Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls books in order

The Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls series by Martha Hall Kelly is a four-book historical fiction saga inspired by real women across multiple wars.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 Lilac Girls / The Lilac Girls of Ravensbrück 2016 Martha Hall Kelly Buy
2 Lost Roses 2019 Martha Hall Kelly Buy
3 Sunflower Sisters 2021 Martha Hall Kelly Buy
4 The Golden Doves 2023 Martha Hall Kelly Buy

The Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls series by Martha Hall Kelly tells stories of women caught up in some of history’s worst conflicts. The series is named after Caroline Ferriday, a real-life New York socialite who worked to help survivors of the Ravensbruck concentration camp.

Lilac Girls (2016) covers World War II from three different perspectives. Lost Roses (2019) moves to World War I and the Russian Revolution. Sunflower Sisters (2021) goes back to the American Civil War. The Golden Doves (2023) returns to a WWII setting with a thriller-style plot about two women hunting a war criminal in 1950s Paris. Each book works on its own, though returning readers will appreciate the thematic connections across the series.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls series?

There are four books in the Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls series, published between 2016 and 2023.

What is the first book in the Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls series?

The first book in the Caroline Ferriday / Lilac Girls series is Lilac Girls / The Lilac Girls of Ravensbrück, published in 2016.

Do the Lilac Girls books need to be read in order?

Each book stands alone and covers a different time period, so you can read them in any order. Most readers start with Lilac Girls (2016) since it was published first, but Sunflower Sisters (2021) is set earliest chronologically during the Civil War.

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