''Past Poisons: An Ellis Peters Memorial Anthology of Historical Crime'' is a 1998 British anthology of

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 ...

short stories and novellas, edited by Maxim Jakubowski. The collection is named for novelist

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 ...

, whose '' Cadfael Chronicles'' (1977–1994) are generally credited for popularizing the combined genre of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

and

mystery fiction Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

that would become known as historical mystery.

The anthology includes: * "A Counter-blast to Tobacco" by Paul C. Doherty * "Wheel in the Sky" by

Edward D. Hoch Edward Dentinger Hoch (February 22, 1930 – January 17, 2008) was an American writer of detective fiction. Although he wrote several novels, he was primarily known for his vast output of over 950 short stories. Biography Hoch (pronounced ...

* "Starstruck at San Simeon" by Janet Laurence * "Death by Eros" by Steven Saylor * "Damned Spot" by

Julian Rathbone Julian Christopher Rathbone (10 February 1935 – 28 February 2008) was an English novelist. Life Julian Rathbone was born in 1935 in Blackheath, south London. The son of Christopher and Decima Rathbone he was a member of the Rathbone fami ...

* "Showman" by

Peter Lovesey Peter (Harmer) Lovesey (born 1936), also known by his pen name Peter Lear, is a British writer of historical and contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known series characters are Sergeant Cribb, a Victorian-era police detec ...

* "The Padder's Lesson" by Molly Brown * "To Dispose of an Abbot" by

Susanna Gregory Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She writes detective fiction, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medici ...

* "The Mamur Zapt and the Catherine Wheel" by Michael Pearce * "The Great Brogonye" by David Howard * "The Unkindest Cut" by Kate Ross * "Girl Talk" by Marilyn Todd (1st century BC Rome). A Claudia Seferius short story. * "Invitation to a Poisoning" by

Peter Tremayne Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a British historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 98 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 10 ...

* "The Last High Queen" by Anne Perry * "To Encourage the Others" by

Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Technology Ltd. Biography ...

* "Psalm for a Dead Disciple" by

Edward Marston Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

* "Handsel Monday" by Catherine Aird * "An Academic Question" by John Maddox Roberts (51 BC Athens). This short story is an installment of the ''SPQR'' series, set immediately prior to the novel ''The Princess and the Pirates'' (2005). * ''Hellfire'' (''

Lord John and the Hellfire Club The ''Lord John'' series is a sequence of historical mystery novels and shorter works written by Diana Gabaldon that center on Lord John Grey, a recurring secondary character in the author's ''Outlander'' series. Secretly homosexual "in a time ...

'') by

Diana Gabaldon Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the ''Outlander'' series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantas ...

(Late 1750s England). This novella is the first work in the ''Lord John'' series, a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

of the supporting character Lord John Grey from Gabaldon's ''Outlander'' series of historical novels. * "The Party May Yet be Living" by

Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1998 anthologies Mystery anthologies Headline Publishing Group books

Contents

References