Paul Charles Dominic Doherty (born 21 September 1946) is an English author, educator, lecturer and historian. He is also the Headmaster of Trinity Catholic High School in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Doherty is a prolific writer, has produced dozens of historical novels and a number of nonfiction history books.

Biography

Doherty was born in 1946 and spent his early years in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. After A-levels, he went to Ushaw College, Durham for three years to study for the Catholic priesthood, which he did not pursue. He attended Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, where he received a doctorate for his thesis on Edward II. Doherty is a historian who lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries. In 1981 he was appointed Headmaster at Trinity Catholic High School in

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford, London, Woodford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the we ...

, a role he continues in to this day. In 2003 he was appointed as Interim Headteacher of King Solomon High School, after Jo Shooter left. He was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for his services to education in 2011.

Literary career

Doherty has published several series of

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

set in the Middle Ages, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egyptian and other periods. He writes both fiction and non-fiction under his own name, as well as under the pen-names Anna Apostolou, Michael Clynes, Ann Dukthas, C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, and Vanessa Alexander. According to his website, He has written 100 published books which have been printed in multiple languages and published around much of the world.Doherty biodata
, paulcdoherty.com; accessed 17 April 2014. His works include ''The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan'', the ''Hugh Corbett'' medieval mysteries, and the ''Canterbury Tales of Mystery and Murder'', which are listed below. As "Michael Clynes", Doherty wrote the Roger Shallot mysteries, set in the era of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. In a Doherty interview with Michael Shankland, the latter says of Doherty: "I admire how this writer can use the medium of a novel to demonstrate a deep knowledge of the complex working of early 14th-century diplomacy and espionage. Paul C. Doherty seems to be one of the few writers focusing on the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

who understands the importance of the relationship between England and

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

during this era". A review of ''The Horus Killings'' at reviewingtheevidence.com opines that Doherty maintains a balance between historical description and the action of the plot on perfect pitch. "The mix is near perfect. The descriptive passages enhance the story, allowing the reader to vividly visualize an unfamiliar setting without detracting from the page-turning pace desirable in a light mystery." Harriet Klausner states in her review of this same book that "Ancient historical fiction/ mystery readers, especially Egyptologists, will cherish this novel." A 2009 review by Mike Ripley, himself an acclaimed author and regular contributor to ''SHOTS Crime and Mystery'' magazine, states of Doherty's book ''The Spies of Sobeck'':

"A very wise literary agent (and there are some) once told me that the trick with historical mysteries was to hook the reader early on with the mystery and then give them the history lesson. They know the lesson is coming but they want to be lured, almost fooled, into listening to it. Paul Doherty goes out of his way to break this rule. His latest novel and the seventh in his 'Ancient Egyptian Mysteries' series, "The Spies of Sobeck" starts (and ends) with historical notes by the author; there's also a map and a list of characters and their position in the hierarchy of Egypt in 1477BC. So the reader is left in no doubt that they are in for a history lesson and they get one; and it is the positive master class we have come to expect from Paul Doherty. This is history red in tooth and claw and Doherty has proved, in more than fifty novels over a variety of historical settings, that when he gives a history lesson, readers sit up straight and pay attention."

on 18 April 1998 Doherty was included in the ''Times'' "Murder They Write: 100 masters of crime" supplement. The list, compiled by book critics and authors, included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler. He was awarded the Herodotus Award, for lifelong achievement for excellence in the writing of historical mysteries by the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society. ''Treason of the Ghosts'' was named one of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''Best of this year's crime novels'' in 2000.

Documentaries

The UK Channel Five documentary, ''The Secret Life of Elizabeth I'' (2006), was based on his book of the same title. It explored Doherty's theory that

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

may have had a secret love child. He appeared in the ''

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

'' documentary, ''Secrets of the Virgin Queen''. The documentary examines some controversial theories as to why Elizabeth never married (2011).Secrets of the Virgin Queen
nationalgeographic.com; accessed 14 April 2014.

Bibliography

;Hugh Corbett series :Set during the 13th-century reign of

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

. # ''Satan in St Mary's'' (1986) # ''The Crown in Darkness'' (1988) # ''Spy in Chancery'' (1988) # ''The Angel of Death'' (1989) # ''The Prince of Darkness'' (1992) # ''Murder Wears a Cowl'' (1992) # ''The Assassin in the Greenwood'' (1993) # ''The Song of a Dark Angel'' (1994) # ''Satan's Fire'' (1995) # ''The Devil's Hunt'' (1996) # ''The Demon Archer'' (1999) # ''The Treason of the Ghosts'' (2000) # ''Corpse Candle'' (2001) # ''The Magician's Death'' (2004) # ''The Waxman Murders'' (2006) # ''Nightshade'' (2008) # ''The Mysterium'' (2010) # ''Dark Serpent'' (2016) # ''Devil's Wolf'' (2017) # ''Death's Dark Valley'' (2019) # ''Hymn to Murder'' (2020) # ''Mother Midnight'' (2021) # ''Realm of Darkness'' (2022) # ''Banners of Hell'' (2024) ;Matthew Jankyn series # ''The Whyte Harte'' (1988) # ''The Serpent Amongst the Lilies'' (1990) ;Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan :Set during the 14th-century reign of

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Jo ...

. # ''The Nightingale Gallery'' (1991) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''The House of the Red Slayer'' aka ''The Red Slayer'' (1992) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''Murder Most Holy'' (1992) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''The Anger of God'' (1993) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''By Murder's Bright Light'' (1994) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''The House of Crows'' (1995) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''The Assassin's Riddle'' (1996) (writing as Paul Harding) # ''The Devil's Domain'' (1998) # ''The Field of Blood'' (1999) # ''The House of Shadows'' (2003) # ''Bloodstone'' (2011) # ''The Straw Men'' (2012) # ''Candle Flame'' (2014) # ''The Book of Fires'' (2014) # ''The Herald of Hell'' (2015) # ''The Great Revolt'' (2016) # ''A Pilgrimage to Murder'' (2017) # ''Mansions of Murder'' (2017) # ''The Godless'' (2019) # ''The Stone of Destiny'' (2020) # ''The Hanging Tree'' (2022) # ''Murder Most Treasonable'' (2023) # ''Murder's Snare'' (2024) ;Sir Roger Shallot Tudor Mysteries (writing as Michael Clynes) :Set during the 16th-century reign of

of England. # ''The White Rose Murders'' (1991) # ''The Poisoned Chalice'' (1992) # ''The Grail Murders'' (1993) # ''A Brood of Vipers'' (1994) # ''The Gallows Murders'' (1995) # ''The Relic Murders'' (1996) ;Kathryn Swinbrooke series (writing as C. L. Grace) :Set in 15th century England. # ''A Shrine of Murders'' (1993) # ''The Eye of God'' (1994) # ''The Merchant of Death'' (1995) # ''The Book of Shadows'' (1996) # ''Saintly Murders'' (2001) # ''A Maze of Murders'' (2002) # ''A Feast of Poisons'' (2004) ;Nicholas Segalla series (writing as Ann Dukthas) # ''A Time for the Death of a King'' (1994), set in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

1567, involving

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

# ''A Prince Lost to Time'' (1995), set in France circa 1793, involving

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

# ''The Time of Murder at Mayerling'' (1996), set in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

1889, involving

Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (Rudolf Franz Karl Josef; 21 August 1858 – 30 January 1889) was the only son and third child of Franz Joseph I of Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. He was heir apparent to the imp ...

# ''In the Time of the Poisoned Queen'' (1998), set in England 1558, involving

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

;Canterbury Tales # ''An Ancient Evil'' (1994) # ''A Tapestry of Murders'' (1994) # ''A Tournament of Murders'' (1996) # ''Ghostly Murders'' (1997) # ''The Hangman's Hymn'' (2001) # ''A Haunt of Murder'' (2002) # ''The Midnight Man'' (2012) ;Mystery of Alexander the Great (writing as Anna Apostolou) :Set in 4th-century B.C.

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. # ''A Murder in Macedon'' (1997) # ''A Murder in Thebes'' (1998) ;The Egyptian Mysteries :Centered around the character of Amerokte, the chief judge of the temple of Ma'at, who becomes the investigator of conspiracies against the 15th-century BC Queen Hatusu. # ''The Mask of Ra'' (1998) # ''The

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

Killings'' (1999) # ''The

Anubis Anubis (; ), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (), is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine hea ...

Slayings'' (2000) # ''The Slayers of

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

'' (2001) # ''The Assassins of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

'' (2004) # ''The Poisoner of Ptah'' (2007) # ''The Spies of Sobeck'' (2008) ;Mahu (The Akhenaten-trilogy) :The ancient Egyptian noble Mahu recounts the events of the age of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

and his part in them and his relationships with other personages of the Amarna period. # ''An Evil Spirit Out of the West'' (2003) # ''The Season of the Hyaena'' (2005) # ''The Year of the Cobra'' (2005) ;Mathilde of Westminster series :Set during the reign of

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, featuring a lady in the service of his wife Queen Isabella # ''The Cup of Ghosts'' (2005) # ''The Poison Maiden'' (2007) # ''The Darkening Glass'' (2009) ;Political Intrigue in Ancient Rome *''Domina'' (2002), a fictionalized account of Agrippina, mother of Nero, A.D. 15–59. :Murder mysteries with investigator Claudia, a spy for both Helena, mother of

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

, and Sylvester, presbyter of Rome (later Pope Sylvester I), in A.D. 313 when Christianity is beginning to be established openly in Rome. *''Murder Imperial'' (2003) *''The Song of the Gladiator'' (2004) *''The Queen of the Night'' (2006) *''Murder's Immortal Mask'' (2008) ;Alexander the Great Mysteries *''The House of Death'' (2001) *''The Godless Man'' (2002) *''The Gates of Hell'' (2003) ;Templar * ''The Templar'' (2007) * ''The Templar Magician'' (2009) ;Margaret Beaufort Series * ''Dark Queen Rising'' (2018) * ''Dark Queen Waiting'' (2019) * ''Dark Queen Watching'' (2021) * ''Dark Queen Wary'' (2023) ;Other novels * ''The Death of a King: A Medieval Mystery'' (1985) * ''Prince Drakulya'' (1986) * ''The Fate of Princes'' (1990) * ''Dove Amongst the Hawks'' (1990) * ''The Masked Man'' (1991) * ''The Rose Demon'' (1997) * ''The Haunting'' (1997) * ''The Soul Slayer'' (1997) * ''The Love Knot'' (1999) (writing as Vanessa Alexander) * ''Of Love and War'' (2000) (writing as Vanessa Alexander) * ''The Loving Cup'' (2001) (writing as Vanessa Alexander) * ''The Plague Lord'' (2002) * ''The Last of Days'' (2013) * ''Roseblood ''(2014) ;Non-fiction *''The Mysterious Death of Tutankhamun'' (2003); *''Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II'' (2003); *''Alexander the Great, the Death of a God: what – or who – really killed the young conqueror of the known world?'' (2004); *''The Great Crown Jewel Robbery of 1303'' (2005); *''The Secret Life of Elizabeth I'' (2006); *''The Death of the Red King'' (2006);

References

External links