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 the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder). Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 1900s, many credit Ellis Peters's Cadfael Chronicles (1977-1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery. ...more

The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives
Daughter of Egypt
The Dreadfuls
A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell, #10)
Ruby Falls
The Star from Calcutta (Perveen Mistry, #5)
A Love Most Daring (Bow Street #3)
Heiress of Nowhere
The Harvey Girl
Who Killed The Earl of Moran? (Casebook of Barnaby Adair #13)
Never Spar with a Viscount (Secret Society of Governess Spies, #3)
The Fourth Princess
The Heir of Whitestone
Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin (Enola Holmes #10)
The Killing Time (Ali Dawson, #2)
The Last Secret of Lily Adams
The Murder at World's End (Stockingham & Pike, #1)
When the Wolves Are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr, #21)
The Sicilian Inheritance
Last Twilight in Paris
A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell, #10)
Land of Dreams
Homecoming
The Heir of Whitestone
Precipice
The Predicament
Grimm Curiosities
A Novel Disguise (A Lady Librarian Mystery #1)
The Missing Pages
The Star from Calcutta (Perveen Mistry, #5)
A Murderous Relation by Deanna RaybournRevenge at Ravenswick by Kelly  OliverA Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee HuberMurder on Cold Street by Sherry ThomasWho Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris
Historical Mystery 2020
141 books — 139 voters
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth PetersWhen Secrets Bloom by Patricia  FurstenbergBlameless by Gail CarrigerBreathe by Sara FujimuraThe Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
History, Adventure, Romance
148 books — 147 voters

What Angels Fear by C.S. HarrisSilent in the Grave by Deanna RaybournThe Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. KingThe Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan DoyleThe Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry
Victorian and Regency Mystery Novels
276 books — 170 voters
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha ChristieThe Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan DoyleAnd Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieIn the Lonely Hours by Shannon  MorganThe Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Stately Home mysteries
216 books — 108 voters

What Angels Fear (Sebastian St. Cyr, #1)
A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell, #1)
Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia Grey, #1)
Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1)
Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1)
The Anatomist's Wife (Lady Darby Mystery, #1)
And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily, #1)
A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock, #1)
Silent in the Sanctuary (Lady Julia Grey, #2)
Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death, #1)
Murder on Astor Place (Gaslight Mystery, #1)
Her Royal Spyness (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #1)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, #1)
Murder on Black Swan Lane (Wrexford & Sloane, #1)
When Gods Die (Sebastian St. Cyr, #2)

Related News

Time travelers, gather ’round!   If you’re in the market for a temporary reprieve from our current era of history—perfectly...
Deanna Raybourn
I have, at last, come to understand my role. It is not to discourage your exuberance or your audacity. How could I want to when those are the very qualities I admire most? If I have lectured or harangued in the past, it is because I am afraid. Every moment of every day I am afraid. Afraid of losing that which I have come to realize I cannot live without. But I do not want a small and stifled version of you. I want you- in all your intrepid and audacious glory. I want you just as you are, the en ...more
Deanna Raybourn, A Grave Robbery

Hugo Woolley
What do you mean, a goddess?” Alec questioned irritably. “She’s staggeringly beautiful, wonderful, a vision of …” He petered out when he saw Alec looking at him strangely. Father Joe stroked his beard in thought, nervously eyeing Alec and then casting his eyes to the fireplace. Alec was beginning to sense Father Joe was regretting coming to his flat. He was also thinking that he regretted having anything to do with the vicar. He was quite mad … possibly.
Hugo Woolley, The Wasp Trap

More quotes...
A page for those interested in discussing Sam Thomas's debut mystery THE MIDWIFE'S TALE…more
10 members, last active 12 years ago
PBS - Historical Fiction Divas and Dudes A branch of the PaperBackSwap Historical Fiction forum.
49 members, last active 9 years ago
...July 26, 2012 to August 25, 2012...
2 members, last active 13 years ago
History in Vogue Making Historical Fiction all the rage... A place for readers, writers, and lovers of all thing…more
221 members, last active 3 years ago

Tags

Tags contributing to this page include: historical-mystery and mystery-historical