historical mysteries set in 19th & 20th century england
Uncover gripping historical mysteries set in 19th and 20th century England. Explore Victorian London in Drood by Dan Simmons, Charles Finch’s A Beautiful Blue Death, and Deanna Raybourn’s Silent in the Grave, plus captivating picks from Rhys Bowen and more.
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Silent in the Grave
by Deanna Raybourn
"Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave." These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests. Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a longstanding physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth. Determined to bring her husband's murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.
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The Season
by Sarah MacLean
Showing no interest in the sumptuous balls, lavish dinner parties, and country weekends enjoyed by the rest of early nineteenth-century London society, seventeen-year-old Lady Alexandra Stafford seeks adventure as she investigates the puzzling murder of the Earl of Blackmoor, father of devilishly handsome Gavin.
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Her Royal Spyness
by Rhys Bowen
THE FIRST ROYAL SPYNESS MYSTERY! The New York Times bestselling author of the Molly Murphy and Constable Evan Evans mysteries turns her attentions to “a feisty new heroine to delight a legion of Anglophile readers.”* London, 1932. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the English throne, is flat broke. She's bolted Scotland, her greedy brother, and her fish-faced betrothed. London is a place where she'll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRH—oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name...
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The Inspector's Daughter (Rose Mcquinn Mystery 1) (Rose Mcquinn Mystery 1)
No summary available.
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Kept
by D. J. Taylor
Madness, greed, love, obsession, Machiavellian schemes, and a great train robbery--all are interwoven in this wonderfully imaginative novel that reinvents Victorian life and passions with dazzling skill and wit.
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A Beautiful Blue Death
by Charles Finch
Equal parts Sherlock Holmes and "Gosford Park," this Victorian debut introduces a wonderfully appealing detective and his friend, the lovely Lady Jane.
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Drood
by Dan Simmons
A tale inspired by the mysterious final years of Charles Dickens finds the fifty-three-year-old literary master irrevocably changed when a train journey with his mistress ends in violence.