Series · family saga romance

Runnymede

The Runnymede series by Rita Mae Brown has 5 known books (5 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Six of One (1978).

Books: 5 known books (5 novels)
Published: 5
First published: 1978
Status: ongoing
Shelved under: Romance
Last checked: 12 September 2026

Start here: Six of One (1978) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Six of One (1978)

Reading order

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

Book 1:
Six of One
Novel1978
Rita Mae Brown opened the Runnymede series in 1978 with Six of One, a 338-page novel spanning from 1909 to the 1980s across three generations of women in the Hunsenmeir family, set in the twin towns split by the Mason-Dixon line.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Six of One
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Book 2:
Bingo
Novel1988
Bingo, the second book, did not appear until 1988 -- a full decade after the series debut -- at 370 pages, picking up the same Hunsenmeir sisters decades later as Brown's direct sequel to Six of One.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bingo
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Book 3:
Loose Lips
Novel1999
Loose Lips followed in 1999, eleven years after Bingo, at 374 pages, expanding the Hunsenmeir and Chalfonte family tree further rather than continuing straight on from where Bingo ends.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Loose Lips
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Book 4:
The Sand Castle
Novel2008
The Sand Castle, published in 2008 at just 103 pages, is by far the shortest book in the series -- less than a third the length of any other entry -- filling in earlier generations of the interlocking Runnymede families.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sand Castle
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Book 5:
Cakewalk
Novel2016
Cakewalk closes this record in 2016 at 301 pages, eight years after The Sand Castle, extending Brown's comic, unapologetically Southern-gothic portrait of Runnymede's feuding, intermarried families.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cakewalk
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About the Runnymede series

Runnymede is Rita Mae Brown's family-saga series set in the twin towns of Runnymede, Maryland and South Runnymede, Pennsylvania, split by the Mason-Dixon line and by generations of the same families who keep marrying, feuding, and burying each other on either side of the state border. Unlike Brown's mystery series, these are multi-generational literary novels — comic, sprawling, and unapologetically Southern-gothic in their appetite for eccentric relatives, long-buried secrets, and small-town social hierarchy — following the interlocking Hunsenmeir and Chalfonte families across more than a century, from the Civil War's long shadow through the twentieth century.

The five novels don't all sit in a single chronological line: Six of One (1978), the series opener, spans from 1909 to the 1980s across three generations of women in the Hunsenmeir family, while later entries move both backward and forward from that anchor point to fill out the wider family tree and the town's history. Brown's own upbringing in a small Pennsylvania border town informs the setting closely, and the books share her freewheeling comic voice — barbed dialogue, unsentimental affection for difficult women, and a real fondness for the pettiness and loyalty of small-town life. This is the series for readers who want Brown's sharpest satirical voice applied to family and place rather than to a mystery plot.

How to read this series

Publication order is the practical way to read Runnymede, though the novels aren't strictly sequential in story time — this is a family saga told out of chronological order across multiple books rather than one continuous timeline. Start with Six of One (1978), which introduces the Hunsenmeir sisters and establishes the twin-towns setting; Bingo (1988) is its direct sequel, picking up the same characters decades later. Loose Lips (1999), The Sand Castle (2008), and Cakewalk (2016) expand the family tree further, filling in earlier generations and additional relatives rather than continuing straight on from where Bingo ends. Each book stands reasonably well alone as a portrait of the town and its families, but reading in publication order is the closest thing to an intended path through the saga.

Frequently asked questions

How many Runnymede books are there?

Five novels, published between 1978 and 2016: Six of One, Bingo, Loose Lips, The Sand Castle, and Cakewalk.

What order should I read the Runnymede books in?

Publication order is the standard approach, starting with Six of One. The saga isn't told in strict chronological story order across the five books, so publication order is more a matter of convention than a hard requirement.

Is Runnymede a mystery series, like Rita Mae Brown's other books?

No. It's a multi-generational family saga and comic literary fiction, without the mystery-plot structure of her Mrs. Murphy or "Sister" Jane series.

Do I need to read Six of One before Bingo?

Yes — Bingo is a direct sequel to Six of One, continuing the same characters. The later books (Loose Lips, The Sand Castle, Cakewalk) fill out the wider family history rather than continuing that direct sequence.

Is there a new Runnymede book coming?

No confirmed new title has been announced since Cakewalk (2016).