The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunits Volume 1 (1993)

by Mike Ashley (Editor)

Other authors: Raymond Butler (Contributor), John Dickson Carr (Contributor), Lilian de la Torre (Contributor), Adrian Conan Doyle (Contributor), Margaret Frazer (Contributor) — 20 more, Joe Gores (Contributor), Arthur Griffiths (Afterword), Paul Harding (Contributor), Michael Harrison (Contributor), Herodotus (Contributor), Edward D. Hoch (Contributor), Brèni James (Contributor), Theodore Mathieson (Contributor), Eric Mayer (Contributor), Wallace Nichols (Contributor), Elizabeth Peters (Contributor), Ellis Peters (Foreword & Contributor), Melville Davisson Post (Contributor), Mary Monica Pulver (Contributor), S. S. Rafferty (Contributor), Mary Reed (Contributor), John Maddox Roberts (Contributor), R. L. Stevens (Contributor), Peter Tremayne (Contributor), Robert van Gulik (Contributor)

Series: Chronicles of Crime (1), Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits (1)

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566	4	42,774	(3.88)	19
This collection, with a Foreword by the creator of the Brother Cadfael books, gathers together some of the best stories in the genre of crime fiction epitomised by The Name of the Rose.

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Showing 4 of 4

There was quite a bit I didn't care for... too much to even explain. Quite too much of this was males writing for males., there was an undercurrent of machismo.

There were four major sections:

Part I: The Ancient World
Peters, Herodotus, James, Roberts, Nichols, Mayer/Reed, van Gulik, & Tremayne

Part II: The Middle Ages
Peters, Harding, Frazer, Pulver, Mathieson, & Gores

Part III: Regency & Gaslight
Rafferty, de la Torre, Butler, Post, Harrison, Carr, & Hock

Part IV: Holmes & Beyond
Adrian Conan Doyle & Stevens

For me, the first two parts were more interesting & I had already read other books by several of those authors.

The third part was boring & tended to focus on "locked door" scenarios

The fourth part was a joke.... No one, Not One-Single-Person can ever hope to replicate Sit Arthur Conan Doyle, and those who delude themselves into thinking that they can are sorely mistaken.

There are many others who have written historical mysteries who should have been included....

This book is mostly unforgettable, almost like a volute of Readers' Digest that one would peruse while waiting their turn in a doctor's front office (

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Auntie-Nanuuq | Aug 20, 2018 |

While one or two of these short story, murder mysteries may have been so-so, they largely were interesting and enjoyable reads. I noted someone complained that English mysteries, except for Christie, are not that good. Well, firstly, the compilation (anthology) of short stories was published in England (1993) but most of the authors are American and not just British. Also, the authors are from the late 19th century to early - mid 20th century. Some are really good authors not often known to late 20th, early 21st century readers. The style of the older authors may be unfamiliar to more 'modern' readers but that does not mean that they are not well written and 'good reads.' As time permits, I may hunt down other works by some of the authors from the anthology. (

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Bookaholic2 | Apr 20, 2015 |

This is a collection of short mysteries which have a historical setting, ranging from Ancient Egypt to Reno, Nevada, 1910. Various authors were sought for contributions. I picked it up hoping to find another author to compare with Ellis Peters, who is one of my favorites. Margaret Frazier would be one I will seek out after reading this. I must say that, although no story was sucky, most did not stand out for me. I think the missing element to engage me was humor. I don't read mysteries so much for the puzzle, as for the fun in following an entertaining detective. Humor was sadly lacking in almost all of these tales.
Another thing which extremely disappointed me and made me decide not to keep it or loan it to my friends, is that in the middle of what were decent tales, not overly explicit in any way, is a novella which in my book would qualify for soft porn. Yuck. Ptooie. (

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MrsLee | Mar 27, 2008 |

This is a great compilation of stories for the history & mystery buff. It ranges in time periods from ancient Egypt to the 20th century. Ellis Peters included stories that were not only historical in time, but characters too. Some stories feature historical people such as Socrates and Leonardo Da Vinci, others are set in epic time periods like Byzantine during the reign of the Emperor Justinian in the middle of the iconoclastic wars. If I have one complaint of the book it is that there are several locked room with dead body scenarios, a few too many, but the variety is refreshing and the characters unforgettable. (

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jagreene | Nov 14, 2007 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Ashley, Mike	Editor	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Butler, Raymond	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Carr, John Dickson	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
de la Torre, Lilian	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Doyle, Adrian Conan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Frazer, Margaret	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gores, Joe	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Griffiths, Arthur	Afterword	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Harding, Paul	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Harrison, Michael	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Herodotus	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hoch, Edward D.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
James, Brèni	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Mathieson, Theodore	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Mayer, Eric	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Nichols, Wallace	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Peters, Elizabeth	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Peters, Ellis	Foreword & Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Post, Melville Davisson	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Pulver, Mary Monica	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Rafferty, S. S.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Reed, Mary	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Roberts, John Maddox	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Stevens, R. L.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Tremayne, Peter	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
van Gulik, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

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Chronicles of Crime (1)

Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits (1)

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Mammoth Books

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The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunits Volume 1

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Senebtisi's funeral was the talk of southern Thebes.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

There are three distinct collections of Historical Whodunnits (alternately Whodunits) with extremely similar titles but completely different contents. This is the first collection, originally published in 1993. Please do not combine with other versions unless you are sure they are the same.

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▾Book descriptions

This collection, with a Foreword by the creator of the Brother Cadfael books, gathers together some of the best stories in the genre of crime fiction epitomised by The Name of the Rose.

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CONTENTS: Acknowledgements -- Introduction: The Chronicles of Crime -- Foreword by Ellis Peters -- Part I: The Ancient World -- 1. The Locked Tomb Mystery by Elizabeth Peters -- 2. The Thief versus King Rhampsinitus by Herodotus -- 3. Socrates Solves a Murder by Brèni James -- 4. Mightier than the Sword by John Maddox Roberts -- 5. The Treasury Thefts by Wallace Nichols -- 6. A Byzantine Mystery by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer -- 7. The High King's Sword by Peter Tremayne -- Part II: The Middle Ages -- 9. The Price of Light by Ellis Peters -- 10. The Confession of Brother Athelstan by Paul Harding -- 11. The Witch's Tale by Margaret Frazer -- 12. Father Hugh and the Deadly Scythe by Mary Monica Pulver -- 13. Leonardo Da Vinci, Detective by Theodore Mathieson -- 14. A Sad and Bloody Hour by Joe Gores -- Part III: Regency and Gaslight -- 15. The Christmas Masque by S. S. Rafferty -- 16. Murder Lock'd In by Lillian de la Torre -- 17. Captain Nash and the Wroth Inheritance by Raymond Butler -- 18. The Doomdorf Mystery by Melville Davisson Post -- 19. Murder in the Rue Royale by Michael Harrison -- Part IV: Holmes and Beyond -- 22. The Case of the Deptford Horror by Adrian Conan Doyle -- 23. Five Rings in Reno by R. L. Stevens -- Afterword: Old-Time Detection Arthur Griffiths -- Appendix: The Chroniclers of Crime

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