Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She writes

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders in 14th-century Cambridge.

Works

Her books may have some aspects in common with the

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her pen name Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of ...

'' Cadfael'' series, the mediaeval adventures of two men, a highly intelligent physician and a Benedictine monk who is senior proctor of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Matthew Bartholomew's activities as a healer, including examination of corpses, embroil him in a series of mysterious crimes, both secular and monastic, and he reluctantly assumes the role of an amateur sleuth. Sceptical of superstition, he is somewhat ahead of his time, and much historical detail is woven into the adventures. But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is darker and does not shrink from portraying the realities of life in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The first in the series, ''A Plague on Both Your Houses'' (1996) is set against the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

and subsequent novels take much of their subject matter from the attempts of society to recover from this disaster. These novels bear the marks of much detailed research into medieval conditions - many of the supporting characters have names taken from the documentation of the time, referenced at the end of each book - and bring vividly to life the squalor of living conditions in England during the Middle Ages. The deep-rooted and pervasive practice of traditional leechcraft as it contrasts with the dawning science of

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available exte ...

is a common bone of contention between Matthew and the students he teaches at Michaelhouse College (now part of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

), whilst the conflict between the students of

and the townsfolk continually threatens to escalate into violence. Another series of books, set after the Restoration of Charles II, features Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy. This series began with ''A Conspiracy of Violence'' published in January 2006. Gregory's short story "To Dispose of an Abbot" was published in the 1998 anthology '' Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime''.

Matthew Bartholomew series

# ''A Plague on Both Your Houses'' (1996) # ''An Unholy Alliance'' (1996) # ''A Bone of Contention'' (1997) # ''A Deadly Brew'' (1998) # ''A Wicked Deed'' (1999) # ''A Masterly Murder'' (2000) # ''An Order for Death'' (2001) # ''A Summer of Discontent'' (2002) # ''A Killer in Winter'' (2003) # ''The Hand of Justice'' (2004) # ''The Mark of a Murderer'' (2006) # ''The Tarnished Chalice'' (2006) # ''To Kill or Cure'' (2007) # ''The Devil's Disciples'' (2008) # ''A Vein of Deceit'' (2009) # ''The Killer of Pilgrims'' (2010) # ''Mystery in the Minster'' (2011) # ''Murder by the Book'' (2012) # ''The Lost Abbot'' (2013) # ''Death of a Scholar'' (2014) # ''A Poisonous Plot'' (2015) # ''A Grave Concern'' (2016) # ''The Habit of Murder'' (2017) # ''The Sanctuary Murders'' (2019) # ''The Chancellor's Secret'' (2021)

Thomas Chaloner series

# ''A Conspiracy of Violence'' (2006) # ''Blood On the Strand'' (2008) # ''The Butcher of Smithfield'' (2010) # ''The Westminster Poisoner'' (2010) # ''A Murder on London Bridge'' (2011) # ''The Body in the Thames'' (2011) # ''The Piccadilly Plot'' (2012) # ''Death in St. James's Park'' (2013) # ''Murder on High Holborn'' (2014) # ''The Cheapside Corpse'' (2015) # ''The Chelsea Strangler'' (2016) # ''The Executioner of St Paul's'' (2017) # ''Intrigue in Covent Garden'' (2018) # ''The Clerkenwell Affair'' (2020) # ''The Pudding Lane Plot: The Fifteenth Thomas Chaloner Adventure'' (2022)

Sir Geoffrey Mappestone

Gregory wrote this series of novels about 12th-century knight Geoffrey Mappestone with her husband, Beau Riffenburgh, under the combined pseudonym Simon Beaufort. # ''Murder in the Holy City'' (1998) # ''A Head for Poisoning'' (1999) # ''The Bishop’s Brood'' (2003) # ''The King’s Spies'' (2003) # ''The Coiners’ Quarrel'' (2004) # ''Deadly Inheritance'' (2009) # ''The Bloodstained Throne'' (2010) # ''A Dead Man’s Secret'' (2011)

Other mystery

Under the pseudonym Simon Beaufort. # ''The Murder House'' (2013) # ''The Killing Ship'' (2016) # ''Mind of A Killer'' (2017) # ''The Watchers of the Dead'' (2019)

Citations

Reviews

* A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London. Review in ''Publishers Weekly''. New York: May 1, 2006. Vol.253, Iss. 18; p. 41. * The Tainted Relic (co-authored by Gregory). Review in ''Publishers Weekly''. New York: Oct 31, 2005. Vol. 252, Iss. 43; p. 35 * 'A Plague on Both Your Houses. Review by Rex E Klett. ''Library Journal''. New York: Oct 1, 1998. Vol.123, Iss. 16; p. 139. * An Unholy Alliance. Review by Brainard, Dulcy. ''Publishers Weekly''. New York: Nov 25, 1996. Vol.243, Iss. 48; p.?. * A Bone of Contention. Review by Rex E Klett. ''Library Journal''. New York: Dec 1997. Vol.122, Iss. 20; p. 158. * A Bone of Contention. Review by Dulcy Brainard. ''Publishers Weekly''. New York: Sep 29, 1997. Vol.244, Iss. 40; p. 70. * An Unholy Alliance. Review by Klett, Rex E. ''Library Journal''. New York: Dec 1996. Vol.121, Iss. 20; p. 150. * An Unholy Alliance. Review by Brainard, Dulcy. ''Publishers Weekly''. New York: Nov 25, 1996. Vol.243, Iss. 48; p.?

External links

Susanna Gregory's websiteThe story behind Murder in the Holy City - Online Essay by Simon Beaufort
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Susanna Alumni of Wolfson College, Cambridge British crime fiction writers Writers of historical mysteries British historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Year of birth missing (living people) Living people