Jan Karon returns to Mitford with ‘My Beloved’, released October 7, 2025
Did you know that in 1988, Jan Karon left a successful career in advertising, moved to tiny Blowing Rock, NC, and started writing stories for the local Blowing Rocket about a man named Father Tim? Those stories eventually became At Home in Mitford, Jan’s first Mitford novel, and the rest is history. Tens of millions of copies of the Mitford series have been sold, offering readers a welcome escape from the realities of the world.
Jan’s joyous fifteenth installment in the Mitford series, My Beloved (released on October 7, 2025), sets a generous table for millions of faithful readers who love Jan’s characters like family.
Fannie Flagg, bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes, raved, “Jan Karon is a national treasure. Prepare to laugh, cry and fall in love all over again as she takes us on a long-awaited trip back home to Mitford. My Beloved is the heartwarming gift we all need.”
Jan Karon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels in the Mitford series, featuring Episcopal priest Father Tim Kavanagh. The Mitford series was inspired by Jan’s life in Western North Carolina, where the Mitford Museum and Discovery Center advances the common good through literacy, creativity and community. To learn more, visit www.themitfordmuseum.org.
In Jan’s Own Words
“I once said I would never write another Mitford novel. At the time, I honestly thought the story was told. Since Bathed in Prayer was released in 2018, years passed during which I didn’t write. I founded The Mitford Museum in Hudson, North Carolina, a nonprofit I fondly call “my book without covers.”
[During] this challenging time, I lost my only child and beloved daughter, Candace, and shortly after, my fun-loving, innovative brother, Barry. They were losses that quite nearly finished me. I found life to be completely without meaning, without savor.
Then, I came across a short story set in Mitford that I’d begun in 2008. I thought what the heck, I’ll spend a few minutes and see what happens. Honestly, I didn’t expect much. But holy smoke, My Beloved is the result. What if Father Tim, who’s a relatively private sort, bared his soul to his wife in a letter? And what if that letter fell into other hands?
…I found the characters were essentially the same, but I was different. I was able to see what I hadn’t seen before. I opened up like I hadn’t done since Candace’s diagnosis. It was scary, but I didn’t run from it—I surrendered. And as I waded into My Beloved, I was laughing. And I was crying. And I knew I was at home. Again! In Mitford.
Indeed, the novel I said I would never write is, for me, the most joyful of all the fifteen novels in my Mitford series.”
My Beloved Book Summary
When Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia, asks what he wants for Christmas, he pens the answer in a love letter that bares his most private feelings. Then the letter goes missing and circulates among his astonished neighbors. So much for private. Can a letter change a life? Ask Helene, the piano teacher who has avoided her feelings for a lifetime. Ask Hope, the village bookseller who desperately needs something that’s impossibly out of reach. Or, if you’d like to know how a brush with death can be the portal to a happy marriage, Cynthia will tell you all about it. In My Beloved, Harley gets an important letter of his own; a broken heart teaches the Old Mayor, Esther Cunningham, a lesson long in coming; and thanks to Lace and Dooley, readers get what they’ve been waiting for: Sadie. Set during the most magical time of year for love and connection—Christmas—our favorite cast of characters are back with Karon’s wisdom, charm and inspiration.
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