Alan Gordon (born 23 june 1969) is the author of several historical mysteries, the first of which is based on the characters from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. He lives in New York City and is a lawyer with the

Legal Aid Society The Legal Aid Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal aid provider based in New York City. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest and largest provider of legal aid in the United States. Its attorneys provide representation on criminal and civil matt ...

. Gordon has also written the libretto for several musicals, including "The Girl Detective" and "The Usual." He won the 2013 Kleban Prize for Most Promising Musical Theatre Librettist for "The Usual." A graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Chicago Law School, he is married to Judy Downer, with whom he has a son, Robert.

Bibliography

Fools' Guild Mysteries series: *''Thirteenth Night'' (1999). Set a decade after the events of ''Twelfth Night'',

Feste Feste is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy ''Twelfth Night''. He is a Shakespearian fool, fool (royal jester) attached to the household of the Olivia (Twelfth Night), Countess Olivia. He has apparently been there for some time ...

returns to investigate the murder of the Duke of Orsino. *''Jester Leaps In'' (2000). Theophilos (a.k.a. Feste), along with his new apprentice Viola, has been sent by the Fool's Guild to investigate the disappearance of some agents in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. *''A Death In The Venetian Quarter'' (2002). Theophilos and Viola (now a fool, and going under the name Claudia) are investigating the death of Bastiani, a silk merchant and informant. *''The Widow Of Jerusalem'' (2003) is set in Tyre during the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

, and is set as a story being told in 1204 of events that took place prior to the events recounted in the first three books. Theophilos is trying to broker peace between the various participants. It is based on actual events involving

Isabella of Jerusalem Isabella I (1172 – 5 April 1205) was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1190 to her death. She was the daughter of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Comnena, a Byzantine princess. Her half-brother, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, engag ...

and her husband

Conrad of Montferrat Conrad of Montferrat ( Italian: ''Corrado del Monferrato''; Piedmontese: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (died 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the ''de facto'' King of Jerusalem (as Conrad I) by ...

. *''An Antic Disposition'' (2004) is based on ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. While hiding from Papal troops, the fools give their take on a decades-old tragedy in Denmark. * ''The Lark's Lament'' (2007), in which Theophilos is sent to persuade Abbot Folquet, a former troubadour turned monk, to help the Fools' Guild. Whilst Theo is there, a monk is killed and a threatening message left on the monastery walls. * ''The Moneylender of Toulouse'' (2008). Theophilos is sent to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

to convince the current bishop to retire, to be replaced by one more amenable to the Fool's Guild (Abbot Folquet, seen in the previous book). A moneylender who had argued with the bishop is found dead. * ''The Parisian Prodigal'' (2010). In May 1205, a man arrives in Toulouse purporting to be the full brother of local ruler Count Raimon VI. Shortly thereafter, he is found in bed next to a dead whore. Short Stories: *''Fresh Meat'' (2008), as part of the ''Wolfsbane and Mistletoe'' anthology; Sam Lehrmann trains exceptional guard dogs, and he also has a secret that he's being hunted for on Christmas Eve.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Alan Living people American mystery writers 1959 births Writers of historical mysteries Place of birth missing (living people) American male novelists