I'm a fan and have a buddy who's even more of a fan. He recently put together this list of authors and books flowing out of a conversation we had over the time when Chaucer was an English spy. Really. "Spy" might be a little strong, but he was in that game. And now there are authors writing some good fiction set in that era. And more....
Here's his lightly edited list, which I share with his permission. If you like this sort of thing, you'll find good stuff here.
Personally, I'm already a big fan of the 2 Susanna Gregory series, and can heartily recommend them.
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Mysteries/Historical Fiction related to Chaucer and other related periods that are well written.
Periods in English History:
Plantagenet 1154 – 1399
Lancaster 1399 – 1471
York 1460 – 1485 (see notes below on War of the Roses)
Tudor 1485 -1603
Stuart 1603 – 1714
Books involving Chaucer are set in the Plantagenet era
Chaucer (4 books by Philip Gooden)
Canterbury Tales Mysteries (7 books by Paul Doherty)
Other Plantagenet era books:
Paul Doherty: 16 Brother Athelstan books
Paul Doherty: 22 Hugh Corbett books
Susanna Gregory: 24 Matthew Bartholomew books
Katherine by Anya Seton book (1 book about Katherine Swynford – Chaucer’s sister-in-law who was married to John of Gaunt) in which Chaucer is frequently involved
From the Lancaster/York eras
Paul Doherty: 3 Margaret Beaufort books (See note 5 below).
From the Tudor era:
M.J. Trow: 11 Christopher Marlowe books
David Perry: 10 Thomas Berrington books
Anna Castle: 7 Francis Bacon books and many short stories – She and her father have also written some good Sherlock Holmes books
Philip Gooden: 6 Nicholas Revill books (featuring Shakespeare as a character)
Bill Bryson: Shakespeare The World Is A Stage (in search of the “real” William Shakespeare)
From the Stuart era
Susanna Gregory: 13 Thomas Chaloner books.
From the 1860’s
Irena Shapiro: 7 Redmond and Haze books (number 8 coming in June)
Note 1: The War of Roses was fought between 1455 – 1485 by the House of York (white roses) and the House of Lancaster (red roses) to determine who would rule England. The role of King switched back and forth and power changed hands back and forth until the House of York lost power to the House of Tudor.
Note 2: The House of Lancaster was founded by John of Gaunt (1340 – 1399) (actually he was born in Ghent, Flanders which is now part of Belgium – trust the English to get it wrong). John was the father of King Henry IV and the uncle of King Richard II. He was the third son of King Edward III of England.
Note 3: The House of York was founded by Edmund of Langley (1341 – 1402). Edmund was the fourth son of King William III. King William’s sons Prince Edward (1330-1376) and Prince Lionel (1338 – 1368) both died before William. If either of the first 2 sons had lived past William’s death the War of the Roses might never have happened. In 1359, shortly before going off to war with the French, Chaucer was a page in the household of Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Ulster, and wife of Prince Lionel.
Edmund’s son Richard, Earl of Cambridge (1385 – 1415) was the ancestor of Kings Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III.
Note 4: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 – 1400) was a messenger/spy for John of Gaunt. His wife Phillipa was sister to Katherine Swynford who was mistress to John of Gaunt who only married him in 1396, shortly before his death. Needless to say, Chaucer lived in troubled times and traveled the world gathering information (and possibly really solved crimes)
Note 5: Margaret Beaufort was married to John Beaufort, the grandson of John of Gaunt. Her son Henry Tudor (later King Henry VII) defeated King Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485. Richard III died during the battle, spelling the end of the York Dynasty and the rise of the Tudor dynasty. This battle was the location for the “My Kingdom for a horse” pro Tudor/anti York lines we remember so well.
Here's his lightly edited list, which I share with his permission. If you like this sort of thing, you'll find good stuff here.
Personally, I'm already a big fan of the 2 Susanna Gregory series, and can heartily recommend them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mysteries/Historical Fiction related to Chaucer and other related periods that are well written.
Periods in English History:
Plantagenet 1154 – 1399
Lancaster 1399 – 1471
York 1460 – 1485 (see notes below on War of the Roses)
Tudor 1485 -1603
Stuart 1603 – 1714
Books involving Chaucer are set in the Plantagenet era
Chaucer (4 books by Philip Gooden)
Canterbury Tales Mysteries (7 books by Paul Doherty)
Other Plantagenet era books:
Paul Doherty: 16 Brother Athelstan books
Paul Doherty: 22 Hugh Corbett books
Susanna Gregory: 24 Matthew Bartholomew books
Katherine by Anya Seton book (1 book about Katherine Swynford – Chaucer’s sister-in-law who was married to John of Gaunt) in which Chaucer is frequently involved
From the Lancaster/York eras
Paul Doherty: 3 Margaret Beaufort books (See note 5 below).
From the Tudor era:
M.J. Trow: 11 Christopher Marlowe books
David Perry: 10 Thomas Berrington books
Anna Castle: 7 Francis Bacon books and many short stories – She and her father have also written some good Sherlock Holmes books
Philip Gooden: 6 Nicholas Revill books (featuring Shakespeare as a character)
Bill Bryson: Shakespeare The World Is A Stage (in search of the “real” William Shakespeare)
From the Stuart era
Susanna Gregory: 13 Thomas Chaloner books.
From the 1860’s
Irena Shapiro: 7 Redmond and Haze books (number 8 coming in June)
Note 1: The War of Roses was fought between 1455 – 1485 by the House of York (white roses) and the House of Lancaster (red roses) to determine who would rule England. The role of King switched back and forth and power changed hands back and forth until the House of York lost power to the House of Tudor.
Note 2: The House of Lancaster was founded by John of Gaunt (1340 – 1399) (actually he was born in Ghent, Flanders which is now part of Belgium – trust the English to get it wrong). John was the father of King Henry IV and the uncle of King Richard II. He was the third son of King Edward III of England.
Note 3: The House of York was founded by Edmund of Langley (1341 – 1402). Edmund was the fourth son of King William III. King William’s sons Prince Edward (1330-1376) and Prince Lionel (1338 – 1368) both died before William. If either of the first 2 sons had lived past William’s death the War of the Roses might never have happened. In 1359, shortly before going off to war with the French, Chaucer was a page in the household of Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Ulster, and wife of Prince Lionel.
Edmund’s son Richard, Earl of Cambridge (1385 – 1415) was the ancestor of Kings Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III.
Note 4: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 – 1400) was a messenger/spy for John of Gaunt. His wife Phillipa was sister to Katherine Swynford who was mistress to John of Gaunt who only married him in 1396, shortly before his death. Needless to say, Chaucer lived in troubled times and traveled the world gathering information (and possibly really solved crimes)
Note 5: Margaret Beaufort was married to John Beaufort, the grandson of John of Gaunt. Her son Henry Tudor (later King Henry VII) defeated King Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485. Richard III died during the battle, spelling the end of the York Dynasty and the rise of the Tudor dynasty. This battle was the location for the “My Kingdom for a horse” pro Tudor/anti York lines we remember so well.
