...now where was I...oh yes, Mrs. Pollifax. When I began reading this book, I initially felt...oh dear, it appears that...more
I read this book years ago and have just gone back to re-read it. Mrs. Pollifax is an elderly widow (I never did figure out just how old though)with grown children that no longer need her. She volunteers for several community causes and is a member of the garden club, but these activities are not enough to keep her interested in life. She reaches a point where she feels her only choices are to either throw herself off of her roof or present herself to the CIA to become a spy. Not being one to gi...more
Many years ago I read "The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax", and I think I still have the old paperback among the used-book shelves. I didn't remember anything about it, but when I came across this first story in this Dorothy Gilman series in an Audible book sale, I got it. It was surprisingly engaging. It was not so much a mystery to be solved, as a situation to be resolved.
I expected this to be a story along the same lines as Miss Marple - an older woman of kind nature in a small town, solving a mystery...more
I expected this to be a story along the same lines as Miss Marple - an older woman of kind nature in a small town, solving a mystery...more
Nov 04, 2011
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those Looking for Light-Hearted Adventure
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
This is really more between a three and a four--just good enough I might look up more in the series. The "unexpected" Mrs Polifax is the unlikely Mrs Polifax at least on first impressions. She's a white-haired sixty something, a widow from New Brunswick, New Jersey with grown children who are living lives apart from her. In the beginning of the book she's depressed, feeling useless. Her doctor asks her if there is anything she would like to do now that she has time on her hands, and she answers,...more
Emily Pollifax is bored in retirement. Her husband is deceased. Her children and grown and married. She still volunteers for various charities, but that’s getting old, too. But what else could she possibly do? America is engage in the Cold War against Communist countries. She figures she’s resourceful, intelligent, patriotic, loyal, and good at puzzles, so she leaves her New Jersey home and goes to Washington DC to meet with the CIA and offer her services as a spy. It so happens they are looking...more
I read this for our next book club meeting. I must say that the copy I read made it less than pleasant to read. Due to my limited time, I had to request the large print edition from the library, which was not only clothed in a wretched blue library binding, but was in nasty shape as well. water damage, stains, and a general sour odor permeated the thing, plus the fact that reading large print can be wuite unnerving.
HOWEVER, I thought this was a charming spy book with an unlikely heroine. One thi...more
HOWEVER, I thought this was a charming spy book with an unlikely heroine. One thi...more
My daughter gave me this delightful little book to read while I was taking care of her children while she was on a cruise. She knows exactly what kind of stories I like; what kind of fantasies I have. Mrs. Pollifax, a widow of about my age, with grown children, has become somewhat bored with her very unexciting and predictable life. She has always fantasized about doing something more, something exciting, something exotic. She decides that now is the time! She decides to join the CIA and become...more
When you think of spies I imagine James Bond comes to mind, yes? How about a sixty-year-old woman who kicks butt in the most wity way imaginable? Sound like your cup of tea? It definitely sounded good to me.
My grandmother recommended this book to me, and usually the books she recommends are a little wordy for my taste, but this was a hilarious, thrilling read that I enjoyed very much. It's not what I expected, but then again--the title is 'The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax' so I think that's kind o...more
My grandmother recommended this book to me, and usually the books she recommends are a little wordy for my taste, but this was a hilarious, thrilling read that I enjoyed very much. It's not what I expected, but then again--the title is 'The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax' so I think that's kind o...more
Synopsis: Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax is a widow in her sixties who finds herself no longer satisfied with attending her Garden Club and various other volunteer meetings. Deciding that there's no better time like the present to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a spy, Mrs. Pollifax ventures to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia where she offers up her services as a spy. Despite having no official training, Mrs. Pollifax is at once hired on to be a courier for the CIA. Her mission is to...more
The Mrs. Pollifax's mystery books were one of my earliest finds at the Orem Public Library! I have read and re-read these books. The first book on tape I listened to was when Mrs. Pollifax goes to Africa. I LOVE to listen to the rich voice characterizations of Barbara Rosenblatt and she set me on the path of many many other beloved books on tapes and Cds. What I immediately loved about Emily Pollifax is that she becomes this truly "unexpected", unassuming CIA courrier well into her grandmother y...more
If I can't be Granny Weatherwax when I grow up, then I'd like to be Mrs. Pollifax.
This books is the first in the series (any of which can stand alone), but it explains a lot. Her husband has passed away, her children no longer need her and well, she's depressed. Her doctor asks her if there's anything she's always wanted to do. She doesn't tell her doctor, but she decides to volunteer for the CIA. Okay, she's a little out of touch sometimes, I don't think the CIA takes volunteers. But it's just...more
This books is the first in the series (any of which can stand alone), but it explains a lot. Her husband has passed away, her children no longer need her and well, she's depressed. Her doctor asks her if there's anything she's always wanted to do. She doesn't tell her doctor, but she decides to volunteer for the CIA. Okay, she's a little out of touch sometimes, I don't think the CIA takes volunteers. But it's just...more
I love all the Mrs. Pollifax books. This is the only book series I read over and over like visiting an old friend. I ran across one in the library years ago and got hooked. Now I own them all. For me there is something underlying about the human condition that is always relevant whether these books were written before cell phones and PCs or not.
The premise is a widow with grown children living far away feels no purpose in her life and considers ending it. Something holds her back. In her heart o...more
The premise is a widow with grown children living far away feels no purpose in her life and considers ending it. Something holds her back. In her heart o...more
After my book club decided that reading two non-fiction WWII books back-to-back would be a bit heavy, someone suggested 'The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax.' Think beach read meets mystery meets MacGyver. The book was pretty much exactly what I had expected: a breezy, easy read about an unlikely CIA agent(a retired, feisty woman named Mrs. Pollifax)who saves the day with a lot of tenacity and even more luck. It starts to feel a bit MacGyver-is near the ending, when extremely unlikely events seem to fa...more
This was a fun book to read. First written in 1966, the Mrs. Pollifax books have always been popular with library patrons, so I decided to finally read the first book in the series. Widowed, sixtyish Emily Pollifax visits her doctor and he suggests that she find some new interests. She admits that she always wanted to be a spy. Her doctor thinks she's joking. She goes to Washington to volunteer her services, and through a mix up, she is given a case as a courier to Mexico to pick up some informa...more
An easy, humorous and exciting read - great if you're stuck inside on a rainy day (of which we've recently had numerous here in Lancashire!).
Mrs Pollifax is amusingly naïve, but Gilman shows from the outset that there is steel inside her. While there are some extraordinary coincidences and misunderstandings involved in getting Mrs Pollifax off on her adventures, these are not allowed to persist, and so credulity is not excessively strained.
As others have said, the story is a kind of mash-up of t...more
Mrs Pollifax is amusingly naïve, but Gilman shows from the outset that there is steel inside her. While there are some extraordinary coincidences and misunderstandings involved in getting Mrs Pollifax off on her adventures, these are not allowed to persist, and so credulity is not excessively strained.
As others have said, the story is a kind of mash-up of t...more
Both this book and its main character, Mrs. Emily Pollifax, are thoroughly charming. When Mrs. Pollifax becomes so dangerously bored with her widowhood that she begins to lose the will to continue living her dreary life, she books a trip to Washington, D.C., to try the one thing she's always wanted to do: be a spy. When she shows up at the CIA and volunteers for duty, a series of genial mistakes actually land her in exactly the role she's always wanted.
This is delightful, particularly in the per...more
This is delightful, particularly in the per...more
I first encountered the books about Mrs Pollifax as a little girl rummaging around in my mother's bookshelf. The tiny version of me enjoyed them a great deal, and when I re-read them as an adult, I still loved them. It's been a few years now since my last encounter with the most unlikely spy of them all, but I'm yearning to read them again. They're simply funny!
Mrs Pollifax is a grandmotherly old lady who loves her flowers (pelargoniums, if my memory serves me right). She has this really innocen...more
Mrs Pollifax is a grandmotherly old lady who loves her flowers (pelargoniums, if my memory serves me right). She has this really innocen...more
Since my sister is going through these again, I wanted to rediscover them, too. Unfortunately for me, my library only has the audiobook in cassette form, so for the first time ever I actually read Mrs. Polifax.
Mrs. Polifax is an older widow who has discovered she "loathes" volunteer work and dreads being useless. So she heads off to Langley to sign up for a spy job.
First surprise: it's so short! Just over 200 pages. As a nine-year-old to whom a whole Nancy Drew was a huge deal, I definitely exp...more
Mrs. Polifax is an older widow who has discovered she "loathes" volunteer work and dreads being useless. So she heads off to Langley to sign up for a spy job.
First surprise: it's so short! Just over 200 pages. As a nine-year-old to whom a whole Nancy Drew was a huge deal, I definitely exp...more
This series is pretty good. It's fast reading, but entertaining. The stories don't really get repetitive either (even when re-reading basically the entire series while home on winter break) although the general plot is the same. General plot / idea: Mrs. Pollifax - a middle-aged lady - is living in New Jersey and wishing for adventure. She gets sent off to some foreign country by the CIA to some rather simple task and ends up with a much bigger task, which comes off okay. The first book explains...more
Mrs Emily Pollifax was getting bored with her charity work and club meetings. The widowed grandmother decided her life needed a little adventure, and she had wanted to be a spy when she was a child. So she headed out to the CIA in Washington D.C. to offer her services. She fit the look of a retired tourist, so she was given the job of a courier to transport something from Mexico to the United States. But she was abducted and flown to an Albanian jail. The resourceful, intelligent Mrs Pollifax ha...more
Completely and unexpectedly enchanting.
I had never even heard of this series until a friend dropped this book in my lap. I'm of necessity doing a little lighter reading lately, but don't want to fall into the lit. trash-bin....so, as I mentioned, I was so pleasantly surprised by this fabulous little book and can't wait to read more of the series...I only hope Gilman keeps up the good work.
The writing is well-done, the tone is lovely, Mrs. Pollifax is a dear, it's clean, it's exciting...I figur...more
I had never even heard of this series until a friend dropped this book in my lap. I'm of necessity doing a little lighter reading lately, but don't want to fall into the lit. trash-bin....so, as I mentioned, I was so pleasantly surprised by this fabulous little book and can't wait to read more of the series...I only hope Gilman keeps up the good work.
The writing is well-done, the tone is lovely, Mrs. Pollifax is a dear, it's clean, it's exciting...I figur...more
I love Mrs. PolifaX. She is truly unexpected. I have read or listened to all of the books in the series. I have learned a lot about many different cultures and people. Gilmore's books are a fun read.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why is there no one else like Emily Pollifax? | 7 | 37 | May 30, 2013 10:14pm |
Dorothy Gilman started writing when she was 9. At 11, she competed against 10 to 16-year-olds in a story contest and won first place. Dorothy worked as an art teacher and telephone operator before becoming an author. She wrote children’s stories for more than ten years under the name Dorothy Gilman Butters and then began writing adult novels about Mrs. Pollifax–a retired grandmother who becomes a...more
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“In the morning when Mrs. Pollifax awoke she realized at once that a fateful day was beginning. She lay and thought about this dispassionately, almost wonderingly, because to every life there eventually came a moment when one had to accept the fact that the shape, the pattern, the direction of the future was entirely out of one's hands, to be decided unalterably by chance, by fate or by God. There was nothing to do but accept, and from this to proceed, doing the very best that could be done.”
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