Gwendoline Butler Books in Order
Gwendoline Williams Butler, a renowned British author known for her John Coffin mystery series and pioneering work in the "woman's police procedural" genre, was born on August 19, 1922, in South London, England. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she studied History, Butler later lectured at the prestigious institution. She married Dr. Lionel Harry Butler, a historian and professor, in 1949, and their marriage produced a daughter, Lucilla Butler. As Gwendoline Butler, she began publishing her John Coffin novels in 1956, while using her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville, as a pseudonym for her Charmian Daniels novels. Her work has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the 1981 Romantic Novel of the Year Award for The Red Staircase.
Bibliography verified: January 2026
Book Series by Gwendoline Butler
- #1AmazonCome Home and Be Killed(1964)
- #2AmazonBurning Is a Substitute for Loving(1964)
- #3AmazonMurderers' Houses(1964)
- #4AmazonThere Lies Your Love(1965)
- #5AmazonA New Kind of Killer, an Old Kind of Death(1970)
- #6AmazonMurder Has a Pretty Face(1981)
- #7AmazonMurder in the Garden / Death in the Garden(1987)
- #8AmazonWindsor Red(1988)
- #9AmazonA Cure for Dying / Making Good Blood(1989)
- #10AmazonWitching Murder(1991)
- #11AmazonA Different Kind of Summer(1992)
- #12AmazonFootsteps in the Blood(1992)
- #13AmazonDead Set(1992)
- #14AmazonA Death in the Family / Baby Drop(1994)
- #15AmazonWhoever Has the Heart(1994)
- #16AmazonThe Morbid Kitchen(1995)
- #17AmazonThe Woman Who Was Not There(1996)
- #18AmazonStone Dead(1998)
- #19AmazonRevengeful Death(1998)
- #20AmazonDead Again(2000)
- #21AmazonLoving Murder(2001)
- #22AmazonNell Alone(2015)
- #1AmazonHand in Glove(2023)
- #2AmazonVerdict of Thirteen(1979)
- #3AmazonThe Oxford Book of Detective Stories(2000)
- #4AmazonThe Edinburgh Mystery: And Other Tales of Scottish Crime(2023)
- #5Charmian Daniels Series written by the same author under her pseudonym-Jennie Melville began publication in 1962 with Come Home and Be Killed being the first novel in the series. The series boasts 22 different novels with Loving Murder(2001)
- #1AmazonReceipt for Murder(1956)
- #2AmazonDead in a Row(1957)
- #3AmazonThe Dull Dead(1958)
- #4AmazonThe murdering Kind(1958)
- #5AmazonThe Interloper(1959)
- #6AmazonDeath Lives Next Door / Dine and Be Dead(1960)
- #7AmazonMake Me a Murderer(1961)
- #8AmazonCoffin in Oxford(1962)
- #9AmazonCoffin For Baby(1963)
- #10AmazonCoffin Waiting(1964)
- #11AmazonCoffin In Malta(1964)
- #12AmazonA Nameless Coffin(1966)
- #13AmazonCoffin Following(1968)
- #14AmazonCoffin's Dark Number(1969)
- #15AmazonA Coffin from the Past(1970)
- #16AmazonSarsen Place / A Coffin For Pandora(1973)
- #17AmazonA Coffin For The Canary / Olivia(1974)
- #18AmazonCoffin On The Water(1986)
- #19AmazonCoffin In Fashion(1987)
- #20AmazonCoffin Underground(1988)
- #21AmazonCoffin In The Museum of Crime / Coffin in the Black Museum(1989)
- #22AmazonCoffin And The Paper Man(1991)
- #23AmazonCoffin on Murder Street(1991)
- #24AmazonCracking Open A Coffin(1992)
- #25AmazonA Coffin for Charley(1993)
- #26AmazonThe Coffin Tree(1994)
- #27AmazonA Dark Coffin(1996)
- #28AmazonDouble Coffin(1996)
- #29AmazonCoffin's Game(1997)
- #30AmazonA Grave Coffin(1998)
- #31AmazonCoffin's Ghost(1999)
- #32AmazonA Cold Coffin(2000)
- #33AmazonCoffin Knows The Answer(2002)
- #1AmazonHunter In The Shadows (As: Jennie Melville)(1969)
- #2AmazonThe Summer Assassin (As: Jennie Melville)(1971)
- #3AmazonIronwood (As: Jennie Melville)(1972)
- #4AmazonNun's Castle (As: Jennie Melville)(1973)
- #5AmazonThe Vesey Inheritance(1975)
- #6AmazonRaven's Forge (As: Jennie Melville)(1975)
- #7AmazonDragon's Eye (As: Jennie Melville)(1976)
- #8AmazonMeadowsweet/Brides of Friedberg(1977)
- #9AmazonTarot's Tower (As: Jennie Melville)(1978)
- #10AmazonAxwater (As: Jennie Melville)(1978)
- #11AmazonRed Staircase(1979)
- #12AmazonAlbion Walk(1982)
- #13AmazonThe Painted Castle (As: Jennie Melville)(1982)
- #14AmazonThe Hand of Glass (As: Jennie Melville)(1983)
- #15AmazonListen to the Children (As: Jennie Melville)(1986)
- #16AmazonButterfly(1996)
- #17AmazonLet There Be Love(1997)
- #18AmazonComplicity (As: Jennie Melville)(2000)
- #19AmazonHand in Glove (As: Jennie Melville)(2023)
About Gwendoline Butler
Gwendoline Williams Butler, a renowned British author known for her John Coffin mystery series and pioneering work in the "woman's police procedural" genre, was born on August 19, 1922, in South London, England. Educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she studied History, Butler later lectured at the prestigious institution. She married Dr. Lionel Harry Butler, a historian and professor, in 1949, and their marriage produced a daughter, Lucilla Butler. As Gwendoline Butler, she began publishing her John Coffin novels in 1956, while using her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville, as a pseudonym for her Charmian Daniels novels. Her work has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the 1981 Romantic Novel of the Year Award for The Red Staircase.
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