Saga of the Phenwick Women Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Augusta, the First | 1975 | Buy |
| Jane, The Courageous | 1975 | Buy |
| Margaret, the Faithful | 1975 | Buy |
| Patricia, The Beautiful | 1975 | Buy |
| Rachel, the Possessed | 1975 | Buy |
| Susannah, the Righteous | 1975 | Buy |
| Rebecca, the Mysterious | 1975 | Buy |
| Joanne, The Unpredictable | 1976 | Buy |
| Olivia, the Tormented | 1976 | Buy |
| Harriet, the Haunted | 1976 | Buy |
| Nancy, the Daring | 1976 | Buy |
| Marcia, The Innocent | 1976 | Buy |
| Kate, the Curious | 1976 | Buy |
| Ilene, The Superstitious | 1977 | Buy |
| Millijoy, The Determined | 1977 | Buy |
| Barbara, The Valiant | 1977 | Buy |
| Ruth, The Unsuspecting | 1977 | Buy |
| Ophelia, the Anxious | 1977 | Buy |
| Dorothy, the Terrified | 1977 | Buy |
| Ann, the Gentle | 1978 | Buy |
| Nellie, The Obvious | 1978 | Buy |
| Isabelle, The Frantic | 1978 | Buy |
| Evelyn, The Ambitious | 1978 | Buy |
| Louise, the Restless | 1978 | Buy |
| Polly, The Worried | 1979 | Buy |
| Yvonne, The Confident | 1979 | Buy |
| Joyce, the Beloved | 1979 | Buy |
| Carol, the Pursued | 1979 | Buy |
| Augusta, the Second | 1979 | Buy |
| Katherine, the Returned | 1980 | Buy |
| Peggy, the Concerned | 1980 | Buy |
| Olga, the Disillusioned | 1980 | Buy |
| Phyllis, the Cautious | 1980 | Buy |
| Ursala, the Proud | 1980 | Buy |
| Letitia, the Dreamer | 1981 | Buy |
| Alexandria, the Ambivalent | 1981 | Buy |
| Romula, the Dedicated | 1981 | Buy |
| Laura, the Imperiled | 1981 | Buy |
| Iris, the Bewitched | 1982 | Buy |
| Belinda, the Impatient | 1982 | Buy |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Heiress to Wolfskill | 1971 | Buy |
| The House on Windswept Ridge | 1971 | Buy |
| The Twisted Cameo | 1971 | Buy |
| The Children of Houndstooth | 1972 | Buy |
| The Broken Sphinx | 1972 | Buy |
| Stepmother’s House | 1972 | N/A |
| Cousin to Terror | 1972 | N/A |
| Thanesworth House | 1972 | Buy |
| Brother Sinister | 1973 | N/A |
| The Three Sisters of Briarwick | 1973 | Buy |
| The Specter of Dolphin Cove | 1973 | Buy |
| The Phantom Flame of Wind House | 1973 | N/A |
| The Shadow over Pheasant Heath | 1974 | Buy |
| A Shriek in the Midnight Tower | 1975 | Buy |
| The Haunted Portrait | 1976 | Buy |
| Night of Tears | 1976 | Buy |
| The Phantom Reflection | 1978 | Buy |
| Three Cries of Terror | 1980 | Buy |
| Concession | 1981 | Buy |
| Star Eyes | 1983 | Buy |
| The Lovely and the Lonely | 1984 | Buy |
| Passion Allegro | 1985 | Buy |
| The Right Time to Love | 1986 | Buy |
| If Love Comes | 1987 | Buy |
John M. Kimbro published over sixty books between 1971 and 1987, with the bulk of his output in the gothic romance and family saga genres. His most notable work is the Saga of the Phenwick Women, a sprawling 40-book series that follows generations of women in a single family. Each novel bears the name of its heroine and a descriptive epithet: Augusta, the First; Jane, The Courageous; Rachel, the Possessed; and so on.
Before starting the Phenwick Women saga, Kimbro wrote a string of standalone gothic novels in the early 1970s with titles like The Heiress to Wolfskill, The Twisted Cameo, and A Shriek in the Midnight Tower. These earlier books established his fondness for eerie settings, family secrets, and atmospheric tension.
His later standalone works moved away from pure gothic romance into broader fiction territory, with titles like Star Eyes (1983) and Passion Allegro (1985). Throughout his career, Kimbro maintained a steady pace of publication, producing multiple books a year during his most productive period.