Dandy Gilver is the protagonist of a

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, 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 th ...

series by Catriona McPherson. The stories are set in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, beginning shortly after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and extending into the mid-1930s.

Overview

The novels feature dry humor and colorful characters in the

cozy mystery Cozy mysteries, also referred to as "cozies", are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur off stage, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. Cozies thu ...

tradition. The novels are well-researched and full of period details, and the books address the rapidly changing social order, economic challenges before and during the

Great Depression in the United Kingdom The Great Depression in the United Kingdom also known as the Great Slump, was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s, which had its origins in the global Great Depression. It was Britain's largest and most profound economic depress ...

, and ongoing class tensions. , 15 books have been published in this series. Several books in the series have won awards, including the

Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...

for Best Historical Novel. Dandy (short for Dandelion) is an upper-class Englishwoman whose career as a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

fills the void in her comfortable but unfulfilled life within a world of landownership and child-rearing for which she is temperamentally unsuited.Kemp, Viccy (2014-10-01) "A Deadly Measure of Brimstone: A Dandy Gilver Mystery" ''Library Journal.'' Vol. 139, Issue 16. Dandy is a

first-person narrator A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...

. She is joined in her detecting activities by her friend, Alec Osborne. McPherson is from Scotland.

Characters

The recurring characters age at a realistic rate as the series advances through time. *Dandy Gilver, private detective and lady of the manor at Gilverton. *Alec Osborne, an upper-class "eligible" bachelor who is partner in Dandy's detective business and a friend to Dandy and Hugh *Hugh Gilver, Dandy's husband, who spends his time managing the farms and associated business on the Gilverton estate *Grant, Dandy's aggressively fashion-conscious lady's maid, who occasionally takes part in Gilver & Osborne's adventures *Donald, the Gilvers' elder son *Teddy, the Gilvers' younger son *Pallister, the Gilvers' rigidly conservative butler *Bunty, Dandy's Dalmatian

Books in the series

*''After the Armistice Ball'' (2005) – a question of stolen jewelry in the early 1920s, when many upper-class families were struggling financially. Long-listed for the 2005

CWA Historical Dagger The CWA Historical Dagger (currently called the CWA Endeavor Historical Dagger) is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to the author of the best historical crime novel of the year. Established in 1999, it is presented to ...

award *''The Burry Man's Day'' (2006) – an unexpected death during the Burry man summertime parade. Long-listed for the

Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK's top crime-fiction awards, sponsored by Theakston's Old Peculier. It is awarded annually at Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of ...

*''Bury Her Deep'' (2007) – reports of a stranger attacking women *''The Winter Ground'' (2008) – featuring a

traveling circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

in their winter location *''(Dandy Gilver and) The Proper Treatment of Bloodstains'' (2009) – Dandy Gilver works undercover as a lady's maid during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike. Winner of the 2012

Macavity Awards The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

for historical fiction *''(Dandy Gilver and) An Unsuitable Day for a Murder'' (2010) – a missing person case with rival

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

as the focus. Winner of the 2013

Agatha Awards The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expl ...

for Best Historical Mystery and the 2013 Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award
Previous year's nominees
/ref> *''(Dandy Gilver and) A Bothersome Number of Corpses'' (2012) – an unhappy childhood friend is teaching at a remote

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for girls. Winner of the 2014 Bruce Alexander Award *''A Deadly Measure of Brimstone'' (2013) – set in

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

, a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

. Winner of the 2015 Bruce Alexander award and the Macavity Awards *''The Reek of Red Herrings'' (2014) – a grisly book featuring

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

language, Christmas, and wedding customs in a

herring fishery Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

. Finalist for

. Winner of the 2017 Bruce Alexander award and 2017 Agatha Award for best historical novel, and finalist for Macavity Awards *''Dandy Gilver and The Unpleasantness in the Ballroom'' (2015) – A debutante competes for a ballroom dancing prize *''Dandy Gilver and A Most Misleading Habit'' (2016) – featuring an

insane asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

and a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. *''Dandy Gilver and A Spot of Toil and Trouble'' (2017) – a castle becomes the setting for a 1934 production of

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

*''A Step So Grave'' (2018) – Dandy Gilver's son wants to marry a 30-year-old woman from

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...

. *''The Turning Tide'' (2020) – featuring a distressed ferrywoman on the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

and rival

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

in the summer of 1936. Finalist for Agatha Award and Macavity Awards *''The Mirror Dance'' (2021) – featuring a

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...

puppeteer and a copyright dispute

Reception

The book series has been compared to the television shows

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

and

Upstairs Upstairs may refer to: * Stairs * ''Upstairs'' (album), a 2004 album by Shane & Shane * ''Upstairs'' (film), a 1919 American silent comedy film See also * Downstairs (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilver, Dandy Fictional private investigators Female characters in literature Fictional English people