I love these books. 

I once got a friend of mine, who is dyslexic, to get hooked on mysteries using one of these.  At that time, I had lived in the same place for a long time.  I had a "give away" box which contained books among other things.  My friend found a Mrs. Pollifax book in there.  She asked, "Is this any good?"  I told her, "I'm giving it away because I have two if that tells you anything."

Long before even the Internet was popular.

Best,

Evy

I have heard of her but have never read any of the books.

Hi Evy,

  Yes, many years ago I found and loved Mrs Pollifax and her quilted coat, her night blooming flower, her straightforward no-nonsense grandmotherly manner while being a secret agent.  It's been pretty long time since I read any, but I remember Bishop and Mr. Carstairs.** Just looked her up on Wikipedia, turns out Dorothy Gilman has been writing more Mrs. Pollifax books!  There's a whole slew of newer ones.

  But the first one, where she decides to join the CIA and through a  mixup, is sent on mission, is just so funny.  What a great character

I want to grow up to be just like Mrs. Pollifax!  I read the series years ago and recently re-read this series plus all Dorothy Gilman's other books.  Does anyone remember a book called "Witch's Silver" by Dorothy Gilman Butters, written for YA?

I'm going looking for the Witch's Silver, right now.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I first "read" Mrs. Pollifax using a book on tape.  Wow, the reader was wonderful, having such distinct voice qualities for Mrs. P., Carstairs, and Bishop.  I went on to read them all hearing those voices in my mind. My family listened to the entire series later on long car trips, with the teenagers busy pointing out the improbabilities of an elderly woman physically coping with some of the rigors Mrs. P survives. 

Gilman's other books have not interested me as much.  I started a couple different ones, but I found they leaned too far into Eastern mysticism for my taste.

My grandmother, who was a librarian until she retired when I was a teenager, owns most of the Mrs. Pollifax books. She's one of my favorite characters!

My grandmother also introduced me to the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, along with author Georgette Heyer. All of these books go together in my mind. :)