Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jumble Pie | 2007 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 2 | Alice I Have Been | 2009 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 3 | The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb | 2011 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 4 | The Ambassador’s Daughter / The Aviator’s Wife | 2013 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 5 | The Aviator’s Wife | 2013 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 6 | The Swans of Fifth Avenue | 2016 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 7 | The Girls in the Picture | 2018 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 8 | Mistress of the Ritz | 2019 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 9 | The Children’s Blizzard | 2021 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 10 | California Golden | 2023 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
| 11 | The Windsor Affair | 2026 | Melanie Benjamin | Buy |
Melanie Benjamin’s standalone novels span from 2007 to 2026 and share a common approach: taking a real woman from history and building a richly imagined novel around her life. Alice I Have Been explores Alice Liddell’s complex relationship with Lewis Carroll, while The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb tells the story of Lavinia Warren, a performer in P.T. Barnum’s circle.
Later novels broadened her scope. The Swans of Fifth Avenue examines the betrayal of Truman Capote’s socialite friends, The Girls in the Picture follows the friendship between screenwriter Frances Marion and actress Mary Pickford, and Mistress of the Ritz is set in occupied Paris during World War II. Each novel functions as a standalone, though readers who enjoy one will likely find the same care and research in the others.