Guest Post by Elizabeth Springer —
My favorite kind of novel to read is a historical mystery. There are lots of great things about a good historical mystery: you are transported to a different place and time, visit the homes of the lowly and the great, meet people from all walks of life, and travel unexplored pathways. And these pathways have to lead somewhere: there will be a crime and somebody will have to solve it.
When I decided to follow in the footsteps of my favorite historical mystery authors, I took a look at what they did to keep me coming back time and again. Here are three things that made their main characters stand out.
Give Your Detective a Background
The Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael was the creation of mystery writer Ellis Peters (the pen name of Edith Pargeter). How could a monk bound to his abbey in 12th-century Shrewsbury, England be qualified to solve crimes? Answer: Peters gave Cadfael a background, a personal history. Over the course of twenty novels and a number of short stories, we learn that Cadfael has certain skills that set him apart from his monastic brothers and enable him to find the truth without the help of fingerprints and DNA analysis. Cadfael was a Crusader in his youth, so he has travelled widely and seen battle and death. During his time in the Middle East he learned about medicine and herbal remedies. He is bilingual; Welsh by birth, he now lives in England and is frequently called to serve as an interpreter. As a Welshman and former soldier, he is doubly an outsider. But his background gives him a knowledge of human nature and a critical distance that allows him to size up dangerous situations. And of course, the novels are set during the Anarchy, a time of civil war in England which allows Peters to plausibly confront Cadfael with crimes to solve without him having to travel too far.
Give Your Detective a Posse
The Judge Dee mysteries, set in China’s T’ang Dynasty, were written in the 1950s and 1960s by Robert van Gulik, a Dutch diplomat stationed in China. Van Gulik started by translating a 17th-century Chinese mystery story, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, and made the main character, a real magistrate, his series detective in subsequent stories. Judge Dee is wise, stately, and dignified, detail-oriented and subtle of thought. Like Sherlock Holmes, he is prepared to put on a disguise and explore the bad part of town, or engage in a physical confrontation if the need arises. But he can’t be everywhere at once. Judge Dee relies on several lieutenants to help investigate the crimes that come his way. Each of these characters brings something special to the team. Sergeant Hoong has known Dee from childhood; he is a confidant and father figure. Ma Joong and Chiao Tai are men of action, Robin Hood types who join Dee after first attempting to rob him in the forest. These two mix with courtesans and the beggars’ guild while Dee is busy in court, and their lighthearted banter is a foil to Dee’s gravitas. Tao Gan joins the entourage later. A swindler gone straight, he advises the magistrate on the cunning ways of fraudsters and con men. Judge Dee novels usually contain three interwoven cases. Having a posse around the detective, each with a special skill and contrasting personality, moves the story along with good pacing and a satisfying variation in moods and settings.
Put Your Detective in a Great Setting
All roads lead to Rome, and Marcus Didius Falco, the series detective created by Lindsey Davis, knows its streets like the back of his hand. With Falco, you get the full ancient Roman experience: sweltering tenements and cool villas, rich playboys and sarcastic slaves, cheap wine and hot pies from city snack bars. Falco has bills, a big Italian family, and trouble with old girlfriends. And that’s one of the things readers love about the Falco series: you get not only a great P.I. story, but the full five-senses experience of the Roman world. And when Davis takes Falco on the road—whether it’s sunny Palmyra or the dripping forests of Germania—Falco brings his senses along and you experience the setting with him.
In truth, each of these detectives has a background, a posse, and a great setting. And that’s how each of their authors built a foundation that could support a long-running, entertaining, and successful historical mystery series. A historical fiction author’s research is never wasted. Immerse yourself in your story’s setting. Your research and imagination can transport your readers to a place that no longer exists. A few key details, filtered through your character’s experience, will help your readers recreate the setting in their own minds. Think of your historical detective—even if you invented him or her—as a real person with a real background and experiences. And surround your detective with a motley posse of helpers who extend or enhance your detective’s innate abilities while also providing variation, complication, and even frustration. Your readers won’t want the mystery tour to end, and they’ll eagerly sign up for another voyage when your next book comes out.
Elizabeth Springer is the author of A Council of Wolves and The Viking Sword in the Edwin of Wimborne Anglo-Saxon mystery series. She holds a postgraduate degree in Viking Studies from University of Nottingham, UK. When not writing, translating, or teaching, she enjoys spending time with her horse and other domestic flora and fauna, and will do virtually anything to avoid housework. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two sons.
