The historical mystery, also called a historical whodunit, is a type of story that combines two genres: historical fiction and mystery fiction. These stories take place in times that are considered historical by the author, and the main plot focuses on solving a mystery or crime, often a murder. These stories have been around since the early 1900s, but many people believe that Ellis Peters' Cadfael Chronicles (1977–1994) helped make the historical mystery genre widely known. Over the next few decades, this type of story became more popular, leading to the creation of a separate category recognized by publishers and libraries. In 2010, Publishers Weekly said, "The past decade has seen an increase in both the number and quality of historical mysteries. More historical mysteries have been published than ever before, written by talented authors and set in many different times and places." Editor Keith Kahla agrees, saying, "The historical mystery has grown from a small group of writers with a limited audience to a genre that is now praised by critics, has won awards, and appears on the New York Times bestseller list."

Since 1999, the British Crime Writers' Association has given the CWA Historical Dagger award to books in this genre. The Left Coast Crime conference has honored the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery award (for mysteries set before 1950) since 2004.

Origins

The term "whodunit" was first used in the early 1930s. However, some people believe detective stories began much earlier. For example, the ancient Greek play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, written in 429 BC, and the story The Three Apples from One Thousand and One Nights (also known as Arabian Nights), written in the 10th century, are thought to be early examples of mystery storytelling. During China’s Ming dynasty (1368–1644), stories called gong’an ("crime-case") were written. These stories often featured government magistrates, such as the historical figures Di Renjie from the Tang dynasty (618–907) and Bao Zheng from the Song dynasty (960–1279), who solved crimes and decided punishments. These stories were set in the past but sometimes included events that did not happen in those time periods. In the 18th century, a Chinese manuscript called Di Gong An was written anonymously. Robert van Gulik believed this work was more similar to Western detective fiction than other gong’an tales. In 1949, he translated it into English as Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. He later wrote his own stories about Judge Dee in the same style and time period.

The first modern English story that can be called both historical fiction and a mystery is The Angel of the Lord, written by Melville Davisson Post in 1911. This story features an amateur detective named Uncle Abner in pre-American Civil War West Virginia. Barry Zeman, a member of the Mystery Writers of America, said the Uncle Abner stories are the beginning of true historical mysteries. Between 1911 and 1928, Post wrote 22 stories about Uncle Abner, who solves local mysteries using his sharp observations and knowledge of the Bible. In 1943, American writer Lillian de la Torre created a similar story called The Great Seal of England, in which 18th-century figures Samuel Johnson and James Boswell take on the roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in her Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector series. In 1944, Agatha Christie published Death Comes as the End, a mystery novel set in ancient Egypt, making it the first full-length historical whodunit. In 1950, John Dickson Carr wrote The Bride of Newgate, a historical mystery novel set near the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Popularization

In 1970, Peter Lovesey started a series of books about Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detective. Around the same time, Elizabeth Peters wrote the Amelia Peabody series from 1975 to 2010, which followed a Victorian woman and archaeologist who solved mysteries during her excavations in early 20th century Egypt. However, historical mystery stories were uncommon until the late 1970s, when Ellis Peters' Cadfael Chronicles (1977–1994) became popular. These books featured Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk, and were set in 12th century Shrewsbury. Umberto Eco's book The Name of the Rose (1980) also helped make historical mysteries more well-known. Starting in 1979, Anne Perry wrote two series of Victorian-era mysteries featuring Thomas Pitt (1979–2013) and William Monk (1990–2013). The genre became more popular around 1990 with books like Lindsey Davis' Falco and Flavia Albia novels (1989–2022), set in the Roman Empire of Vespasian; John Maddox Roberts' SPQR series (1990–2010) and Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa novels (1991–2018), both set in the Roman Republic of the 1st century BC; and Paul Doherty's 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). In 1995, F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre wrote "Death in the Dawntime," a locked room mystery (or sealed cave mystery) set in Australia around 35,000 BC, which was published in The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives by Mike Ashley. This story is believed to be the earliest historical mystery ever written. In 1998, Diana Gabaldon began the Lord John series, which features Lord John Grey, a recurring character from her Outlander series, as an 18th-century English nobleman, military officer, and amateur detective. Using the pen name Ariana Franklin, Diana Norman wrote four books called Mistress of the Art of Death (2007–2010), which follow 12th-century English medical examiner Adelia Aguilar.

Publishers Weekly noted in 2010 that the genre had grown greatly in both number and quality over the past decade, with many talented writers creating historical mysteries set in diverse times and places. Editor Keith Kahla agreed, saying the genre had moved from being written by a small group of authors for a specialized audience to becoming a critically praised, award-winning genre with a place on the New York Times bestseller list.

Awards

In 1999, the British Crime Writers' Association gave the first CWA Historical Dagger award to a book in the mystery genre. This award was named the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger until 2012. In 2014, Endeavour Press helped fund the award, which was called the Endeavour Historical Dagger for the 2014 and 2015 awards. Since 2004, the Left Coast Crime conference has given out its Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery award for books about mysteries that happened before 1950.

Variations

In an early example of the genre, Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time (1951) tells the story of a modern police detective who uses the time during a long hospital stay to investigate a mystery from the 15th century: the case of Richard III of England and the missing Princes in the Tower. Georgette Heyer’s The Talisman Ring (1936) is set in 1793 England and mixes romance with mystery. Jane Aiken Hodge described it as “very nearly a detective story in period costume.” Some of Heyer’s other historical romance novels include thriller-like elements, but not as strongly.

Other types of mystery stories include novels set in imaginary pasts or fantasy worlds. For example, The Ultimate Solution (1973) by Eric Norden and Fatherland (1992) by Robert Harris are police stories set in alternate timelines where Nazi Germany won World War II. Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy series takes place in a 20th-century world where magic exists. Phyllis Ann Karr’s The Idylls of the Queen (1982) is set in the court of King Arthur, as described in Arthurian myths, with no effort to match real history.

This genre does not include stories that are set in the same time period as when they were written. For example, Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories, set in Victorian England, and Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey books, set during the Interwar period, are not considered historical mysteries. However, later books about Holmes and Wimsey written by other authors many years after the original stories could be seen as historical mysteries.

List of fictional historical detectives

The list below includes made-up detectives from history, arranged in the order of when they lived.