Book
Review
of a
Historical
Novel

Students will read and review a historical novel or a historical mystery. They can chose a title from the bibliography on this web page. As an alternative, they can suggest a title to the professor for approval.  CAUTION: Stay away from Harlequin Romances!!!

The review will be 3-4 pages and contain the following sections:

1) A brief summary of the plot — one-half to three-quarters of a page.

2) A brief biographical sketch of the author — a 3-to-6 sentence paragraph. You can find most authors in Contemporary Authors.

3) An evaluation of the historical context and authenticity of the novel. What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting and story line accurate regarding the major events and historical personages? Does it reflect the spirit of the times? Does it contain anachronisms? What can someone learn about this historical period by reading the novel?

Mystery Novels
Set In Early Modern England

Sedley, Kate
Roger Chapman (or the Chapman) is a young man who has left the monastery to become a traveling salesman or chapman. In the first novel his occupation brings him in contact with some mysterious disappearances which he eventually proceeds to solve. The result is that he discovers that he possesses a talent for detection. The first novel takes place in 1471 right at the time Edward IV regained the throne of England and the convoluted politics of the final years of the Wars of the Roses will provide some of the background for this series. The stories are narrated from the perspective of an elderly Roger recalling his youthful adventures.
Death and the Chapman, 1991
The Plymouth Cloak, 1992
The Weaver's Tale, 1993
The Holy Innocents, 1994
The Eve of St. Hyacinth, 1995
The Wicked Winter, 1996
Brothers of Glastonbury, 1997
The Weaver's Inheritance, 1998
The Saint John's Fern, 1999
The Goldsmith's Daughter, 2001
Lammas Feast, 2002
Nine Men Dancing, 2003
The Midsummer Rose, 2004
The Burgundian's Tale, 2005.
The Prodigal Son, 2006.
The Three Kings of Cologne, 2007.
The Green Man, 2008.

Tudor England

Ashley, Mike
Anthology of short stories about historical mysteries with a Shakespearean connection.
Shakespearean Detectives, 1998

Buckley, Fiona
Set in the reign of Elizabeth I, the protagonist is a widow Ursula Blanchard living at the royal court.
To Shield the Queen, 1997
The Doublet Affair, 1998
Queen's Ransom, 2000
To Ruin a Queen, 2000
Queen of Ambition, 2002
A Pawn for a Queen, 2002
The Fugitive Queen, 2003
The Siren Queen, 2004

Burgess, Anthony
Yet another look at the life and death of Christopher Marlowe, this time by the author of A Clockwork Orange.
A Dead Man in Deptford, 1995

Chisholm, P. F.
Set in Carlisle on the Anglo-Scottish border in 1592, this novel concerns Sir Robert Carey, a new deputy warden of the Western March, efforts to preserve law and order in that turbulent region. In the first novel, Carey arrives just as Sweetmilk Graham, the son of a particularly unruly border lord, has been murdered. Meanwhile, horses are being stolen throughout the region indicating that a great raid is being planned by the outlaw lords. Carey's problem is to discover who killed Sweetmilk and so nip a blood-feud in the bud, thwart the raid if it is directed toward England, and meanwhile survive the machinations of his local rival Sir Richard Lowther. Historical details are accurate and the characters are nicely drawn and interesting.
A Famine of Horses, 1994
A Season of Knives, 1995
A Surfeit of Guns, 1996
A Plague of Angels, 2000

Clynes, Michael (Paul Harding)
This series is initially set about 1520 in the reign of Henry VIII during the time when Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was the chief minister of the King. Each of the novels are presented as the first person memoir of Roger Shallot, who is writing at the end of the sixteenth century. Shallot is anti-hero in the same mold as George McDonald Fraser's Flashman and fans of Flashman will enjoy this series. Shallot is a rogue, a thief, a womanizer, and a coward. He also is actually the servant and companion of Benjamin Daunbey, a nephew of Cardinal Wolsey. Daunbey is the brains and the conscience of the duo and generally rising above the greed, cruelty and viciousness that prevaded the Tudor political scene of that day, including the actions of his own uncle. Daunbey and Shallot form a sort of sixteenth-century Sherlock Holmes and Watson team. The novels are humorous and contain rich historical detail. The series will undoubtedly provide many alternative theories about who died, when, why, and at whose hand during these tumultous years in English history.
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

Collier, Iris
Set on the eve of the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII.
Day of Wrath, 2001

Cook, Judith
Mystery which uses Simon Forman, the Elizabethan doctor and proto-psychiatrist as the protagonist. Set in the 1590s.
Death of a Lady's Maid, 1997
Murder at the Rose, 1998
Blood on the Borders, 1999
Kill the Witch, 1999
School of the Night, 2000

Doherty, P. C. (Paul Harding)
One of the great historical mysteries concerned the deaths of the Princes in the Tower of London. These two boys were the sons and heirs of Edward IV. The question is whether they were killed by their uncle Richard III or the usurper Henry VII Tudor. Most historians lean toward Richard III as the murderer although Richard III also has his stout defenders. P.C. Doherty has written a novel about it.
The Fate of the Princes, 1991

Dukthas, Ann (aka, Paul Harding, P. C. Doherty)
This novel takes for its plot the mysterious murder of Henry Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary Queen of Scots, in February 1567. (See section on Multi-Period Series)
A Time for the Death of a King, 1994

Emerson, Kathy Lynn
Set in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the protagonist of this novel is Susanna Lady Appleton.
Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie, 1997
Face Down Upon an Herbal, 1998
Face Down Among the Winchester Geese, 1999
Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross, 2000
Face Down under the Wych Elm, 2000
Face Down before Rebel Hooves, 2001
Face Down Across the Western Sea, 2002

Gortner, C. W.
A foundling and servant of the Dudley family gets caught up in the intrigue surround the dying Edward VI and the plot to replace Mary and Elizabeth Tudor as the monarch of England with Lady Jane Gray. This novel promises to be the first of a series called The Spymaster Chronicles.
The Secret Lion, 2006

Harper, Karen
This series set in sixteenth century England has the young Elizabeth Tudor as the protagonist. The first novel begins with Elizabeth still a princess in 1558 and the object of plotting.
The Poyson Garden, 1999
The Tidal Poole, 2000
Twylight Tower, 2001
The Queene's Cure, 2002
The Thorne Maze, 2003
The Queene's Christmas, 2003
The Fyre Mirror, 2005
The Fatal Fashion, 2006
The Hooded Hawk, 2007

Kellerman, Faye
William Shakespeare becomes involves in the Lopez Plot of 1594 in which the Jewish royal physician is accused of trying to kill Queen Elizabeth.
The Quality of Mercy, 1989

Marston, Edward
Nicholas Bracewell is the hero of this series of novels set in later Elizabethan England. Bracewell works as the book-holder, a sort of director cum stage manager, for Lord Westfield's Company, a group of actors operating out of the Queen's Head tavern. The company of actors provides a host of interesting and strange characters to help complicate the plots of the various novels. The exact chronological setting is not stated but it is mentioned that Bracewell had some years earlier sailed with Sir Francis Drake on his famous circumnavigation of the world in 1577-1580 while the threat of the Spanish Armada is imminent in The Queen's Head. The stories are narrated in the third person.
The Queen's Head, 1988
The Merry Devils, 1989
The Trip to Jerusalem, 1990
The Nine Giants, 1991
The Mad Courtesan, 1993
The Silent Woman, 1994
The Roaring Boy, 1995
The Laughing Hangman,
The Fair Maid of Bohemia, 1997
The Wanton Angel, 1999
The Devil's Apprentice, 2001
The Bawdy Basket, 2002
Vagabond Clown, 2003
The Counterfeit Crank, 2004
The Malevolent Comedy, 2005

Nicholl, Charles
Quasi-fiction/non-fiction book which investigates the tragic and mysterious murder of Christopher Marlowe in 1593.
The Reckoning, 1993

Riley, Judith Merkle
Set in the reign of Henry VIII.
The Serpent Garden, 1997

Sansom, C. J.
Set in 1537 during the course of the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII.
Dissolution, 2003
Dark Fire, 2005
Sovereign, 2007
Revelation, 2008

Simon Hawke
This mystery pairs William Shakespeare with Symington Smythe, two young men interested in working in the world of the Elizabethan theatre in London. Good attention is paid to historical detail, particularly everyday life and social matters.
A Mystery of Errors, 2000
The Slaying of the Shrew, 2001
Much Ado about Murder, 2002
The Merchant of Vengeance, 2003

Tourney, Leonard
Series of novels set in the last years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, c. 1600. Matthew and Joan Stock are the husband and wife protagonists. Matthew is a clothier of Chelmsford and a constable. Both characters take an active role in solving the mysteries which range from local problems in Chelmsford to London and the county of Derby. Narrative is a third person omniscient observer.
The Players' Boy is Dead, 1980
Low Treason, 1983
Familiar Spirits, 1985
The Bartholomew Fair Murders, 1987
Old Saxon Blood, 1988
Knaves Templar,, 1991
Witness of Bones, 1992
Frobisher's Savage, 1994
Time's Fool, 2004

The Seventeenth Century

Begiebing, Robert J.
Set in Puritan New England, this dark mystery involves the murder of a young wife.
The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin, 1994

Brown, Molly
Set in Restoration London in 1676, the protagonist is the woman playwright Aphra Behn.
Invitation to a Funeral, 1998

Gentle, Mary
A spy thriller set in 1610 with a Frenchman, Valentin Rochefort, as the protagonist but the setting is the court of James I of England
A Sundial in a Grave: 1610, 2005

Gooden, Philip
Nick Revell is a young actor seeking work in the theatrical world of London during the last years of Elizabeth I and the early years of James I. Along the way he solves mysteries and foils plots.
Sleep of Death, 2000
Death of Kings, 2001
The Pale Companion, 2002
Alms for Oblivion, 2003
Mask of Night, 2004
An Honorable Murder, 2005

Gregory, Susanna
Set during the 1660s, the Restoration era, this series focuses on Thomas Chaloner, an investigator working during that time of change and uncertainty.
A Conspiracy of Violence, 2006
Blood on the Strand, 2007
The Butcher of Smithfield, 2008

Marston, Edward
Series set in 1660s in London. The protagonists are Christopher Redmayne, an architect, and Jonathan Bale, a constable.
The King's Evil, 1999
The Amorous Nightingale, 2000
The Repentant Rake, 2001
The Frost Fair, 2003
The Parliament House, 2006
The Painted Lady, 2007

Lawrence, Margaret
Series set in the town of Rufford, Maine during the colonial period of American history. The protagonist is a midwife named Hannah Trevor.
Hearts and Bones, 1996
Blood Red Roses, 1997
The Burning Bride, 1998

Lewis, Stephen
Set in the Colonial American town of Newberry, a midwife Catherine Williams and her Native American servant solve crimes.
The Dumb Shall Sing, 1999

Pears, Iain
Set in the 1660s in Oxford, this mystery involves the death of a fellow of New College and its solution which is told from four different points of view. Many historical figures appear in this novel.
An Instance of the Fingerpost, 1998

Stephen, Martin
Set in the early years of the reign of James I, this novel is a thriller about plots and assassinations focusing on the character Henry Gresham.
The Desperate Remedy: Henry Gresham and the Gunpowder Plot, 2002.