Miss Julia Books In Order

Publication Order of Miss Julia Books

Publication Order of Miss Julia Short Stories/Novellas

Miss Julia is an elderly lady who lives in Abbots Ville, N.C. Her stories in the series are thrilling, comic and breathtaking, with her character built through her relationship with those that surround her life.

In one of the earliest books in the series ‘Miss Julia Takes Over’, she is a widow who has accepted her status, and even encourages other widows by telling them that being a widow comes with its own benefits. After all, she got a lot of money that her husband left her on his passing on. When she lost her husband, she learned that he had a mistress and a young son. She went out of her way to look for the family, bringing to her home both mother and son, and treating them with more love than would have been expected.

She also showed her natural concern when Hazel Marie, the mother of her husband’s son Lloyd went missing after some date by reporting to the police. When the police seemed to drag the case, she hires a private detective, J.D. Pickens, to help her with the case. The most hilarious part of the case is that Miss Julia insists on going on the search with the detective, dragging along little Lloyd along, which fastens the search. Her sense of responsibility also comes out well in ‘Miss Julia Throws a Wedding’, where she offers to make all the wedding arrangements for a couple leaving in the neighborhood.

Miss Julia is depicted as fun- loving in all her books, and her speech is mostly a form of comedy especially when she is in a happy mood. Such an instance is seen when her house help Lilian brings up the issue of little Lloyd failing to go to school, and Miss Julia tells her that he’s so clever that other kids in his grade need some time to catch up with him.

She upholds to the traditional morals and ethics of Southern Abbots Ville and constantly speaks them out, correcting others when need be. She however quickly misjudges and even corrects people before she understands their ideas, which is the only seemingly negative character about her.

Miss Julia also depicts a religious tradition in most of the books in the series. She respects her religious leader, Pastor Ledbetter and his wife Sue Ledbetter. This comes out well in the last book in the series, ‘Miss Julia Lays down the Law’, where the pastor tells Miss Julia to keep a secret confidential, which she does even when it really proves that she is risking being proven guilty of murder.

There is some tinge of romance, especially in the initial books of Miss Julia. This appears when she talks of her husband, how he overcame her maiden pride and how much she loved the way he treated her in a romantic manner.

She is lovable and other women come to her for advice and women talk. In ‘Miss Julia Lays down the Law’, she is among the women who are invited by a newcomer in the area, Connie Clayborn for a cup of coffee. Connie, being the wife of a top business executive, lives a ravished and luxurious life in the only gated community in the county. Miss Julia and the other ladies are ready to welcome her to the neighborhood, but not until Connie Clayborn starts criticizing Abbots Ville and its environment, talking of the poor quality of projects- which the women had in fact participated in bringing up- that the women started loathing her, and Julia was among those conspicuously showing dislike for the lady, swearing not to include her name for club parties and dinners.

Miss Julia always speaks her mind about everything and gets away with it, because anyway the state provides for the freedom of speech and expression. However, in this sixteenth edition, her outspokenness lands her into trouble, and the more she tries to justify herself, the more she gets into trouble, because her fingerprints are all over the dead body of Miss Connie Clayborn.

She has however shown that she can be trusted to keep secrets. She had been sent by Pastor Ledbetter to talk Connie out of her radical views of changing the already set projects. Sue Ledbetter, his wife, had felt humiliated by the speech and her migraines and stress were up on her as usual when she felt that her esteem had been hurt, refusing to leave the house at any given time. The pastor had confided this in Miss Julia, requesting her to tell Connie to apologize to Sue his wife. Against her wish, Miss Julia had gone to Connie’s house only to find the woman dead. However, she kept the fact that she had been sent there by the pastor to herself.

This ordeal almost brings Miss Julia down, as her naivety is brought on the surface. It is almost concluded that she killed Connie, and though other suspects are present, she is the prime suspect. To increase her fears, the Pastor Ledbetter and his wife are declared missing too, so they are not even interrogated like all the other ladies who were at the coffee drink offered previously at the house.

Her strong and willed spirit however still builds the plot of the story, as seen when she tries to defend her course of justice and is even at peace that she has two lawyers at her disposal.

Miss Julia has a great personality that draws people to wondering when the next book in series will be in the market. Most of these books have been bestsellers, with the latest ‘Miss Julia Makes a Marvelous Makeover’ and ‘Miss Julia lays down the Law’ hitting in the most recent news on New York Times.

All the sixteen books in the series have interesting mysteries solved, yet bringing a relaxed feeling out of the laughable things that Miss Julia constantly does or talks about, making you maintain the cozy atmosphere that you require as you sit to read it in your sitting or study room, and great books to read as you travel.

3 Responses to “Miss Julia”

1. Diane Melander: 1 year ago

   Love these books! Read them all way back when they were first written. After 30 years I’m reading them again and enjoying the humor and the wonderful stories. Ann B. Ross is a wonderful writer. There is a book called #The Murder Cure@ also by Ann B. Ross. Is this an early work of Ms. Ross?

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   • Graeme: 1 year ago

     Yes it was written in 1978 you can see the other novels written by her on her page: https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/ann-b-ross/

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2. Lucille Davis: 2 years ago

   Miss Julia represents the best of the “old” south—its manners and mannerisms, as well as a glimpse into the relationships between races without inserting animus. I am so enjoying every person characterized in these books, and feel so close to their journeys. I hope to see more–Latisha is growing up, Lloyd has life after high school, J.D. Pickens investigates interesting developments. And–so many more lives I would like to read about. After the 23rd book has been absorbed, please keep letting us see more!

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