You probably know her because of the cats. Or maybe you know her because she was the "bad girl" of the 1970s feminist movement who didn't care who she offended. Rita Mae Brown is a rare breed of writer. She’s been at it for over fifty years, and honestly, the sheer volume of Rita Mae Brown books is enough to make any casual reader feel a bit dizzy.
She doesn’t just write; she gallops through genres.
One minute you’re reading a gritty, groundbreaking coming-of-age story about a lesbian in the South, and the next, you’re trying to solve a murder with the help of a talking tiger cat named Mrs. Murphy. It’s a wild career. If you’ve ever walked into a used bookstore and seen an entire shelf dedicated to a woman who seems to really love foxes and felines, you’ve found Rita’s corner of the world.
The Book That Changed Everything
Let’s talk about Rubyfruit Jungle. If you’re looking into Rita Mae Brown books, this is the undisputed heavyweight champion. Published in 1973, it wasn’t just a book; it was a cultural hand grenade.
At the time, mainstream publishers wouldn't touch it. They were terrified. It eventually found a home with Daughters, Inc., a small feminist press, before becoming a massive underground hit that forced the "big" publishers to take notice. It’s the story of Molly Bolt, a kid from the "wrong side of the tracks" in Pennsylvania and Florida who happens to be a lesbian and absolutely refuses to apologize for it.
The prose is sharp. It’s funny. It’s mean when it needs to be.
Most people expect 70s feminist literature to be dour or strictly academic. Rubyfruit Jungle is neither. It’s bawdy. Molly Bolt is a scavenger, a striver, and a bit of a jerk sometimes, which makes her feel incredibly real. It’s the book that put Brown on the map and, interestingly, it’s the one that still defines her legacy even though she’s written dozens of cozy mysteries since then.
Why the Mrs. Murphy Series Is a Global Phenomenon
If Rubyfruit Jungle is the rebel yell, the Mrs. Murphy series is the steady, comforting hum of a successful career. Most people searching for Rita Mae Brown books today are actually looking for Sneaky Pie Brown.
Sneaky Pie is Rita’s cat. Literally. The cat is listed as a co-author.
The series kicked off in 1990 with Wish You Were Here. The premise is simple: Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen is a postmistress in the fictional small town of Crozet, Virginia. She keeps finding herself in the middle of murders, and her pets—Mrs. Murphy (the cat), Pewter (another cat), and Tucker (a Corgi)—usually figure out the killer long before the humans do.
Is it high literature? No. Is it addictive? Absolutely.
The genius of these books isn't just the mystery; it’s the way Brown captures the specific social hierarchies of Virginia horse country. She knows this world. She lives it. She’s an avid fox hunter (the kind where the fox gets away, usually), and that deep love for the Blue Ridge Mountains bleeds into every page.
- Rest in Pieces
- Murder at Monticello
- Pay Day
- Claws for Concern
These titles roll out like clockwork. One of the things that makes the Mrs. Murphy books stand out from other "animal cozies" is that the animals have their own complex society. They talk to each other, they have philosophical debates, and they view humans as somewhat slow-witted but lovable giants. It’s a perspective that resonated so well it launched a series that currently spans over 30 novels.
Beyond the Cats: The "Sister" Jane Series
Rita Mae Brown clearly doesn't sleep much. Alongside the feline mysteries, she maintains the Sister Jane series. These are centered squarely on the world of fox hunting.
Jane "Sister" Arnold is a "Master of Foxhounds" in her seventies. These books are even more niche than the Mrs. Murphy ones. They dive deep into the etiquette, the gear, the hounds, and the land conservation issues of the South. If you aren't into horses, you might think you’d be bored. Surprisingly, you’re usually not.
Brown has this knack for making specific, technical subcultures feel like high-stakes drama. She treats the hunting of a fox with the same gravity a thriller writer treats a nuclear countdown.
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The Historical Ambition of Rita Mae Brown
People often forget that Brown is a serious student of history. Her "Runnymede" series—starting with Six of One—is a sprawling, generational look at a town that straddles the Mason-Dixon line.
These books are where her writing really shines.
Six of One introduces the Hunsenmeir sisters, Juts and Wheezie. Their bickering is legendary. Through them, Brown explores the 20th century, the World Wars, and the shifting social landscape of America. It’s much more literary than her mysteries, filled with a deep, earthy humor that feels authentically Appalachian.
She also took a massive swing with Civil Wars, a novel that looks at the lingering ghost of the American Civil War in the modern South. She doesn't shy away from the ugliness of history, but she approaches it with a storyteller's eye for irony.
The Controversy and the Activism
You can’t talk about Rita Mae Brown books without talking about the woman herself. She was a member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) but famously clashed with Betty Friedan over lesbian rights. Brown was part of the "Lavender Menace," a group that protested the exclusion of lesbians from the feminist movement.
She’s never been one to bite her tongue.
This combative, brilliant energy is all over her early work. Later in life, she’s become more of a Virginia aristocrat figure, but that edge is still there. She’s written memoirs like Rita Will, which is essential reading if you want to understand how a kid from a working-class background ended up becoming a literary powerhouse and a screenwriting nominee (she wrote for The Slumber Party Massacre, of all things).
Navigating the Massive Bibliography
If you’re new to this, where do you start? Don't just grab the newest book on the shelf.
- Start with Rubyfruit Jungle. It’s the foundation. It explains her voice.
- Move to Six of One. This gives you the sense of her scope and her ability to write character-driven Southern fiction.
- Try Wish You Were Here. This is the entry point for the Mrs. Murphy mysteries. If you like the animal dialogue, you have thirty more books to enjoy. If you hate it, you can skip a huge chunk of her later career.
- Read Rita Will. Her memoir is often more entertaining than her fiction. Her life has been genuinely wild—from being expelled from college to dating Martina Navratilova.
The Writing Style: What to Expect
Brown writes with a certain "snap."
She likes short, punchy sentences. She loves dialogue. Honestly, her dialogue is some of the best in the business because she has a perfect ear for the way people actually talk in the South. It’s not a Hollywood caricature; it’s the rhythm of people who grew up on porches and in hunt clubs.
She also weaves in a lot of "old school" wisdom. Sometimes it feels a bit preachy—she has very strong opinions on how modern society is falling apart—but it’s always clearly her. There is no ghostwriter here. Whether she’s talking about the intelligence of a red fox or the political failures of the 1960s, the voice is consistent.
Common Misconceptions About Her Books
A lot of people think that because she writes about cats, her books are "soft."
That’s a mistake.
Even in the Mrs. Murphy series, the murders can be fairly gruesome, and the social commentary is biting. She deals with classism, racism, and the death of the American small town. She’s also a big advocate for animal intelligence, often using her "animal" characters to point out the absurdities and hypocrisies of the humans in the story.
Another misconception is that she only writes "LGBTQ+ literature." While she is a pioneer in that field, the vast majority of her 21st-century output is focused on the broader Southern experience. She’s a regional writer as much as she is a political one.
Why She Still Matters in 2026
In an era of hyper-niche digital content, there is something deeply satisfying about a writer who has built a physical, tactile world over decades. When you pick up one of the Rita Mae Brown books, you know exactly what you’re getting: a beautiful Virginia setting, a bit of a history lesson, some animal sass, and a mystery that actually respects your intelligence.
She has survived the rise and fall of various literary trends by simply being herself. She didn't change her style to fit the 90s, the 2000s, or the 2020s.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Reader
- Check your local library first. Because she’s so prolific, libraries almost always have a massive collection of her hardcovers.
- Look for the "Sneaky Pie Brown" credit. If you want the talking animals, look for that name on the cover. If you want her "serious" fiction, look for the Runnymede series.
- Don't read the Mrs. Murphy books out of order. While each mystery is self-contained, the lives of the humans (marriages, divorces, career changes) move in real-time across the series. Start at the beginning to see Harry Haristeen’s full arc.
- Listen to the audiobooks. The Southern accents are crucial to the experience, and a good narrator can make the animal voices feel much less "gimmicky."
Rita Mae Brown is an American original. Whether she’s causing a riot in the 70s or writing about a cat solving a crime in the 2020s, she remains one of the most consistent voices in the literary landscape. She’s a reminder that a writer can be many things at once: a rebel, a traditionalist, a historian, and a cat lover.