There are a lot of historical mystery reviews on my blog – so I thought I’d do a chronological index. I’m not being too precise at the moment and this is a work in progress, so be patient. I’m also going to include major series by authors who I haven’t reviewed so far, in particular for older eras. There are probably too many twentieth century historicals to list, so I’ll just include those that I’ve read. Once we get past 1066 in the UK, I’ll classify them by monarch. For a series, I’ve given the name of the sleuth – for a one-off (including where I’ve only read one) then I’ve given the title of the book.
The Ancient World
Egypt – 2000 BC
Egypt – 1479 BC
Greece c. 334 BC
Rome – from 80 BC
Jerusalem 29 AD
Alexandria 36 AD
Rome from 69 AD
- Falco – Lindsay Davis
Roman Britain 91 AD
Bithynia c. 100 AD
Rome 313 AD
The Dark Ages
China c. 660 AD
Judge Dee – Robert Van Gulik
Ireland c. 666 AD
The Medieval World
William II (1087-1100)
Stephen (1135-1154)
- Brother Cadfael – Ellis Peters
- Gareth and Gwen – Sarah Woodbury (NB set in Wales)
- Bradecote and Catchpoll – Sarah Hawkswood
Henry II (1154-1189)
Richard I (1189-1199)
Henry III (1216-1272)
Edward I (1272-1307)
Edward II (1307-1327)
- Baldwin & Puttock – Michael Jecks
- Mathilde of Westminster – Paul Doherty
- The Death Of A King – Paul Doherty (set in Edward III’s reign but concerning the death of Edward II)
Edward III (1327-1377)
- The Canterbury Tales – Paul Doherty
- Matthew Bartholomew – Susanna Gregory
- Owen Archer – Candace Robb
Richard II (1377-1399)
Edward IV (1461-1470, 1471-1483)
- Roger the Chapman – Kate Sedley
- Kathryn Swinbrooke – Paul Doherty (as C L Grace)
- Margaret Beaufort – Paul Doherty
Richard III (1483-1485)
House of Tudor
Henry VIII (1509-1547)
- Roger Shallot – Paul Doherty (as Michael Clynes)
- Matthew Shardlake – C J Sansom
- Bianca Goddard – Mary Lawrence
Mary I (1553-1558)
Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
- John Shakespeare – Rory Clements
- Giordano Bruno – S J Parris
- Nicholas Bracewell – Edward Marston
- Hew Cullan – Shirley McKay – set in Scotland so monarch is James VI
- Christopher Marlowe – M J Trow
- Ursula Blanchard – Fiona Buckley
House of Stuart (inc. Cromwell)
Charles I (1625-1649)
Oliver Cromwell (1649-1658)
- A Cruel Necessity by L C Tyler – NB series continues into the Restoration
- Damian Seeker – S G MacLean
Anne (1701-1714)
House of Hanover
George II (1727-1760)
George III (1760-1820)
George IV (1820-1830)
House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha
Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
- The Railway Detective – Edward Marston
- Inspector Faro – Alanna Knight
- Owen Burns – Paul Halter
- Eldamunde Cunningham – J Conrad Beech
- DI Silas Quinn – R N Morris
- Sergeant Cribb – Peter Lovesey
- Jem Flockhart – E S Thomson
- The Time Of Murder At Mayerling – Paul Doherty (set in Austria)
Early Twentieth Century
- Bertie – Peter Lovesey
- A High Mortality Of Doves – Kate Ellis
- Daisy Dalrymple – Carola Dunn
- Mirabelle Bevan – Sara Sheridan
- Josephine Tey – Nicola Upson
- Nell Drury – Amy Myers
- Owen Burns – Paul Halter (although there’s no real historical content here)
- Amelia Peabody – Elizabeth Peters
- Kate Shackleton – Frances Brody
- Jack Haldean – Dolores Gordon-Smith
- The Price Of Silence – Dolores Gordon-Smith
- Agatha Christie (as the sleuth) – Alison Joseph
- Bernie Gunther – Philip Kerr
- The Murder Of The Maharajah by H R F Keating
- Jack Haldean – Dolores Gordon-Smith
- The Air Raid Killer – Frank Goldammer
European Historical Mysteries
- The Hangman’s Daughter (1659 – Germany) – Oliver Pötzsch
- The One Thing More – Anne Perry
- The Masked Man (1705 – France) – Paul Doherty
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
[…] Historical Mystery Timeline […]
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This is a godsend. I lead a mystery discussion group at the library and want to do “the history of England in mysteries” for 2014. I know I want to start with Brother Cadfael and probably end with either Maisie Dobbs or Inspector Ian Rutledge, but I hadn’t filled in the middle yet. Your timeline will be a big help. You might want to try Bruce Alexander’s Sir John Fielding series if you haven’t yet, set in the reign of George III.
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I’ll make a note of that series, but I’m concentrating on fleshing out the medieval section at the moment – my personal favourite era. Do keep checking on this timeline as I find I’m constantly updating it.
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[…] Historical Mystery Timeline […]
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Shona MacLean could be mentioned here too. Her novels about Alexander Seaton are situated in 1626 and onwards. Then her novels about Damian Seeker start in 1654.
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Hi – Love this list; love the blog. But may I point out a slight error above? I believe you mean “Gordianus the Finder,” rather than “Gordianus the Finger.” :))
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Many thanks, Roberta. Almost certainly due to my lack of enjoyment of my one encounter with him. It’s been duly corrected.
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Where is Claudia Seferis, Marilyn Todd’s Roman woman of mystery? The first, I Claudia, is dated 13 BC. I’m a bit behind with catching up on this series, but she’s terrific and should be on this list!
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Good point. I’ve even reviewed one of those – I’ll update it when I get the chance. Many thanks.
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Claudia Seferius. My bad! I’m just reading a very hard to get copy of Virgin Territory from my To Be read pile,, and it’s a cracker.
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Excellent timeline but I do feel the early imperial Roman mysteries of David Wishart should be included.
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Thanks for the list! I have a historical mystery, LONE STAR DEATH, featuring a young woman newspaper editor in 1880s central Texas. Available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. Written under the name “B.A. Neal.”
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No Judge Dee by Robert van Gulik? Or are they too far out from the ‘classic mystery stories” venue?
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No, just an oversight. Wasn’t too impressed with The Chinese Gold Murders although I’ve been meaning to go back to the series. One day…
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You have listed the Jack Haldean series twice. They are good but not so good as to deserve that.
There are a few historical mysteries by Carr missing.
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Edward Marston also has a very good Domesday series of books set in the time of William the Conqueror, which would fill a gap.
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Yes, thanks for that. I’ve become aware of these and keep meaning to try one. I’ve been a little put off by a couple of his other historical books in the past – one of the train ones and an Elizabethan one, but it’s on the radar
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