List of fictional historical detectives
Encyclopedia
This list consists of fictional historical detectives
, in chronological order of setting:
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
, in chronological order of setting:
Detective | Setting, Period | Creator | Debut |
---|---|---|---|
Gordianus the Finder Gordianus the Finder Gordianus the Finder is the fictional protagonist of Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels set in Republican Rome. He lives by his wits, investigating crimes and other cases for Roman advocates such as Marcus Tullius Cicero... |
Roman Republic Roman Republic The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and... , 1st Cen. BCE) |
Steven Saylor Steven Saylor Steven Saylor is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics.... |
Roman Blood (1991) |
Senator Roman Senate The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic... Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger Decius Metellus Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is a fictional character created by author John Maddox Roberts, the protagonist of Roberts's SPQR series... |
Roman Republic Roman Republic The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and... , 1st Cen. BCE |
John Maddox Roberts John Maddox Roberts John Maddox Roberts is an author who has written many science fiction and fantasy novels, including his successful historical fiction, such as the SPQR series and Hannibal's Children.... |
SPQR SPQR series The SPQR series is a collection of detective stories by John Maddox Roberts set in the time of the Roman Republic. SPQR is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus , the official name of the Republic.The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius... (1990) |
Marcus Didius Falco Marcus Didius Falco Marcus Didius Falco is the central character and narrator in a series of novels by Lindsey Davis. Using the concepts of modern detective stories , Davis portrays the world of the Roman Empire under Vespasian... |
Roman Empire Roman Empire The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.... , 1st Cen. CE |
Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire.-Biography:... |
The Silver Pigs The Silver Pigs The Silver Pigs is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis. Set in Rome and Britannia during AD 70, just after the year of the four emperors, The Silver Pigs stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial agent.... (1989) |
Judge Dee Judge Dee Judge Dee is a semi-fictional character based on the historical figure Di Renjie , magistrate and statesman of the Tang court. The character first appeared in the 18th century Chinese detective novel Di Gong An... |
China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... , 7th Cen. CE |
Robert van Gulik Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat, musician , and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century Chinese detective novel Dee Goong An.-Life:Robert van Gulik was the son of a medical officer in the Dutch... |
Di Gong An (1949 |
Sister Fidelma Sister Fidelma Sister Fidelma is a fictional detective, the eponymous heroine of a series by Peter Tremayne . Fidelma is both a lawyer, or dalaigh, and Celtic religieuse.... |
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... , 7th Cen. CE |
Peter Tremayne | Absolution by Murder (1994) |
Li Kao Li Kao Li Kao is a fictional character in Barry Hughart's novels Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. He is a brilliant scholar, con artist, and detective who lives in China during the seventh century C.E. At the time the novels take place, his age is unknown, but he... |
China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... , 7th Cen. CE |
Barry Hughart Barry Hughart Barry Hughart in Peoria, Illinois, is an American author of fantasy novels.- Background :Hughart was born in Peoria, Illinois on March 13, 1934. His father, John Harding Page, served as a naval officer. His mother, Veronica Hughart, was an architect.Hughart was educated at Phillips Academy... |
Bridge of Birds Bridge of Birds Bridge of Birds is a fantasy novel by Barry Hughart, first published in 1984. It is the first of three novels in the The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox series... (1984) |
Brother Cadfael | Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... , 12th Cen. CE |
Ellis Peters | A Morbid Taste for Bones A Morbid Taste for Bones A Morbid Taste for Bones is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, first published in 1977. It was adapted for television in 1996 by Central for ITV. It is the first novel in the Brother Cadfael series.-Plot summary:... (1977) |
Brother William of Baskerville William of Baskerville William of Baskerville is a fictional Franciscan friar from the novel Il nome della rosa by Umberto Eco... |
Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... , 1327 CE |
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory... |
The Name of the Rose The Name of the Rose The Name of the Rose is the first novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory... (1980) |
Brother Athelstan | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , 1376 CE |
P. C. Doherty | The Nightingale Gallery (1991) |
Matthew Shardlake | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , 1537 CE |
C. J. Sansom C. J. Sansom Christopher John "C.J." Sansom is a British writer of crime novels. He was born in 1952 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was educated at the University of Birmingham, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he decided to retrain as a solicitor... |
Dissolution (2003) |
Benjamin January The Benjamin January Mysteries The Benjamin January mysteries are a series of historical mysteries by Barbara Hambly, set in and around New Orleans during the 1830s. The title character is a mixed-race former slave, who was trained as a surgeon but works primarily as a musician.... |
New Orleans, 1833 CE | Barbara Hambly Barbara Hambly Barbara Hambly is an award-winning and prolific American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction... |
A Free Man of Color (1997) |
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve... |
London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , 1881 CE |
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger... |
A Study in Scarlet A Study in Scarlet A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year... (1886) |