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Series · historical romance

Birmingham Family

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

The Birmingham Family series by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Flame and the Flower (1972).

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
1972
Status
deceased
Last checked

Start here: The Flame and the Flower (1972) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of The Flame and the Flower

The Flame and the Flower (1972)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Flame and the Flower

    Novel

    The Flame and the Flower (1972) opens the Birmingham family's story at 502 pages and is widely credited as the book that created the modern historical romance genre, following orphan Heather Simmons and Charleston ship captain Brandon Birmingham from a forced marriage to genuine love.

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  2. The Elusive Flame

    Novel

    The Elusive Flame (1998) picks up the story as book four in the family's timeline at 428 pages, the shortest of the three novels, shifting focus to the next generation via Heather and Brandon's son -- arriving 26 years after The Flame and the Flower.

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  3. A Season Beyond a Kiss

    Novel

    A Season Beyond a Kiss followed two years later in 2000 at 500 pages, continuing the next generation's story into New Orleans society as the family's fifth-numbered entry.

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About the Birmingham Family series

The Flame and the Flower (1972) is widely credited as the book that created the modern historical romance genre: the first mass-market original romance novel to combine an explicit, extended love story with the sweeping historical-adventure plotting previously reserved for gothic and historical fiction, following penniless orphan Heather Simmons and Charleston ship captain Brandon Birmingham from a forced marriage to a genuine, hard-won love. Its runaway success (Avon's first mass-market original paperback, reportedly selling over a hundred thousand copies in its first week) launched Kathleen Woodiwiss's career and the entire 'bodice ripper' boom that followed it through the 1970s and '80s. Woodiwiss returned to the Birmingham family across her later career: two novellas in multi-author holiday anthologies revisit Heather and Brandon's world, and two full novels, The Elusive Flame (1998) and A Season Beyond a Kiss (2000), follow the next generation of the family into New Orleans society.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Flame and the Flower part of a series?

Yes, loosely -- it began as Kathleen Woodiwiss's standalone debut novel but the Birmingham family it introduces returns in two later anthology novellas and two full sequel novels, The Elusive Flame (1998) and A Season Beyond a Kiss (2000).

Do I need to read the novellas The Kiss and Beyond the Kiss before The Elusive Flame?

They aren't required, but they bridge Heather and Brandon's story to the next generation and were published as the two novels' immediate lead-in.

Why is The Flame and the Flower historically significant?

It's widely credited as the book that created the modern historical romance genre -- the first mass-market original romance to pair an explicit love story with sweeping historical-adventure plotting, launching the genre boom that followed through the 1970s and '80s.

How many books are in the Birmingham Family series?

3: The Flame and the Flower (1972), The Elusive Flame (1998), and A Season Beyond a Kiss (2000).

Reading order last verified .