Jan Karon’s The Mitford Years is a series of novels set in Mitford, a fictional town in North Carolina. It is centered around the character of Father Tim. The books have a Christian theme with a great emphasis on the town of Mitford, which the author introduces as its own character. It is a place that many readers are eager to see again in every novel.
The stories attempt to educate readers through the personal complexities of the people. They discuss their weaknesses and difficulties, their habits, and daily rituals, with the goal of creating lively and healthy images of the characters. The Mitford series started with the publication of ‘At Home in Mitford’ in 1994.
The books are Christian-themed and provide what some may describe as a gentle proposition of theology. It intersperses the narrative with Bible themes while trying to avoid a preachy tone.
The series consists of fourteen novels. Jan also wrote companion works to The Mitford Years, such as cookbooks. The Mitford Years series concludes with the 14th book, To Be Where You Are. However, the story does not end with this final novel.
Mitford Series in order
Mitford Years
- At Home in Mitford (1994)
- A Light in the Window (1995)
- These High, Green Hills (1996)
- Out to Canaan (1997)
- A New Song (1999)
- A Common Life (2001)
- In This Mountain (2002)
- Shepherds Abiding (2003)
- Light from Heaven (2005)
- Home to Holly Springs (2007)
- In the Company of Others (2010)
- Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (2014)
- Come Rain or Come Shine (2015)
- To Be Where You Are (2017)
Mitford for Children
Mitford Gift Books
- Patches of Godlight (2001)
- The Mitford Snowmen (2001)
- Esther’s Gift (2002)
- The Trellis and the Seed (2003)
- Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader (2004)
Mitford Gift Books
Mitford Collection
Similar authors
- Slow Brewing Tea by Randy Loubier is a spiritual journey and love story. It makes readers reconsider their fate, partner, and their faith.
- Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke follows a young woman on her way to a new life. It’s the 1800’s and she suddenly becomes a widow. She now has to share a home with a recently widowed man and his daughter.
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn follows the world’s most twisted marriage. The plot centers on a feminist psychopath, her disappearance, and her misogynist husband.
See also: Miss Marple Books in Order.
Most recommended books
- To Be Where You Are (Mitford Years #14) (4.34 Goodreads score)
- In This Mountain (Mitford Years, #7) (4.30 Goodreads score)
- Out to Canaan (Mitford Years, #4) (4.29 Goodreads score)
- A New Song (Mitford Years, #5) (4.28 Goodreads score)
- These High, Green Hills (Mitford Years, #3) (4.28 Goodreads score)
Latest releases
The series concluded with the publication of ‘Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good,’ in 2014.
Book summaries
At Home in Mitford (1994)
It’s easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won’t go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that’s sixty years old. Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich comedy about ordinary people and their ordinary lives.
A Light in the Window (1995)
Father Tim—Mitford’s rector and lifelong bachelor—is in need of divine intervention. His attractive neighbor is tugging at his heartstrings. A wealthy widow is pursuing him with hot casseroles. And his red-haired Cousin Meg has moved into the rectory, uninvited. Only time will tell if the village parson can practice what he preaches. Filled with the miracles and mysteries of everyday life, A Light in the Window is an affirmation of what some of us already know: Life in a small town is rarely quiet. And absolutely never boring
These High, Green Hills (1996)
At last, Mitford’s rector and lifelong bachelor, Father Tim, has married his talented and vivacious neighbor, Cynthia. Now, of course, they must face love’s challenges: new sleeping arrangements for Father Tim’s sofa-sized dog, Cynthia’s urge to decorate the rectory Italian-villa-style, and the growing pains of the thrown-away boy who’s become like a son to the rector. Add a life-changing camping trip, the arrival of the town’s first policewoman, and a new computer that requires the patience of a saint, and you know you’re in for another engrossing visit to Mitford—the little town that readers everywhere love to call home.
Out to Canaan (1997)
Millions of readers have come home to Mitford, the little town with the big heart, whose endearing and eccentric residents have become like family members. But now change is coming to the hamlet. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife, Cynthia, are pondering retirement; a brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development; a suspicious realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing. Meanwhile, ordinary people are leading the extraordinary lives that hundreds of thousands of readers have found so inviting and inspiring.
A New Song (1999)
Mitford’s longtime Episcopal priest, Father Tim, has retired. But new challenges and adventures await when he agrees to serve as interim minister of a small church on Whitecap Island. He and his wife, Cynthia, soon find that Whitecap has its own unforgettable characters: a church organist with a mysterious past, a lovelorn bachelor placing personal ads, a mother battling paralyzing depression. Whitecap has more than its fair share of challenges, but in the end, Father Tim and Cynthia find that Mitford is never far away when circumstances back home keep their phone ringing off the hook…
A Common Life (2001)
Mitford’s Lord’s Chapel is the home to the most joyful event in years: the wedding of Father Tim Kavanagh and Cynthia Coppersmith. Here at last is A Common Life, and the long-awaited answers to these deeply probing questions: Will Father Tim fall apart when he takes his vows? Will Cynthia make it to the church on time? Who will arrange the flowers and bake the wedding cake? And will Uncle Billy’s prayers for a great joke be answered in time for the reception?From Dooley Barlowe, to Miss Sadie and Louella, to Emma Newland, the mayor, everybody who’s anybody will be there celebrating in the little town with the big heart.A Common Life is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, Christmas, anniversaries, and for a bride or groom to give to his or her beloved. In truth, it’s perfect for anyone who believes in laughter, relies on hope, and celebrates love
In This Mountain (2002)
In the little town that’s home-away-from-home to millions of readers, life hums along as usual. Dooley looks toward his career as a vet; Joe Ivey and Fancy Skinner fight a haircut price war that takes no prisoners; and Percy steps out on a limb with a risky new menu item at the Main Street Grill.Though Father Tim dislikes change, he dislikes retirement even more. As he and Cynthia gear up for a year-long ministry across the state line, a series of events sends shock waves through his faith—and the whole town of Mitford.
Shepherds Abiding (2003)
Millions of Americans have found Mitford to be a favorite home-away-from-home, and countless readers have long wondered what Christmas in Mitford would be like. The eighth Mitford novel provides a glimpse, offering a meditation on the best of all presents: the gift of one’s heart.Since he was a boy, Father Tim has lived what he calls “the life of the mind” and has never really learned to savor the work of his hands. When he finds a derelict nativity scene that has suffered the indignities of time and neglect, he imagines the excitement in the eyes of his wife, Cynthia, and decides to undertake the daunting task of restoring it. As Father Tim begins his journey, readers are given a seat at Mitford’s holiday table and treated to a magical tale about the true Christmas spirit.
Light from Heaven (2005)
Father Tim Kavanagh has been asked to “come up higher” more than once. But he’s never been asked to do the impossible—until now. The retired Episcopal priest takes on the revival of a mountain church that’s been closed for forty years. Meanwhile, in Mitford, he’s sent on a hunt for hidden treasure, and two beloved friends are called to come up higher as well. As Father Tim finds, there are still plenty of heartfelt surprises, dear friends old and new, and the most important lesson of all: It’s never too late.
Home to Holly Springs (2007)
Thirty-eight years have passed since Father Tim Kavanagh left his Mississippi hometown, determined not to return. Then he receives a handwritten note postmarked Holly Springs. Cryptic and unsigned, it says only Come home. These two words compel him to make the most challenging journey of his life.Traveling to his boyhood home doesn’t merely take Father Tim across hundreds of miles. Thanks to a thousand sights and smells, he also travels back through memories—some fond and some he’s tried for nearly forty years to forget, from his quick-to-anger father and his lovingly tender mother to the picturesque small town he’d tried desperately to leave behind. And once Father Tim discovers who was behind the mysterious note, a truth is revealed that will change his life—forever.
In the Company of Others (2010)
Vacation—the very word has been foreign to Episcopal priest Tim Kavanagh. Now retired from tending his flock in the village of Mitford, he is making good on a promise to show his wife, Cynthia, the charming land of his Irish ancestors. But after arriving at a Lough Arrow fishing lodge in the midst of a torrential downpour, the charm disappears.They find their holiday upended by an intruder, a treasured painting is stolen from the lodge, and a family conflict dating back nearly a century turns even more bitter. As three generations struggle to find deliverance from the crucifying power of secrets, Tim and Cynthia stumble upon a faded journal that might just explain the crime—and offer a chance at redemption.
Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (2014)
After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from the land of his Irish ancestors. While he’s glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing from his life: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it.For years, he believed he had a few answers. Now he has questions. How can he possibly help Dooley’s younger brother, Sammy, make it through the fallout of a disasterous childhood? Could doing a good deed for the town bookstore be the best thing for his befuddled spirit? And who was riding through town in a limo? Not Edith Mallory.
Come Rain or Come Shine (2015)
Over the course of ten Mitford novels, fans have kept a special place in their hearts for Dooley Kavanagh, first seen in At Home in Mitford as a barefoot, freckle-faced boy in filthy overalls.Now, Father Tim Kavanagh’s adopted son has graduated from vet school and opened his own animal clinic. Since money will be tight for a while, maybe he and Lace Harper, his once and future soul mate, should keep their wedding simple. By the way, it’s a pretty casual affair, so come as you are and remember to bring a tissue or two. After all, what’s a good wedding without a good cry?
To Be Where You Are (2017)
Wounds heal, bonds grow stronger, and celebrations continue…Welcome back to beloved Mitford. After twelve years of wrestling with the conflicts of retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn’t need a steady job to prove himself. Then he’s given one. As for what it proves, heaven only knows.Millions of Karon fans will be thrilled that it’s life as usual in the wildly popular Mitford series: A beloved town character lands a front-page obituary, but who was it, exactly, who died? And what about the former mayor, born the year Lindbergh landed in Paris, who’s still running for office? All this, of course, is but a feather on the wind compared to Muse editor J.C. Hogan’s desperate attempts to find a cure for his marital woes. Will it be high-def TV or his pork-chop marinade? In fiction, as in real life, there are no guarantees. Twenty minutes from Mitford at Meadowgate Farm, newlyweds Dooley and Lace Kavanagh face a crisis that devastates their bank account and impacts their family vet practice. But there is still a lot to celebrate, as their adopted son, Jack, looks forward to the most important day of his life–with great cooking, country music, and lots of people who love him. Happily, it will also be a day when the terrible wound in Dooley’s biological family begins to heal because of a game–let’s just call it a miracle–that breaks all the rules.
Violet Comes to Stay (2006)
In Violet Comes to Stay, Violet’s search for the perfect home leads her to a plant nursery, a bakery, and finally a bookstore – the one place where the gentle cat isn’t expected to be a mouse hunter.
Violet Goes to the Country (2007)
Violet and her owner, Alice, are off to the country for a visit. Violet is as excited as can be, but she keeps getting in the way of Alice’s uncle Leo (who is “not much of a cat person”). Violet Goes to the Country will warm the hearts of Jan Karon fans and cat-lovers alike.
Patches of Godlight (2001)
Written in Father Tim Kavanagh’s own hand, this wonderful collection of quotes brings to life the personal reflections of Mitford’s beloved Episcopal priest. Here Father Tim has carefully recorded his favorite quotes from a variety of thinkers, philosophers, and poets whom he has admired over the years. Next to the quotes are Father Tim’s personal comments, scribblings, and doodlings. From C. S. Lewis and Mark Twain to Aristophanes and St. Paul, these heartwarming words on love, life, and faith are a perfect addition to the Mitford series–and a must-have for Jan Karon’s millions of readers.Further inspirational and uplifting quotes are collected in a second volume, A Continual Feast
The Mitford Snowmen (2001)
It’s Christmastime in Mitford, and everyone’s favorite characters are filled with holiday spirit. In The Mitford Snowmen, a swirling snowfall brings them to Main Street for a snowman-building contest complete with doughnuts, hot chocolate, and contagious good cheer. A charming small trim size and enchanting four-color illustrations make this the perfect way to visit Mitfordand gather a heart full of Christmas joy.
Esther’s Gift (2002)
In Esther’s Gift, Esther Bolick is filled with the holiday spirit as she prepares to bake the annual batch of her famous-and utterly scrumptious-orange marmalade cakes. Right after Christmas Eve service at Lord’s Chapel, she and Gene will deliver a two-layer marmalade to each of seven friends and neighbors, all of them favorite Mitford characters. Then Gene calculates what it costs to bake this legendary cake, and Esther is stunned. Is it worth it to spend so much money on people who haven’t always measured up to her expectations? The answer is clear. She’ll cut her list back-way back.This decision makes perfect sense until the lyrics of a Christmas carol steal into her heart, and help remind her what a gift really means
The Trellis and the Seed (2003)
The little seed spent the winter in a jelly glass on the top shelf of a chinacupboard. It was only a seed and very, very small. How could it ever be a vine with sweet-smelling blossoms? When spring came, the Nice Lady made a hole for the seed and planted it in her garden at the base of a trellis. It felt soft in the hole, but also cold and dark. Don’t worry, said the Earth. God has planned something beautiful for you. The little seed did not believe it. But as time passed, and the sun shone, and the rain fell, the little seed began to feel something unexpected.
Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader (2004)
Millions of readers have discovered the delights of a trip to Mitford, and they’ve all found themselves hankering for mouthwatering dishes like Father Tim’s Rector’s Meatloaf and Esther Bolick’s outrageously delicious Orange Marmalade Cake. Now, Jan Karon makes it easy to satisfy all these cravings and many more.Along with 150 fabulous recipes are Jan’s personal reminiscences, dozens fo beloved scenes from each of the Mitford books, jokes, cooking tips, blessings, and a wonderful story never before published in the novels. For readers and cooks alike, Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader is a veritable feast.
The Mitford Bedside Companion (2006)
For the millions of fans who love the Mitford Years novels, this lushly illustrated keepsake will be the perfect book to curl up with. What was that Uncle Billy joke about the census taker? Where was that beautiful prayer Father Tim offered? The Mitford Bedside Companion will make it easy to find the greatest of the countless gems that grace each of Karon’s novels.
Bathed in Prayer (2018)
Over the course of fourteen novels, millions of readers have fallen in love with the faith, encouragement, and wisdom that are at the very heart of Jan Karon’s Mitford series. Now, for the first time, readers will have the chance to walk with Father Tim through a collection of prayers, sermons, and inspirational passages that incorporates material from each of the novels. In addition, fans will get to hear directly from author Jan Karon, in a brand-new essay about her own personal journey in faith and the ways that the Mitford novels have impacted her.
