The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax

A quiet Sunday afternoon for Emily Pollifax is shattered by a phone call from Carstairs of the CIA. A Communist agent has defected to the West and has turned up in Turkey. The last agent the CIA sent to contact her ended up dead. But they need to get a passport and money to her so she can get to the States. Carstairs naturally thinks Mrs. Pollifax will fit the bill as the most unlikely spy. So forget the Garden Club and the art association: time for car chases and murder.

This is the second book in the series and as such is still fresh and exciting. I originally rated this a three-star because it wasn’t one of the books I compulsively re-read, but reading it now is a lot of fun. The book was first published in 1970, so there are a lot show more of newspaper clippings and telegrams, and zero cellphones and internet. I especially liked in this one how Mrs. Pollifax assembled a squad of people to help her out, and she helped build them up as well (I’m thinking specifically of Colin Ramsey). And now that I have an abiding love of all things aviation, the scene where Mrs. Pollifax, with no training whatsoever, attempts to fly a helicopter is hysterical.

This is one of my go-to series when I want something a little bit cozy. show less

Mrs Pollifax (Emily), a widow with grandchildren, was living a safe but boring life in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Until the CIA asked her to become a courier, that is. Well, she had a wonderful adventure and is now back in New Brunswick, attending Garden Club meetings and taking karate lessons. But a phone call from her CIA contact, Mr Carstairs, quickly changes her plans. He has another assignment for her; she is to go to Istanbul, Turkey – now.

This is a delightfully imaginative (and highly improbable) cozy series. Mrs Pollifax is a marvelous main character – steadfast, quick thinking, polite (unless someone needs a karate chop to the throat), and courageous. I love how “proper” she is, making her forays into dangerous show more situations both humorous and fraught with peril. Her ability to make friends of total strangers and gather about her a variety of allies makes for a colorful cast of characters and some unexpected turns in the plot. A fast-paced, easy read. I’ll definitely keep on with the series. show less

The amazing Mrs. Pollifax returns in this second romp of an espionage thriller, and the results are charming! Just returned home from church one Sunday morning, our elderly heroine is reading a story in the newspaper about the defection of a notorious Communist agent, when Mr. Carstairs rings up, asking her to undertake another mission for him. It turns out that Magda Ferenci-Sabo, about whom Mrs. Pollifax had just been reading, was no Russian spy after all, but one of the CIA's top assets, and that she must be retrieved from Istanbul at all costs. Previous agents having failed due to their high profile, a complete unknown like Mrs. Pollifax is needed. And so our flowered hat-wearing grandmother (who now studies karate!) heads to show more Turkey, where she soon finds herself involved in a most unexpected high stakes adventure, on the run from both police and assassins, and making all sorts of unlikely friends...

I adored these books as an adolescent, reading them again and again, and they have certainly been living up to my memory of them, on this recent reread! The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax is every bit as charming, humorous and exciting as I remembered it being, and I breezed through it in one sitting. Dorothy Gilman certainly manages to pack quite a bit of dramatic incident into a novel that is only 176 pages in length! With spies and assassins, codes dating back to WWII, long-lost and newfound lovers, unexpectedly resourceful allies, and a caravan of gypsies, there's no shortage of fascinating characters and engrossing plot developments. As with the first book, I found the settings quite interesting - the caravan travels through Cappadocia at one point, and the description of the region is such that I have always longed to visit it, a feeling greatly increased by the Turkish children's book, The Secrets of Cappadocia, that I read many years later. The depiction of the gypsies/Romany was romantic, utilizing a number of stereotypes about their supposed mystical abilities, but it was also sympathetic. Highly recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. show less

Both this series and this book in particular make for fun, short reads while transporting one to various foreign countries and introducing one to different ways of life as well as to more than a little touch of hardship and danger. Maybe using Mrs. Pollifax as a CIA courier is a stretch, but it is nice to see an older woman as a competent protagonist. And as Mrs. Pollifax so ably puts it:

"It was the unexpected that brought to these moments this tender, unnameable rush of understanding, this joy in being alive. It was safety following danger, it was food after hours of hunger, rest following exhaustion, it was the astonishing strangers who had become her friends. It was this and more, until the richness of living caught at her throat, show more and all the well-meant security with which people surrounded themselves was exposed for what it truly was: a wall to keep out life, a conceit, a mad delusion."

We should all be so lucky to feel this in our lives. show less

American grandmother and ceaseless volunteer Mrs Emily Pollifax is still working as a spy for the CIA. In her second job for The Agency, Mrs Pollifax travels to Istanbul to make contact with Russian spy, Magda Ferenci-Sabo, who is a double agent for the Americans. She's not the only spy in Turkey trying to capture Magda and when she finds herself under arrest she makes use of friends and allies to try to locate Magda and get her safely out of the country. There are some great secondary characters in this book including a shy young Englishman, a clan of gypsies and a Turkish desperado.

I love Mrs. Pollifax. It's great to see an older woman heroine, especially one who uses her head to get herself and others out of sticky situations. This show more is a series I enjoy reading after a particularly gruesome murder mystery or when I just want to sit and relax with a book that doesn't need so much attention. The series is also narrated by one of my very favorites.....Barbara Rosenblat.

The books have a less dated feel than I expected when I first picked them up. I believe this one was originally published in 1970 but I feel like it's held up for being almost fifty years old. If you're looking for a gritty mystery this is not the one for you, but if you get a chance you might want to enjoy a wonderful romp with the charming, wise, and enterprising Mrs. Pollifax. show less

Mrs Emily Pollifax is an unassuming American grandmother who recently became a spy for the CIA. In her second job for The Agency Mrs Pollifax must travel to Istanbul to make contact with a Russian spy, Magda Ferenci-Sabo, who is a double agent for the Americans. However with half the world’s spies descending on Turkey to be the ones to capture the apparently defecting woman to learn her secrets trouble soon finds Mrs Pollifax. Unperturbed she makes use of a series of unlikely allies that she meets in her journey across Turkey while finding and losing Magda Ferenci-Sabo several times and enduring several harrowing near-death experiences.

Despite having an entirely ludicrous premise I found myself thoroughly enjoying this story. Mrs show more Pollifax is a delightful character who is able to face whatever life throws at her with remarkable aplomb and she befriends a wonderful assortment of quirky people on her journey. There seems to be a decent enough flavour of the time period (my memories of 1970 being those of a 3-year old I can’t be certain) without the book being too dated and there is definitely a sense of the real Turkey depicted. Although it was 20-odd years later I’ve taken the same kind of bus rides as Mrs Pollifax took across that marvellous country and had much the same experiences as were described in the book.

Although unrealistic, the plot hangs together very well and even though you are certain things will all work out for Mrs Pollifax in the end there are enough escapades along the way to offer a decent amount of suspense. If you like realism in your crime fiction then this story isn’t for you but if you like the Amelia Peabody novels or the occasional guaranteed happy ending after a smashing adventure then I can recommend this book. The narrator for this audio version adds an extra half point to my rating as it was excellent and really helped me get lost in the story. show less

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman is the second book in the Mrs. Pollifax series about an elderly woman who becomes a rather accomplished spy – or courier as she prefers. In this outing she is hustled off to Turkey in order to provide a passport for a double agent who is looking to retire. A simple assignment but unfortunately this agent is being hunted by multiple countries and has gone into hiding.

In her proper suit and flowered hat, Mrs. Pollifax manages to gather an unlikely group of assistants but when she goes for help to the well known diplomat that she was directed to, she discovers that he is working for the other side. A cat and mouse game follows with Mrs. Pollifax falling in and out of enemy hands but with help show more from a group of gypsies, a young British drop-out, and a Turkish ruffian, not to mention relying on her own clever ways, she does manage to amaze everyone.

I am finding these books to be quick, easy and addictive reads. Emily Pollifax is a woman to be admired for her strength of character and moral dignity. She is able to inspire the kindness of strangers and put her practical methods to good use. I will certainly be reading on. show less