Which author wrote the 'Mrs. Pollifax' series?

The author who wrote the Mrs. Pollifax series was Dorothy Gilman. The books follow Emily Pollifax, a widowed New Jersey grandmother who unexpectedly becomes a CIA courier and later an accomplished amateur spy. Gilman combined espionage plots with comedy, travel, and the heroine’s practical common sense.

The series began with The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax in 1966. In the opening story, Emily is bored with her routine and offers herself to the CIA, partly because she has always wanted to become a spy. A misunderstanding leads the agency to send her on what should be a simple assignment in Mexico, but the mission quickly becomes dangerous.

The novels are spy mysteries rather than traditional police procedurals. Their settings range across countries including Turkey, Thailand, China, Morocco, and Zambia. The series concluded with Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled in 2000. Gilman had previously written children’s books under the married name Dorothy Gilman Butters, which can cause confusion when identifying her bibliography.