Editing Historical mystery

{{Short description|Literary subgenre}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Uncle Abner Master of Mysteries 1918.jpeg|thumb|Melville Davisson Post's ''[[Uncle Abner (character)|Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries]]'' collection (1918)]]
The '''historical mystery''' or '''historical whodunit''' is a subgenre of two [[literary genre]]s, [[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 20th century, many credit [[Ellis Peters]]'s ''[[The Cadfael Chronicles|Cadfael Chronicles]]'' (1977–1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery.<ref name="PW Picker 2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/43024-mysteries-of-history.html |title=Mysteries of History |first=Lenny |last=Picker |date=3 March 2010 |access-date=13 November 2013 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |archive-date=14 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314163021/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/43024-mysteries-of-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WSJ 2010">{{cite web |url=http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704804204575069371115999474?mobile=y |title=Five Best Historical Mystery Novels |first=David B. |last=Rivkin Jr. |date=27 February 2010 |access-date=17 November 2013 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204114320/http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704804204575069371115999474?mobile=y |archive-date=4 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="WSJ 2010"/><ref name="WS">{{cite web |url=http://www.writersstore.com/the-mystery-defined/ |title=The Mystery Defined |publisher=Writers Store |first=Guy |last=Magar |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-date=18 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118053315/http://www.writersstore.com/the-mystery-defined/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PPL">{{cite web |url=http://www.provlib.org/node/505 |title=A Guide for Historical Fiction Lovers |publisher=[[Providence Public Library]] |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235252/http://www.provlib.org/node/505 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Akron">{{cite web |url=http://ascplpop.akronlibrary.org/favorite-fiction-booklists/mysteries/ |title=Popular Culture: Mysteries |publisher=[[Akron-Summit County Public Library]] |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-date=7 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607155739/http://ascplpop.akronlibrary.org/favorite-fiction-booklists/mysteries/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[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."<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> 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 [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' bestseller list]]."<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>

Since 1999, the British [[Crime Writers' Association]] has awarded the [[CWA Historical Dagger]] award to novels in the genre.<ref name="CWA Dagger">{{cite web |url=http://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/winners-archive/?awardsyear=0&dagger=historical&accolade=winner |title=The Dagger Awards winners archive |publisher=[[Crime Writers' Association]] |access-date=30 September 2015 |archive-date=25 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125143829/https://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/winners-archive?awardsyear=0&dagger=historical&accolade=winner |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Left Coast Crime]] conference has presented its Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery award (for mysteries set prior to 1950) since 2004.<ref name="Alexander">{{cite web|url=http://awards.omnimystery.com/mystery-awards-bruce-alexander.html#.UomqbpFU10g|title=The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award|website=Awards.OmniMystery.com|publisher=Left Coast Crime conference|access-date=18 November 2013|archive-date=23 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923205524/http://awards.omnimystery.com/mystery-awards-bruce-alexander.html#.UomqbpFU10g|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Origins==
Though the term "whodunit" was coined sometime in the early 1930s,<ref name=1946wolfe>{{cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Wolfe|title=Bits of Literary Slang|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gRoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NCUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3821%2C4432702|access-date=27 April 2013|newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]]|date=10 June 1946|archive-date=21 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421194734/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gRoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NCUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3821%2C4432702|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=1985words>{{cite news|last=Morris|first=William & Mary|title=Words... Wit... Wisdom|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oj9PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5656%2C3661243|access-date=27 April 2013|newspaper=[[Toledo Blade]]|date=3 June 1985|archive-date=21 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421194735/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oj9PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zAIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5656%2C3661243|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |title=U's Whodunit: Universal is shooting 'Recipe for Murder,' Arnold Ridley's play |date=28 August 1934 |url=http://www.varietyultimate.com/search?search=whodunit&searchType=&startYear=1906&endYear=2013&searchDate=8%2F28%2F1934 |page=19 |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=21 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421194736/http://www.varietyultimate.com/search?search=whodunit&searchType=&startYear=1906&endYear=2013&searchDate=8%2F28%2F1934 |url-status=live }}</ref> it has been argued that the detective story itself has its origins as early as the 429 BC [[Sophocles]] play ''[[Oedipus Rex]]''<ref>{{cite book|last=Scaggs|first=John|title=Crime Fiction (The New Critical Idiom)|year=2005|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0415318259|pages=9–11}}</ref> and the 10th century tale "[[The Three Apples]]" from ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'' (''Arabian Nights'').<ref>{{cite book |title=Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights|first=David|last=Pinault|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=1992|isbn=90-04-09530-6|pages=86–97}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Arabian Nights Reader|first=Ulrich|last=Marzolph|publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=0-8143-3259-5|pages=239–246}}</ref> During [[China]]'s [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644), ''[[gong'an fiction|gong'an]]'' ("crime-case") folk novels were written in which government [[magistrate]]s—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]]s. [[Robert van Gulik]] came across the 18th century anonymously written Chinese manuscript ''[[Di Gong An]]'', 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]]''. He subsequently wrote his own [[Judge Dee stories]] (1951–1968) in the same style and time period.<ref name="WSJ 2010"/><ref name="Dee Herbert">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Rosemary |year=1999 |title=The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-507239-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195072396/page/38 38–39] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195072396/page/38 }}</ref><ref name="Dee Hegel">{{cite book|last=Hegel|first=Robert|title=Reading Illustrated Fiction in Late Imperial China|year=1998|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8047-3002-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/readingillustrat00hege/page/32 32–33]|url=https://archive.org/details/readingillustrat00hege/page/32}}</ref>

Perhaps the first modern English work that can be classified as both historical fiction and a mystery however is the 1911 [[Melville Davisson Post]] story "The Angel of the Lord", which features amateur detective [[Uncle Abner]] in pre-[[American Civil War]] [[West Virginia]].<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/><ref name="Abner">{{cite news |title=America's Greatest Mystery Writer |url=http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2007/05/americas-greatest-mystery-writ |first=Joseph |last=Bottum |author-link=Joseph Bottum (author) |date=1 May 2007 |access-date=13 November 2013 |work=[[First Things]] |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113091600/http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2007/05/americas-greatest-mystery-writ |url-status=live }}</ref> Barry Zeman of the [[Mystery Writers of America]] calls the Uncle Abner short stories "the starting point for true historical mysteries."<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> 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.<ref name="Abner"/> It was not until 1943 that American mystery writer [[Lillian de la Torre]] did something similar in the story "The Great Seal of England", casting 18th century literary figures [[Samuel Johnson]] and [[James Boswell]] into [[Sherlock Holmes]] and [[Dr. Watson]] roles in what would become the first of her ''Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector'' series of stories.<ref name="DLT obit">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/19/obituaries/lillian-de-la-torre-91-an-author-of-mysteries-from-british-history.html |title=Obituary: Lillian de la Torre, 91, an Author of Mysteries From British History |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=23 January 2013 |date=19 September 1993 |first=Bruce |last=Lambert |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123014636/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/19/obituaries/lillian-de-la-torre-91-an-author-of-mysteries-from-british-history.html }}</ref><ref name="DLT bio">{{cite web |url=http://www.enotes.com/topics/lillian-de-la-torre |title=Lillian de la Torre Biography (''Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction'', Revised Edition) |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=9 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409131328/http://www.enotes.com/topics/lillian-de-la-torre |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Carr">{{cite web |url=http://www.historicalnovels.info/Bride-of-Newgate.html |title=''The Bride of Newgate'' by John Dickson Carr |first=Margaret |last=Donsbach |website=HistoricalNovels.info |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=25 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125143557/http://www.historicalnovels.info/Bride-of-Newgate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1944, [[Agatha Christie]] published ''[[Death Comes as the End]]'', a mystery novel set in ancient [[Egypt]] and the first full-length historical whodunit.<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/><ref name="Carr"/><ref name="Christie">{{cite web |url=http://www.historicalnovels.info/Death-Comes-as-the-End.html |title=''Death Comes as the End'' by Agatha Christie |first=Margaret |last=Donsbach |website=HistoricalNovels.info |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=25 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125143728/http://www.historicalnovels.info/Death-Comes-as-the-End.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PBS">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/christie.html |title=Biography: Agatha Christie |publisher=[[PBS]] |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=15 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115120530/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/christie.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1950, [[John Dickson Carr]] published the second full-length historical mystery novel called ''[[The Bride of Newgate]]'', set at the close of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref name="Carr"/>

==Popularization==
In 1970, [[Peter Lovesey]] began a series of novels featuring [[Sergeant Cribb]], a [[Victorian era|Victorian]]-era police detective, and [[Elizabeth Peters]]'s [[Amelia Peabody series]] (1975–2010) followed the adventures of the titular Victorian lady/[[archaeologist]] as she solved mysteries surrounding her excavations in early 20th century [[Egypt]].<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> But historical mystery stories remained an oddity until the late 1970s, with the success of [[Ellis Peters]] and her ''[[The Cadfael Chronicles|Cadfael Chronicles]]'' (1977–1994), featuring [[Benedictine monk]] [[Cadfael|Brother Cadfael]] and set in 12th century [[Shrewsbury]].<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/><ref name="WSJ 2010"/><ref name="Cadfael">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/16/obituaries/edith-pargeter-82-author-of-mysteries.html |title=Obituaries: Edith Pargeter, 82; Author of Mysteries |date=16 October 1995 |archive-date=14 November 2013 |access-date=14 November 2013 |work=The New York Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114185312/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/16/obituaries/edith-pargeter-82-author-of-mysteries.html }}</ref> [[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 (fictional character)|Thomas Pitt]] (1979–2013) and [[William Monk]] (1990–2013). However it was not until about 1990 that the genre's popularity expanded significantly with works such as [[Lindsey Davis]]'s [[Marcus Didius Falco|Falco]] and Flavia Albia novels (1989–2022), set in the [[Roman Empire]] of [[Vespasian]];<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/><ref name="WSJ 2010"/> [[John Maddox Roberts]]'s [[SPQR series|''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;<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> and [[Paul C. Doherty|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 (writer)|Mike Ashley]]'s''The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives'' (1995), [[F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre]] wrote "Death in the Dawntime", a [[locked room mystery]] (or rather, sealed cave mystery) set in [[Australia]] around 35,000 BC, which Ashley suggests is the furthest in the past a historical mystery has been set to date.<ref name="MacIntyre ">{{cite book| last = Ashley| first = Mike| author-link = Mike Ashley (writer)| title = The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives| publisher = Robinson Publishing| year = 1995| location = London| page = 3| isbn =1-85487-406-3 }}</ref> [[Diana Gabaldon]] began the [[Lord John series|''Lord John'' series]] in 1998, casting a recurring secondary character from her [[Outlander (book series)|''Outlander'' series]], [[Lord John Grey (character)|Lord John Grey]], as a nobleman-military officer-amateur detective in 18th century [[England]].<ref name="LJ note">Lord John first appears in Gabaldon's ''[[Dragonfly in Amber]]'' (1992), but the 1998 novella ''[[Lord John and the Hellfire Club]]'' is the character's first appearance as a detective.</ref><ref name="Gabaldon Grey">{{cite news|url=http://www.dianagabaldon.com/books/lord-john-grey/ |title=Official site: Lord John Grey Series |website=DianaGabaldon.com |archive-date=12 October 2013 |access-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012004959/http://www.dianagabaldon.com/books/lord-john-grey/ }}</ref><ref name="EW Devils">{{cite news |last=Reese |first=Jennifer |title=Book Review: ''Lord John and the Hand of Devils'' (2007) |work=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/11/27/lord-john-and-hand-devils/ |date=27 November 2007 |access-date=30 October 2013 |archive-date=11 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011020739/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20162421,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Using the pen name Ariana Franklin, [[Diana Norman]] wrote four ''[[Mistress of the Art of Death]]'' novels between 2007 and 2010, featuring 12th-century English medical examiner [[Adelia Aguilar]].<ref name="Norman obit">{{cite news |first=Laura |last=Wilson |author-link=Laura Wilson (writer) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/04/diana-norman-obituary |title=Diana Norman obituary |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=4 February 2011 |access-date=14 November 2013 |archive-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701185721/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/04/diana-norman-obituary |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[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."<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> 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 [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' bestseller list]]."<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>

==Awards==
In 1999, the British [[Crime Writers' Association]] awarded the first [[CWA Historical Dagger]] award to a novel in the genre.<ref name="CWA Dagger"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://endeavourpress.com/endeavour-press-sponsors-the-cwa-historical-dagger-award/ |title=Endeavour Press sponsors the CWA Historical Dagger Award |publisher=Endeavour Press |access-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001060316/http://endeavourpress.com/endeavour-press-sponsors-the-cwa-historical-dagger-award/ |archive-date=1 October 2015 }}</ref> The [[Left Coast Crime]] conference has presented its Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery award (for mysteries set prior to 1950) since 2004.<ref name="Alexander"/>

==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]] and the [[Princes in the Tower]].<ref name="Tey">{{cite web|url=http://www.r3.org/fiction/mysteries/tey_butler.html |title=The Mystery of Josephine Tey |first=Pamela J. |last=Butler |website=R3.org |publisher=Richard III Society |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-date=15 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415014029/http://www.r3.org/fiction/mysteries/tey_butler.html }}</ref> [[Georgette Heyer]]'s ''[[The Talisman Ring]]'' (1936), set in 1793 England, is a [[Regency romance]] with elements of mystery that [[Jane Aiken Hodge]] called "very nearly a detective story in period costume".<ref name="Hodge">{{cite book |first=Jane Aiken |last=Hodge |author-link=Jane Aiken Hodge |title=The Private World of Georgette Heyer |publisher=[[Arrow Books]] |orig-year=1st pub. 1984 |year=2004 |edition=Reprint |page=40}}</ref> Many of Heyer's other historical romances have [[thriller (genre)|thriller]] elements but to a much lesser extent.<ref name="Hodge"/>

Other variations include mystery novels set in [[alternate history]] timelines or even [[List of fictional science fiction and fantasy detectives|fantasy]] worlds. These would include ''[[The Ultimate Solution]]'' (1973) by [[Eric Norden]] and ''[[Fatherland (novel)|Fatherland]]'' (1992) by [[Robert Harris (novelist)|Robert Harris]], both being [[police procedural]]s set in alternate timelines where the [[Axis victory in World War II|Nazis won World War II]]; [[Randall Garrett]]'s [[Lord Darcy (character)|Lord Darcy]] series, taking place in a 20th-century in which magic is possible; and [[Phyllis Ann Karr]]'s ''[[The Idylls of the Queen]]'' (1982), set in [[King Arthur]]'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]]'s canonical [[Sherlock Holmes]] works set in [[Victorian era|Victorian England]], or the [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] books by [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] set in the [[Interwar period]]. However, subsequent Holmes and Wimsey books written by other authors decades later could arguably be classified as historical mysteries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/books/review/22NICHOLSON.html?_r=0 |title=''The Italian Secretary'': The Kaiser Is a Suspect |date=22 May 2005 |first=Geoff |last=Nicholson |access-date=13 November 2013 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207201345/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/books/review/22NICHOLSON.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/30/fiction.arthurconandoyle |title=Holmes's ghost |date=29 July 2005 |first=Colin |last=Greenland |access-date=13 November 2013 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=13 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113134827/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jul/30/fiction.arthurconandoyle }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/200177/Review-The-Attenbury-Emeralds-by-Jill-Paton-Walsh |title=Review: ''The Attenbury Emeralds'' by Jill Paton Walsh |date=17 September 2010 |first=Barry |last=Forshaw |access-date=13 November 2013 |work=[[Daily Express]] |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112755/http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/200177/Review-The-Attenbury-Emeralds-by-Jill-Paton-Walsh |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://us.macmillan.com/theattenburyemeralds/JillWalsh |title=''The Attenbury Emeralds'' |access-date=13 November 2013 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]] |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112801/http://us.macmillan.com/theattenburyemeralds/JillWalsh |url-status=live }}</ref>

==List of fictional historical detectives==
<!-- This section is the redirect destination of [[List of fictional historical detectives]] after a merge of that list into this article.-->
The following list consists of fictional historical detectives in chronological order of their time period setting:

{| class="sortable wikitable"
! style="background:#ccc; width:20%;"| Detective                      || style="background:#ccc; width:10%;"| Setting                         || style="background:#ccc; width:10%;"| Period                || style="background:#ccc; width:20%;"| Creator                      || style="background:#ccc; width:20%;"| Debut Title                           || style="background:#ccc; width:10%;"| Debut Year
|-
|[[Lieutenant Bak]]             || [[Ancient Egypt]]               ||data-sort-value="-1500"| 15th century BCE             || [[Lauren Haney]]             || ''[[The Right Hand of Amon]]''        || 1997
|-
|[[Amerokte]]                   || Ancient Egypt                   ||data-sort-value="-1500"| 15th century BCE             || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]]    || ''[[The Mask of Ra]]''         || 1998
|-
|[[Lord Meren]]<ref name="WSJ 2010"/>  || Ancient Egypt            || data-sort-value="-1400"|14th century BCE             || [[Lynda S. Robinson]]        || ''[[Murder in the Place of Anubis]]'' || 1994
|-
|[[Rahotep (character)|Rahotep]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> || Ancient Egypt || data-sort-value="-1400"|14th century BCE  || [[Nick Drake (poet)|Nick Drake]] || ''[[Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead]]'' || 2006
|-
|[[Heracles Pontor]]            || [[Classical Athens]]            || data-sort-value="-450"|Late 5th century BCE         || [[José Carlos Somoza]]       || ''[[The Athenian Murders]]''          || 2000
|-
|[[Nicolaos (Corby character)|Nicolaos]]    || Classical Athens    || data-sort-value="-500"|5th century BCE              || [[Gary Corby]]               || ''[[The Pericles Commission]]''       || 2010
|-
|[[Aristotle]]            || [[Classical Athens]]            || data-sort-value="-450"|4th century BCE         || [[Margaret Doody]]       || ''[[Margaret Doody#The Aristotle series|Aristotle Detective]]''          || 1978
|-
|[[Alexander the Great]]        || [[Ancient Greece]]              || data-sort-value="-400"|4th century BCE              || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]] || ''[[A Murder in Macedon]]''       || 1997
|-
|Senator Decius Metellus || [[Roman Republic]] ||data-sort-value="-99"| 1st century BCE              || [[John Maddox Roberts]]      ||''[[SPQR series|SPQR]]''               || 1990<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>
|-
|[[Gordianus the Finder]]       || Roman Republic              || data-sort-value="-99"|1st century BCE              || [[Steven Saylor]]            || ''[[Roman Blood]]''                   || 1991<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>
|-
|Marcus Corvinus || [[Rome]] || data-sort-value="19"|1st century CE  || David Wishart      || ''Ovid''                              || 1995
|-
|[[Marcus Didius Falco]]        || [[Roman Empire]]                || data-sort-value="70"|70 to 77 CE                  || [[Lindsey Davis]]            || ''[[The Silver Pigs]]''               || 1989<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/><ref name="WSJ 2010"/>
|-
|[[The Roman Mysteries|Flavia Gemina]] || Roman Empire || data-sort-value="79"|79 to 81 CE || [[Caroline Lawrence]] || ''[[The Thieves of Ostia]]''               || 2001
|-
|[[Flavia Albia]]        || [[Roman Empire]]                || data-sort-value="89"|89 CE                  || [[Lindsey Davis]]            || ''[[The Ides of April]]''               || 2013
|-
|Gaius Petreius Ruso     || Roman Empire   || data-sort-value="150"| 2nd century CE || [[Ruth Downie]]   || ''Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls'' (U.S. title: ''Medicus'')        || 2006
|-
|[[Libertus (character)|Libertus]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>     || Roman Empire   || data-sort-value="150"| Late 2nd century CE || [[Rosemary Rowe]]   || ''[[The Germanicus Mosaic]]''         || 1999
|-
|[[John, the Lord Chamberlain]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> || [[Constantinople]]  || data-sort-value="500"|6th century  || [[Mary Reed (writer)|Mary Reed]]/[[Eric Mayer]] || ''[[One for Sorrow (1999 novel)|One for Sorrow]]''  || 1999<ref name="PW One4Sorrow">{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-890208-19-6 |title=Fiction Book Review: ''One for Sorrow'' |date=15 November 1999 |access-date=20 November 2013 |work=Publishers Weekly |archive-date=2 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200358/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-890208-19-6 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[Judge Dee]]                  || [[China]]                       || data-sort-value="600"|7th century                  || [[Robert van Gulik]]         || ''[[Di Gong An]]''                    || 1949<ref name="Dee Herbert"/><ref name="Dee Hegel"/>
|-
|[[Li Kao]]                     || China                           || data-sort-value="600"|7th century                  || [[Barry Hughart]]            || ''[[Bridge of Birds]]''               || 1984
|-
|[[Sister Fidelma]]             || [[Ireland]]                     || data-sort-value="600"|7th century                  || [[Peter Tremayne]]           || ''[[Absolution by Murder]]''          || 1994
|-
|Father George                  || [[Byzantine Empire]]            || data-sort-value="700"|8th century                  || [[Harry Turtledove]]         || ''Farmers' Law''                      || 2000
|-
|[[Sugawara Akitada]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>  || [[Japan]]    || data-sort-value="1000"|11th century                 || [[I. J. Parker]]             || ''[[Instruments of Murder]]''           || 1997
|-
|[[Lassair]]                    || [[England]]                     ||data-sort-value="1000"|11th century                 || [[Alys Clare]]               || ''[[Out of the Dawn Light]]''         || 2009
|-
|[[Cadfael|Brother Cadfael]]    || [[Wales]] and England           ||data-sort-value="1120"| 1120, 1137–1145              || [[Ellis Peters]]             || ''[[A Morbid Taste for Bones]]''      || 1977<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/><ref name="WSJ 2010"/><ref name="Cadfael"/>
|-
|Justin de Quincy               || England                         || data-sort-value="1100"|12th century                 || [[Sharon Kay Penman]]        || ''[[The Queen's Man]]''               || 1996
|-
|[[Josse d'Acquin]]/[[Abbess of Hawkenlye]]      || England        ||data-sort-value="1100"| 12th century                 || [[Alys Clare]]               || ''[[Fortune Like the Moon]]''         || 1999
|-
|Magdalene la a Bâtarde         || [[London]]                      ||data-sort-value="1100"| 12th century                 || [[Roberta Gellis]]           || ''A Mortal Bane''                     || 1999
|-
|[[Adelia Aguilar]]             || England                         || data-sort-value="1100"|12th century                 || [[Ariana Franklin]]          || ''[[Mistress of the Art of Death]]''  || 2007<ref name="Norman obit"/>
|-
|[[Hugh Corbett]]               || England                         ||data-sort-value="1200"| 13th century                 || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]]  || ''[[Satan in St Mary's]]''       || 1986
|-
|Theophilos (Feste)             || [[Illyria]], Constantinople,<br> [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Denmark]], etc.  ||data-sort-value="1200"| 13th century || [[Alan Gordon (author)|Alan Gordon]]  || ''Thirteenth Night'' || 1999
|-
|Edwin Weaver                   || England                         ||data-sort-value="1200"|  13th century                 || [[Catherine Hanley]]         || ''The Sins of the Father''            || 2009
|-
|Oldřich of Chlum               || [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]]     ||data-sort-value="1200"|  13th century                 || [[Vlastimil Vondruška]] || ''Dýka s hadem'' (''Dagger with a snake'') || 2002
|-
|[[William of Baskerville|Brother William of Baskerville]]  || [[Italy]]  || 1327                  || [[Umberto Eco]]              || ''[[The Name of the Rose]]''          || 1980
|-
| Baldwin de Furnshill          || Devon                           || data-sort-value="1300"| 14th century                 || [[Michael Jecks]]            || ''The Last Templar''                  || 1995
|-
|[[Matthew Bartholomew (character)|Matthew Bartholomew]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> || England  ||data-sort-value="1300"| 14th century || [[Susanna Gregory]]  || ''[[A Plague on Both Your Houses]]'' || 1996
|-
|[[Mathilde of Westminster]]    || England                         || data-sort-value="1300"|14th century                 || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]] || ''The Cup of Ghosts''             || 2005
|-
|[[Brother Athelstan]]          || London                          ||data-sort-value="1350"| Late 14th century            || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]] || ''[[The Nightingale Gallery]]''   || 1991
|-
|[[Owen Archer]]                || York                            || data-sort-value="1350"|Late 14th century            || [[Candace Robb]]             || ''[[The Apothecary Rose]] ''          || 1993
|-
|[[Melchior Wakenstede]]          || [[Estonia]]                      || data-sort-value="1400"|Early 15th century                 || [[Indrek Hargla]]              || ''Apothecary Melchior and the Mystery of St Olaf's Church''         || 2010
|-
|[[Roger the Chapman]]          || England                         || data-sort-value="1400"|15th century                 || [[Kate Sedley]]              || ''[[Death and the Chapman]]''         || 1991
|-
|Dame Frevisse<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>   || [[Oxfordshire]]    || data-sort-value="1400"|15th century                 || [[Margaret Frazer]]          || ''The Novice's Tale''                 || 1992
|-
|[[Kathryn Swinbrooke]]         || England                         ||data-sort-value="1400"| 15th century                 || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]] || ''[[A Shrine of Murders]]''       || 1993
|-
|Acatl, High Priest of Mictlantecuhtli ||[[Tenochtitlan]]          ||1480                || [[Aliette de Bodard]] || ''Obsidian Shards'' (novella)      || 2007
|-
|Cesare Aldo              || [[Florence |Florence, Italy]]       || data-sort-value="1500"|1536                 || [[David Bishop (writer)|D.V. bishop]] || ''City of Vengeance''    || 2021
|-
|Sigismondo              || [[Italian Renaissance]]       || data-sort-value="1500"|15th century                 || [[Elizabeth Eyre]] || ''Death of the Duchess''    || 1991
|-
|[[Roger Shallot|Sir Roger Shallot]]              || England       || data-sort-value="1500"|16th century                 || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]] || ''[[The White Rose Murders]]''    || 1991
|-
|[[Nicholas Segalla]]           || {{unbulleted list| England | [[Edinburgh]] | [[France]] | [[Vienna]]}} || data-sort-value="1558"| {{unbulleted list| 1558 | 1567 | 1793 | 1889}} || [[Paul C. Doherty|Paul Doherty]] ||''[[A Time for the Death of a King]]'' || 1994
|-
|[[Matthew Shardlake]] || London ||data-sort-value="1500"| 16th century || [[C. J. Sansom]] || ''[[Dissolution (Sansom novel)|Dissolution]]'' || 2003
|-
|[[Bianca Goddard]] || London ||data-sort-value="1500"| 16th century || [[Mary Lawrence (writer)|Mary Lawrence]] || ''[[The Alchemist's Daughter (Lawrence novel)|The Alchemist's Daughter]]'' || 2015
|-
|Giordano Bruno || London || data-sort-value="1500"|16th century || [[Stephanie Merritt|S. J. Parris]] || ''Heresy'' || 2010
|-
|[[Patricia Finney|Sir Robert Carey]]  || Carlisle, then London    || data-sort-value="1550"|Late 16th century            || [[Patricia Finney|Patricia Finney (writing as P F Chisholm)]]   || ''[[Patricia Finney|A Famine of Horses]]''   || 1994
|-
|[[Sano Ichirō]]<ref name="WSJ 2010"/> || [[Genroku]]-era Japan    || data-sort-value="1600"| 17th century                || [[Laura Joh Rowland]]        || ''[[Shinjū (novel)|Shinjū]]''         || 1994
|-
|[[Thomas Chaloner (character)|Thomas Chaloner]]  || England       || data-sort-value="1600"|17th century                 || [[Susanna Gregory]]          || ''[[A Conspiracy of Violence]]''      || 2006
|-
|Benjamin Weaver    || England                                 || 1720                                                ||[[David Liss]]                || ''[[A Conspiracy of Paper]]''             || 2000
|-
|[[Thomas af Boueberg]] || Denmark-Norway                          || data-sort-value="1700"| Early 18th century          || [[Kurt Aust]]                || ''Vredens dag (The Day of Wrath)''    || 1999
|-
|[[Canaletto (character)|Canaletto]]              || England       || data-sort-value="1700"| 18th century                || [[Janet Laurence]]           || ''Canaletto and the Case of Westminster Bridge'' || 1997
|-
|[[John Fielding]]      || England                                 ||data-sort-value="1700"|  18th century                || [[Bruce Alexander Cook]]     || '' [[Blind Justice (novel)|Blind Justice]]'' || 1994
|-
|[[Lord John Grey (character)|Lord John Grey]] || England, [[Prussia]],<br>[[Scotland]] and [[Jamaica]] || 1756–1761 || [[Diana Gabaldon]] || ''[[Lord John and the Hellfire Club]]'' || 1998<ref name="LJ note"/><ref name="Gabaldon Grey"/><ref name="EW Devils"/>
|-
|[[Samuel Johnson]]/[[James Boswell]]   || England                 || data-sort-value="1700"| 18th century                 || [[Lillian de la Torre]]      || ''[[The Great Seal of England]]''       || 1943<ref name="DLT obit"/><ref name="DLT bio"/>
|-
|[[Dick Darwent]]               || England                         || 1815                  || [[John Dickson Carr]]        || ''[[The Bride of Newgate]]''          || 1950<ref name="Carr"/>
|-
|[[Matthew Hawkwood]]           || England                         ||data-sort-value="1700"|  18th century                 || [[James McGee (author)|James McGee]]       || ''[[Trigger Men]]''     || 1985
|-
|[[Sergeant Cribb (character)|Sergeant Cribb]]      || England     ||data-sort-value="1800"|  19th century          || [[Peter Lovesey]]            || ''[[Wobble to Death]]''               || 1970
|-
|[[Thomas Pitt (fictional character)|Thomas Pitt]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>  || England  || data-sort-value="1800"|19th century  || [[Anne Perry]] || ''[[The Cater Street Hangman]]''   || 1979
|-
|[[William Monk]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/> || England           || data-sort-value="1800"|19th century          || [[Anne Perry]]                  || ''[[The Face of a Stranger]]''     || 1990
|-
|[[Mrs. Jeffries]]              || England                         ||data-sort-value="1800"| 19th century          || [[Emily Brightwell]]         || ''[[The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries]]''    || 1993
|-
|[[Hanno Stiffeniis]]              || Prussia                       ||data-sort-value="1800"| Early 19th century          || [[Michael Gregorio]]         || ''[[Critique of Criminal Reason]]''    || 2006
|-
|[[Edmund Blackstone]]          || England                         || 1820s                 || [[Richard Falkirk]]          || ''[[Blackstone (novel)|Blackstone]]'' || 1972
|-
|[[Benjamin January]]           || [[New Orleans]]                 || 1833                  || [[Barbara Hambly]]           || ''[[A Free Man of Color (Hambly novel)|A Free Man of Color]]'' || 1997
|-
|[[Yashim the Eunuch]]          || [[Ottoman Empire]]              || 1836                  || [[Jason Goodwin]]            || ''[[The Janissary Tree]]''            || 2006
|-
|[[Uncle Abner]]                || [[West Virginia]]               || data-sort-value="1850"|Mid-19th century      || [[Melville Davisson Post]]     || ''[[The Angel of the Lord]]''           || 1911<ref name="Abner"/>
|-
|The Dante Club                || [[Boston]]                     || 1865                 || [[Matthew Pearl]]         || ''[[The Dante Club]]''   || 2003
|-
|[[Erast Fandorin]]             || Russia, Japan, etc.             || 1876–1914             || [[Boris Akunin]]             || ''[[The Winter Queen (novel)|The Winter Queen]]''   || 1998
|-
|[[Ambrose Bierce (character)|Ambrose Bierce]] || [[San Francisco]] || data-sort-value="1860"|Late 19th century    || [[Oakley Hall]]              || ''Ambrose Bierce and the Queen of Spades''          || 1998
|-
|William Murdoch                || [[Toronto]]                     || 1890s                 || [[Maureen Jennings]]         || ''[[Except the Dying (novel)|Except the Dying]]''   || 1997
|-
|Laszlo Kreisler                || [[New York City|New York]]                     || 1896-97                 || [[Caleb Carr]]         || ''[[The Alienist]]''   || 1994
|-
|[[Sister Pelagia]]             || Russia                          || 1890s / Early 20th century  || [[Boris Akunin]]      || ''Pelagia and the White Bulldog''     || 2000 (Russian)<br>2006 (English)
|-
|[[Amelia Peabody]]<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>     || [[Egypt]]   || 1884–1923             || [[Elizabeth Peters]]         || ''[[Crocodile on the Sandbank]]''     || 1975
|-
|[[Alexander von Reisden]]      || [[Boston]]                      || data-sort-value="1900"|Early 20th century    || [[Sarah Smith (writer)|Sarah Smith]]    || ''[[The Vanished Child]]'' || 1992
|-
|Max Liebermann and Oskar Reinhardt      || [[Vienna]]                      || data-sort-value="1900"|Early 20th century    || [[Frank Tallis]]    || ''Mortal Mischief (A Death in Vienna)''|| 2005
|-
|[[Simon Ziele]]                || [[New York City]]               || data-sort-value="1900"|Early 20th century    || [[Stefanie Pintoff]]         || ''[[In the Shadow of Gotham]]''       || 2009
|-
|[[Mary Russell (character)|Mary Russell]]  || Worldwide           ||data-sort-value="1900"| Early 20th century    || [[Laurie R. King]]           || ''[[The Beekeeper's Apprentice]]''    || 1994
|-
|[[Isaac Bell (character)|Isaac Bell]]      || Worldwide           ||data-sort-value="1900"| Early 20th century    || [[Clive Cussler]]            || ''[[The Chase (Cussler novel)|The Chase]]''    || 1994
|-
|[[Joe Sandilands]]             || [[Colonial India]], [[Europe]]  || 1920s/1930s           || [[Barbara Cleverly]]         || ''[[The Last Kashmiri Rose]]''        || 2007
|-
|Sam Wyndham and Surendranath Bannerjee             || [[Calcutta]], [[British Raj]]  || 1920s           || [[Abir Mukherjee]]         || ''A Rising Man''        || 2016
|-
|[[Maisie Dobbs]] ||England ||1929-1942 ||[[Jacqueline Winspear]] ||''[[Maisie Dobbs]]'' ||2003
|-
|Gereon Rath  || [[Berlin]]  || 1920s/1930s           || [[Volker Kutscher]]         || ''[[Babylon Berlin]]'' ''(Der nasse fisch)'' || 2008
|-
|Bernie Günther<ref name="PW Picker 2010"/>  || [[Berlin]]         || 1934–1954             || [[Philip Kerr]]              || ''[[March Violets]]''                 || 1989
|-
|[[Laetitia Talbot]]            || [[Crete]], [[Burgundy]], [[Athens]] || 1920s             || [[Barbara Cleverly]]         || ''[[The Tomb of Zeus]]''              || 2007
|-
|[[Phryne Fisher]]              || [[Melbourne]]                   || 1920s                 || [[Kerry Greenwood]]          || ''[[Cocaine Blues (novel)|Cocaine Blues]]'' || 1989
|-
|Professor John Stableford      || England                         || 1930s                 || [[:de:Rob Reef|Rob Reef]]             ||  ''Stableford on Golf''               || 2013
|-
|Lady Georgiana                 || England/Scotland                || 1930s                 || [[Rhys Bowen]]               || ''Her Royal Spyness''                 || 2007
|-
|Alexei Korolev                 || Moscow                          || 1936                  || William Ryan                 || ''The Holy Thief''                 || 2010
|-
|Toby Peters             || Los Angeles                      || 1940s                  || [[Stuart M. Kaminsky]] || ''Bullet for a Star''                 || 1977  
|-
|Kasper Meier                   || Berlin                          || 1946                  || [[Ben Fergusson]]            || ''The Spring of Kasper Meier''        || 2014<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london24.com/entertainment/book_review_the_spring_of_kasper_meier_by_ben_fergusson_1_3689195 |title=Book review: ''The Spring of Kasper Meier'' by Ben Fergusson |first=Beth |last=Wyatt |publisher=London24.com |date=17 July 2014 |access-date=4 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329164751/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2h5pyDsVSQVQ5rfSbHwqgN3/the-spring-of-kasper-meier-by-ben-fergusson |archive-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2h5pyDsVSQVQ5rfSbHwqgN3/the-spring-of-kasper-meier-by-ben-fergusson |title=''The Spring of Kasper Meier'' by Ben Fergusson |publisher=[[BBC Radio 2]] |date=2014 |access-date=4 October 2015 |archive-date=29 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329164751/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2h5pyDsVSQVQ5rfSbHwqgN3/the-spring-of-kasper-meier-by-ben-fergusson |url-status=live }}</ref>

|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://histmyst.org/ The Detective and the Toga], a listing/guide for Ancient Roman mysteries
* [http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org The Historical Novel Society], an international organization for historical fiction writers and readers
* [https://www.nypl.org/blog/2020/04/24/historical-mystery-series 30 Historical Mystery Series to Get You Through Any Crisis]
{{Crime fiction}}
{{Fictional espionage navbox}}
{{Historical fiction}}

[[Category:Historical mystery| ]]
[[Category:Historical novels subgenres]]
[[Category:Literary genres]]
[[Category:Mystery fiction]]