Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She writes

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as sp ...

, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders in 14th-century Cambridge.

Works

Her books may have some aspects in common with the

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her '' nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her trans ...

'' Cadfael'' series, the mediaeval adventures of two men, a highly intelligent physician and a Benedictine monk who is senior proctor of

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Matthew Bartholomew's activities as a healer, including examination of corpses, embroil him in a series of mysterious crimes, both secular and monastic, and he reluctantly assumes the role of an amateur sleuth. Sceptical of superstition, he is somewhat ahead of his time, and much historical detail is woven into the adventures. But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is darker and does not shrink from portraying the realities of life in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The first in the series, ''A Plague on Both Your Houses'' (1996) is set against the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

and subsequent novels take much of their subject matter from the attempts of society to recover from this disaster. These novels bear the marks of much detailed research into medieval conditions - many of the supporting characters have names taken from the documentation of the time, referenced at the end of each book - and bring vividly to life the all-pervading squalor of living conditions in England during the Middle Ages. The deep-rooted and pervasive practice of traditional leechcraft as it contrasts with the dawning science of

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

is a common bone of contention between Matthew and the students he teaches at Michaelhouse College (now part of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

), whilst the conflict between the students of

and the townsfolk continually threatens to escalate into violence. Another series of books, set after the Restoration of Charles II, features Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy. This series began with ''A Conspiracy of Violence'' published in January 2006. Gregory's short story "To Dispose of an Abbot" was published in the 1998 anthology '' Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime''.

Matthew Bartholomew series

# ''A Plague on Both Your Houses'' (1996) # ''An Unholy Alliance'' (1996) # ''A Bone of Contention'' (1997) # ''A Deadly Brew'' (1998) # ''A Wicked Deed'' (1999) # ''A Masterly Murder'' (2000) # ''An Order for Death'' (2001) # ''A Summer of Discontent'' (2002) # ''A Killer in Winter'' (2003) # ''The Hand of Justice'' (2004) # ''The Mark of a Murderer'' (2006) # ''The Tarnished Chalice'' (2006) # ''To Kill or Cure'' (2007) # ''The Devil's Disciples'' (2008) # ''A Vein of Deceit'' (2009) # ''The Killer of Pilgrims'' (2010) # ''Mystery in the Minster'' (2011) # ''Murder by the Book'' (2012) # ''The Lost Abbot'' (2013) # ''Death of a Scholar'' (2014) # ''A Poisonous Plot'' (2015) # ''A Grave Concern'' (2016) # ''The Habit of Murder'' (2017) # ''The Sanctuary Murders'' (2019) # ''The Chancellor's Secret'' (2021)

Thomas Chaloner series

# ''A Conspiracy of Violence'' (2006) # ''Blood On the Strand'' (2008) # ''The Butcher of Smithfield'' (2010) # ''The Westminster Poisoner'' (2010) # ''A Murder on London Bridge'' (2011) # ''The Body in the Thames'' (2011) # ''The Piccadilly Plot'' (2012) # ''Death in St. James's Park'' (2013) # ''Murder on High Holborn'' (2014) # ''The Cheapside Corpse'' (2015) # ''The Chelsea Strangler'' (2016) # ''The Executioner of St Paul's'' (2017) # ''Intrigue in Covent Garden'' (2018) # ''The Clerkenwell Affair'' (2020) # ''The Pudding Lane Plot: The Fifteenth Thomas Chaloner Adventure'' (2022)

Sir Geoffrey Mappestone

Gregory wrote this series of novels about 12th-century knight Geoffrey Mappestone with her husband,

Beau Riffenburgh Beau Riffenburgh (born 1955) is an author and historian specializing in polar exploration. He is also an American football coach and author of books on football history. Early career A native of California, Riffenburgh was the Senior Writer and ...

, under the combined pseudonym Simon Beaufort. # ''Murder in the Holy City'' (1998) # ''A Head for Poisoning'' (1999) # ''The Bishop’s Brood'' (2003) # ''The King’s Spies'' (2003) # ''The Coiners’ Quarrel'' (2004) # ''Deadly Inheritance'' (2009) # ''The Bloodstained Throne'' (2010) # ''A Dead Man’s Secret'' (2011)

Other mystery

Under the pseudonym Simon Beaufort. # ''The Murder House'' (2013) # ''The Killing Ship'' (2016) # ''Mind of A Killer'' (2017) # ''The Watchers of the Dead'' (2019)

Citations

References

* A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London. Review in ''Publishers' Weekly''. New York: May 1, 2006. Vol.253, Iss. 18; p. 41. * The Tainted Relic (co-authored by Gregory). Review in ''Publishers' Weekly''. New York: Oct 31, 2005. Vol. 252, Iss. 43; p. 35 * 'A Plague on Both Your Houses. Review by Rex E Klett. ''Library Journal''. New York: Oct 1, 1998. Vol.123, Iss. 16; p. 139. * An Unholy Alliance. Review by Brainard, Dulcy. ''Publishers' Weekly''. New York: Nov 25, 1996. Vol.243, Iss. 48; p.?. * A Bone of Contention. Review by Rex E Klett. ''Library Journal''. New York: Dec 1997. Vol.122, Iss. 20; p. 158. * A Bone of Contention. Review by Dulcy Brainard. ''Publishers' Weekly''. New York: Sep 29, 1997. Vol.244, Iss. 40; p. 70. * An Unholy Alliance. Review by Klett, Rex E. ''Library Journal''. New York: Dec 1996. Vol.121, Iss. 20; p. 150. * An Unholy Alliance. Review by Brainard, Dulcy. ''Publishers' Weekly''. New York: Nov 25, 1996. Vol.243, Iss. 48; p.?

External links

Susanna Gregory's websiteThe story behind Murder in the Holy City - Online Essay by Simon Beaufort
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Susanna Alumni of Wolfson College, Cambridge British crime fiction writers Writers of historical mysteries British historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Year of birth missing (living people) Living people