List of fictional historical detectives
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The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres,
historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
and
mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...
. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder). Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 20th century, many credit Ellis Peters's '' Cadfael Chronicles'' (1977–1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery. The increasing popularity and prevalence of this type of fiction in subsequent decades has spawned a distinct subgenre recognized by the publishing industry and libraries. '' Publishers Weekly'' noted in 2010 of the genre, "The past decade has seen an explosion in both quantity and quality. Never before have so many historical mysteries been published, by so many gifted writers, and covering such a wide range of times and places." Editor Keith Kahla concurs, "From a small group of writers with a very specialized audience, the historical mystery has become a critically acclaimed, award-winning genre with a toehold on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list." Since 1999, the British
Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
has awarded the CWA Historical Dagger award to novels in the genre. The Left Coast Crime conference has presented its Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery award (for mysteries set prior to 1950) since 2004.


Origins

Though the term "whodunit" was coined sometime in the early 1930s, it has been argued that the detective story itself has its origins as early as the 429 BC Sophocles play ''
Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...
'' and the 10th century tale " The Three Apples" from ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' (''Arabian Nights''). During
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's Ming dynasty (1368–1644), '' gong'an'' ("crime-case") folk novels were written in which government magistrates—primarily the historical Di Renjie of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty (960–1279)—investigate cases and then as judges determine guilt and punishment. The stories were set in the past but contained many
anachronism An anachronism (from the Ancient Greek, Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronology, chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time per ...
s.
Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...
came across the 18th century anonymously written Chinese manuscript ''
Di Gong An ''Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee'' (; lit. "Cases of Judge Dee"), also known as Di Gong An or Dee Goong An, is an 18th-century Chinese ''gong'an'' detective novel by an anonymous author, "Buti zhuanren" (Chinese: 不题撰人). It is loosely base ...
'', in his view closer to the Western tradition of detective fiction than other ''gong'an'' tales and so more likely to appeal to non-Chinese readers, and in 1949 published it in English as ''
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee ''Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee'' (; lit. "Cases of Judge Dee"), also known as Di Gong An or Dee Goong An, is an 18th-century Chinese ''gong'an'' detective novel by an anonymous author, "Buti zhuanren" (Chinese: 不题撰人). It is loosely base ...
''. He subsequently wrote his own
Judge Dee stories A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
(1951–1968) in the same style and time period. Perhaps the first modern English work that can be classified as both historical fiction and a mystery however is the 1911
Melville Davisson Post Melville Davisson Post (April 19, 1869 – June 23, 1930) was an American author, born in Harrison County, West Virginia. Although his name is not immediately familiar to those outside of specialist circles, many of his collections are still ...
story "The Angel of the Lord", which features amateur detective
Uncle Abner Melville Davisson Post (April 19, 1869 – June 23, 1930) was an American author, born in Harrison County, West Virginia. Although his name is not immediately familiar to those outside of specialist circles, many of his collections are still ...
in pre- American Civil War West Virginia. Barry Zeman of the Mystery Writers of America calls the Uncle Abner short stories "the starting point for true historical mysteries." In the 22 Uncle Abner tales Post wrote between 1911 and 1928, the character puzzles out local mysteries with his keen observation and knowledge of the Bible. It was not until 1943 that American mystery writer
Lillian de la Torre Lillian de la Torre Bueno McCue (née Bueno; pen name, Lillian de la Torre; 1902 – September 13, 1993) was an American novelist and a prolific writer of historical mysteries. She served as President of the Mystery Writers of America. Biograph ...
did something similar in the story "The Great Seal of England", casting 18th century literary figures
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709  – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
and
James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
into
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
and
Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
roles in what would become the first of her ''Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector'' series of stories. In 1944,
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
published ''
Death Comes as the End ''Death Comes as the End'' is a historical mystery novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October 1944 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the following year.Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier ...
'', a mystery novel set in ancient Egypt and the first full-length historical whodunit. In 1950, John Dickson Carr published the second full-length historical mystery novel called ''
The Bride of Newgate ''The Bride of Newgate'', first published in 1950, is a historical whodunnit novel by American writer John Dickson Carr, which does not feature any of Carr's series detectives. Set in England in 1815, the book combines two literary genres, histor ...
'', set at the close of the Napoleonic Wars.


Popularization

In 1970 Peter Lovesey began a series of novels featuring
Sergeant Cribb ''Cribb'' (''Sergeant Cribb'' in North America) is a television police drama, which debuted in 1979 as a 90-minute TV film from Granada Television in the United Kingdom. Later, thirteen 50-minute episodes were produced, which ran from 1980 to ...
, a
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
-era police detective, and
Elizabeth Peters Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the Univers ...
's
Amelia Peabody series The Amelia Peabody series is a series of twenty historical mystery novels and one non-fiction companion volume written by Egyptologist Barbara Mertz (1927–2013) under the pen name Elizabeth Peters. The series is centered on the adventures of ...
(1975–2010) followed the adventures of the titular Victorian lady/
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
as she solved mysteries surrounding her excavations in early 20th century Egypt. But historical mystery stories remained an oddity until the late 1970s, with the success of Ellis Peters and her '' Cadfael Chronicles'' (1977–1994), featuring Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael and set in 12th century
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
. Umberto Eco's one-off '' The Name of the Rose'' (1980) also helped popularize the concept, and starting in 1979, author Anne Perry wrote two series of Victorian era mysteries featuring Thomas Pitt (1979–2013) and
William Monk Inspector William Monk is a fictional character created by the writer Anne Perry and hero of a series of books. Monk was born in Northumberland shortly before the Victorian era, accession of Queen Victoria, the son of a fisherman. Before he jo ...
(1990–2013). However it was not until about 1990 that the genre's popularity expanded significantly with works such as Lindsey Davis's Falco and Flavia Albia novels (1989–2022), set in the Roman Empire of Vespasian; John Maddox Roberts's ''SPQR'' series (1990–2010) and Steven Saylor's '' Roma Sub Rosa'' novels (1991–2018), both set in the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC; and Paul Doherty's various series, including the ''Hugh Corbett'' medieval mysteries (1986–2010), the ''Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan'' (1991–2012), and the ''Canterbury Tales of Mystery and Murder'' (1994–2012). For Mike Ashley's''The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives'' (1995),
F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre Fergus (also Feargus) Gwynplaine MacIntyre (1948 – 25 June 2010),
wrote "Death in the Dawntime", a locked room mystery (or rather, sealed cave mystery) set in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
around 35,000 BC, which Ashley suggests is the furthest in the past a historical mystery has been set to date. Diana Gabaldon began the ''Lord John'' series in 1998, casting a recurring secondary character from her ''Outlander'' series, Lord John Grey, as a nobleman-military officer-amateur detective in 18th century England.Lord John first appears in Gabaldon's ''
Dragonfly in Amber ''Dragonfly in Amber'' is the second book in the ''Outlander'' series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Centered on time travelling 20th century nurse Claire Randall and her 18th century Scottish Highlander warrior husband Jamie Fraser, the books ...
'' (1992), but the 1998 novella ''
Lord John and the Hellfire Club The ''Lord John'' series is a sequence of historical mystery novels and shorter works written by Diana Gabaldon that center on Lord John Grey, a recurring secondary character in the author's ''Outlander'' series. Secretly homosexual "in a time ...
'' is the character's first appearance as a detective.
Using the pen name Ariana Franklin, Diana Norman wrote four ''
Mistress of the Art of Death Mary Diana Norman (née Narracott; 25 August 1933 – 27 January 2011) was a British author and journalist. She is best known for her historical crime fiction. Life and work Norman was born in London. She was moved to Devon by her family to es ...
'' novels between 2007 and 2010, featuring 12th-century English medical examiner
Adelia Aguilar Mary Diana Norman (née Narracott; 25 August 1933 – 27 January 2011) was a British author and journalist. She is best known for her historical crime fiction. Life and work Norman was born in London. She was moved to Devon by her family to es ...
. '' Publishers Weekly'' noted in 2010 of the genre, "The past decade has seen an explosion in both quantity and quality. Never before have so many historical mysteries been published, by so many gifted writers, and covering such a wide range of times and places." Editor Keith Kahla concurs, "From a small group of writers with a very specialized audience, the historical mystery has become a critically acclaimed, award-winning genre with a toehold on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list."


Awards

In 1999, the British
Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
awarded the first CWA Historical Dagger award to a novel in the genre. The award was called the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger through 2012. In 2014, Endeavour Press supported the award, which is called the Endeavour Historical Dagger for the 2014 and 2015 awards. The Left Coast Crime conference has presented its Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery award (for mysteries set prior to 1950) since 2004.


Variations

In an early twist of the genre, Josephine Tey's '' The Daughter of Time'' (1951) features a modern police detective who alleviates an extended hospital stay by investigating the 15th century case of
Richard III of England Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
and the Princes in the Tower. Georgette Heyer's ''
The Talisman Ring ''The Talisman Ring'' is a historical romance novel by Georgette Heyer, first published in 1936. Set in 1793,See http://www.georgette-heyer.com/chron.html, which references the execution of Louis XVI just a month prior to the novel's opening sc ...
'' (1936), set in 1793 England, is a Regency romance with elements of mystery that
Jane Aiken Hodge Jane Aiken Hodge (December 4, 1917 – June 17, 2009) was an American-born British writer. Life Born near Cambridge, Massachusetts, the second child of Pulitzer prize-winning poet Conrad Aiken and his first wife, the writer Jessie McDonald. Jan ...
called "very nearly a detective story in period costume". Many of Heyer's other historical romances have
thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
elements but to a much lesser extent. Other variations include mystery novels set in
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
timelines or even fantasy worlds. These would include ''
The Ultimate Solution ''The Ultimate Solution'' is a 1973 alternate history novel by journalist and former ''Playboy'' interviewer Eric Norden, set in a world where the Axis forces won World War II and partitioned the world between them. The novel is noted for its ...
'' (1973) by
Eric Norden ''The Ultimate Solution'' is a 1973 alternate history novel by journalist and former ''Playboy'' interviewer Eric Norden, set in a world where the Axis forces won World War II and partitioned the world between them. The novel is noted for its ...
and '' Fatherland'' (1992) by Robert Harris, both being
police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...
s set in alternate timelines where the Nazis won World War II; Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy series, taking place in a 20th-century in which magic is possible; and
Phyllis Ann Karr Phyllis Ann Karr (born July 25, 1944) is an American author of fantasy, Romance novel, romances, Mystery (fiction), mysteries, and non-fiction. She is best known for her "Frostflower and Thorn" series and Arthurian works. Life and family Karr w ...
's ''
The Idylls of the Queen ''The Idylls of the Queen: A Tale of Queen Guenevere'' is a 1982 fantasy mystery novel set in the framework of the King Arthur myths written by American author Phyllis Ann Karr. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in June 1982, and re ...
'' (1982), set in
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
's court as depicted in Arthurian myth and with no attempt at historical accuracy. The genre would not include fiction which was contemporary at the time of writing, such as
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's canonical
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
works set in Victorian England, or the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L. Sayers set in the
Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
. However, subsequent Holmes and Wimsey books written by other authors decades later could arguably be classified as historical mysteries.


List of fictional historical detectives

The following list consists of fictional historical detectives in chronological order of their time period setting:


References


External links


The Detective and the Toga
a listing/guide for Ancient Roman mysteries
The Historical Novel Society
an international organization for historical fiction writers and readers {{Historical fiction Historical novels subgenres Literary genres Mystery fiction zh:推理小說#歷史推理