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Author

Bernard Knight

31 fiction

Bernard Knight is a British author, physician and forensic pathologist whose professional experience has strongly influenced his crime fiction. After serving as a medical officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps, he became a Home Office pathologist in 1965 and was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology at the University of Wales College of Medicine in 1980. Alongside academic textbooks and popular works on forensic medicine, Knight has written contemporary crime novels, radio and television scripts, and historical mysteries.

Knight is best known for the Crowner John Mysteries, set in Devon during the reign of Richard I. Beginning with The Sanctuary Seeker, the series follows Sir John de Wolfe, a former crusader appointed coroner for the county, as he investigates suspicious deaths with his clerk Thomas de Peyne and officer Gwyn of Polruan. Novels including The Poisoned Chalice, Crowner’s Quest, The Awful Secret, The Tinner’s Corpse, Crowner Royal and A Plague of Heretics combine murder investigations with medieval law, medicine, religion and political conflict. His forensic expertise gives the series particular authority in its treatment of wounds, bodies and early methods of determining how a person died.

Periods and events

Angevin Empire1154–1214 CE Anglo-Saxon Englandc. 476–1066 CE Arthurian BritainLegendary setting, conventionally c. 5th–6th centuries CE Black Death1347–1351 CE Captivity and Ransom of Richard I1192–1194 Early Medievalc. 476–1000 CE First Crusade1095–1099 CE Medieval England after the Norman Conquest1071–1300 CE Medieval Heresy and Inquisitionc. 1100–1500 CE Medieval Walesc. 500–1500 CE Military Ordersc. 1119–1500 CE Norse Exploration of the North Atlanticc. 870–1100 CE Post-Roman Britainc. 410–600 CE Post-war Britain1945–1963 CE Reign of Henry I and Anglo-Norman England1100–1135 CE Third Crusade1189–1192 CE Welsh Marches after the Norman Conquest1067–1284 CE

Historical fiction

Historical fiction series by Bernard Knight (3 series)

Crowner John Mysteries in Order

by Bernard Knight 15 books 4.3(15,438)

The Crowner John Mysteries follow Sir John de Wolfe, a former crusader appointed county coroner for Devon during the reign of Richard I. Working from Exeter with his officer Gwyn and clerk Thomas, John investigates suspicious deaths through inquests, witness testimony and the limited forensic methods available at…

Richard Pryor Mysteries in Order

by Bernard Knight 3 books 4.2(353)

The Richard Pryor Mysteries are set in 1950s Britain and follow forensic pathologist Richard Pryor after he leaves colonial service and establishes a private laboratory in the Wye Valley. He works with biologist Angela Bray and physician Priscilla Chambers on deaths that require scientific evidence rather than conventional…

Medieval Murderers in Order

by various authors 10 books 3.9(3,850)

The Medieval Murderers books are collaborative historical-mystery anthologies in which a shared relic, manuscript, legend, place or moral theme links separate crimes across centuries. Each contributor writes an episode using characters from an established series or a new historical setting, so the central object accumulates competing meanings as…

Historical fiction

Standalone historical fiction by Bernard Knight (3 books)

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