Mrs. Pollifax (franchise): Difference between revisions

Line 16:

Along the way she makes friends from around the world and finds a new love of her life as well.

'''''Mrs. Pollifax''''' is a series of fourteen books written by the late [[Dorothy Gilman]] between 1966 and 2000. A mix of [[Spy Fiction]] and [[Mystery Fiction]], they expertly blend suspense, thrills and no small amount of comic relief. They span more than three decades starting in the mid-1960s, taking place in a world that is [[Like Reality Unless Noted|(mostly) identical to ours]], except with rare but genuine psychic powers and an Iraq that actually ''did'' have [[Weapon of Mass Destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] after the first Gulf War. Over the course of the series, Mrs. Pollifax's assignments and travel reflect the changing sociopolitical challenges of the world, ranging from Iron Curtain nations and Communist opposition, through African unrest, to Mideast terrorism. Throughout this, one of the constant themes of the series is how Mrs. Pollifax is drawn to help people in need who seem unconnected to her assignments. These either turn out to be unexpectedly related to her task, or become invaluable help in accomplishing it. Another is defying the marginalization and disempowerment of the elderly -- in her sixties, Emily Pollifax is just as capable as, and sometimes ''more'' so than, the experienced agents she works with and against.

'''''Mrs. Pollifax''''' is a series of fourteen books written by the late [[Dorothy Gilman]] between 1966 and 2000. A mix of [[Spy Fiction]] and [[Mystery Fiction]], they expertly blend suspense, thrills and no small amount of comic relief. They span more than three decades starting in the mid-1960s, taking place in a world that is [[Like Reality Unless Noted|(mostly) identical to ours]], except with rare but genuine psychic powers and an [[Iraq]] that actually ''did'' have [[Weapon of Mass Destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] after the first Gulf War. Over the course of the series, Mrs. Pollifax's assignments and travel reflect the changing sociopolitical challenges of the world, ranging from Iron Curtain nations and Communist opposition, through African unrest, to Mideast terrorism. Throughout this, one of the constant themes of the series is how Mrs. Pollifax is drawn to help people in need who seem unconnected to her assignments. These either turn out to be unexpectedly related to her task, or become invaluable help in accomplishing it. Another is defying the marginalization and disempowerment of the elderly -- in her sixties, Emily Pollifax is just as capable as, and sometimes ''more'' so than, the experienced agents she works with and against.

The novels in the series are:

Line 137:

*** By the tenth book, Carstairs refers to her as "Emily" in private conversations with Bishop.

** Bishop and Carstairs, although the latter occasionally gets addressed as "Bill". (Bishop apparently doesn't use his first name because it is ''also'' William, presumably to avoid confusion with his boss.)

* [[Like Reality Unless Noted]]: Mrs. Pollifax's version of Earth is just like the "real world" except for rare but genuine psychic powers, and the nations of [[Bulungi|Ubangiba]] and [[Qurac|Zabya]]. And Iraq actually had [[Weapon of Mass Destruction|WMDs]].

* [[Like Reality Unless Noted]]: Mrs. Pollifax's version of Earth is just like the "real world" except for rare but genuine psychic powers, and the nations of [[Bulungi|Ubangiba]] and [[Qurac|Zabya]]. And [[Iraq]] actually had [[Weapon of Mass Destruction|WMDs]].

* [[Line-of-Sight Name]]: More properly, a Line-of-Thought Name: when pressed for a (fake) name to give a woman she's speaking with in book seven, Mrs. Pollifax initially draws a blank, then introduces herself as [[Punny Name|"Irma Blank"]].

* [[Little Old Lady Investigates]]: Mrs. Pollifax gets her first actual investigatory assignment in the fourth book, but lack of an official assignment didn't stop her in any of the other books.