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Books By Kathleen Woodiwiss – All 15 In Order

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If you’re a fan of reading romance books, then you won’t want to miss a single one of the books by Kathleen Woodiwiss.

Kathleen Woodiwiss is considered a trailblazer in the romance novels genre, and if you read her first book, published way back in 1972, you’ll see why.

books by kathleen woodiwiss

 

Table of Contents

Who Is Kathleen Woodiwiss?

Kathleen Woodiwiss was an American New York Times bestselling author of 16 books. Sadly, Kathleen passed away in 2007, but her legacy lives on in the steamy romance books that she wrote, starting with her debut romance The Flame and the Flower in 1972.

That book, The Flame and the Flower, must surely go down in history as the start of a movement!

Kathleen was born in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1939, and was the youngest of eight siblings.

The Flame and the Flower was an instant NYT bestseller and has features that really revolutionized romance writing. Features like strong-willed heroines, and pages filled with passionate and very steamy sex scenes.

That first book was actually rejected by every hardcover book publisher that Kathleen submitted the manuscript to. They rejected it because they thought the book (600 pages) was too long.

But luckily, Kathleen Woodiwiss was as strong-willed as her heroines. Instead of doing a rewrite and shortening the book in the hopes that a hardcover publisher would publish it, she left it as it was (all 600 pages) and instead submitted the manuscript to paperback publishers. She struck gold there, because Avon Books agreed to publish the book as it was. That book sold 2.3 million copies in the first four years of publication.

We’re very fortunate that Kathleen stuck with it until she found Avon Books to publish her manuscript in paperback. Otherwise, me may never have had the chance to have all these marvelously steamy books by Kathleen Woodiwiss.

Books By Kathleen Woodiwiss – In Order By Publication Date

  1. The Flame and the Flower (1972)
  2. The Wolf and the Dove (1974)
  3. Shanna (1977)
  4. Ashes in the Wind (1979)
  5. A Rose in Winter (1982)
  6. Come Love A Stranger (1984)
  7. So Worthy My Love (1989)
  8. Forever in Your Embrace (1992)
  9. Three Weddings And A Kiss (1995)
  10. Married At Midnight (1996)
  11. Petals on the River (1997)
  12. The Elusive Flame (1998)
  13. A Season Beyond a Kiss (2000)
  14. The Reluctant Suitor (2003)
  15. Everlasting (2007)

Books By Kathleen Woodiwiss – In Order By Series

Birmingham Family

  • The Flame and the FLower (1972)
  • A Season Beyond a Kiss (2000)
  • The Elusive Flame (1998)

Standalone Books

  • The Wolf and the Dove (1974)
  • Shanna (1977)
  • Ashes in the Wind (1979)
  • Come Love A Stranger (1980)
  • A Rose in Winter (1982)
  • So Worthy My Love (1989)
  • Forever in Your Embrace (1992)
  • Petals on the River (1997)
  • The Reluctant Suitor (2003)
  • Everlasting (2007)

Anthologies

  • Three Weddings and a Kiss (1995)
  • Married at Midnight (1996)

Do You Need To Read Kathleen Woodiwiss Books In Order?

Kathleen Woodiwiss wrote one series of books that are related to one another, and that book series is the Birmingham Family saga. Those books should be read in order as shown above under Birmingham Family.

In addition, the anthologies feature some of the same characters that are in the Birmingham Family saga. While these aren’t full length novels, they do have some of the same characters so I would recommend read the short stories at some point after you get to know some the Birmingham family in the full length novels.

The Kathleen Woodiwiss books that are standalone novels can be read in any order.

I hope this list of books by Kathleen Woodiwiss will inspire you to read some or all of her work, especially if you love reading historical romance books.

And speaking of romance, there are so, so many different types of romance books out there. You might find a new romance sub-genre that appeals to you here in our guide.

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