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Author

Evelyn James

Evelyn James is a British crime writer known for historical mysteries set in early twentieth-century England. Her short fiction has appeared in several anthologies, and she was longlisted for the Asham Award in 2010 and named runner-up for the Rider Haggard Literary Award. Her first crime series, the Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries, follows Brighton’s first female private detective as she investigates murders and other crimes while confronting the restrictions placed on women in 1920s Britain.

Beginning with Memories of the Dead, the Clara Fitzgerald novels combine traditional mystery plots with period detail, social history and a resourceful female protagonist. James is also the author of the Gentleman Detective Mysteries, featuring Colonel Bainbridge and Victoria Gower, whose investigations unfold amid the social tensions and changing conventions of interwar Britain. Her work is characterised by accessible storytelling, recurring characters and an emphasis on the everyday realities behind historical crime.

Periods and events

Victorian Crime and Sensation Culture Western Front Armistice and Aftermath of World War I Roaring Twenties Shell Shock and Military Psychiatry in World War I World War I Air War Victorian Spiritualism and Psychical Culture Victorian London

Series

Series by Evelyn James (2 series)

The Gentleman Detective Mysteries in Order

by Evelyn James 17 books 4.4

The Gentleman Detective Mysteries follow retired Colonel Julius Bainbridge and his niece Victoria as they investigate crime in Norwich and the surrounding countryside between 1898 and 1900. Bainbridge brings military experience, patience and social access to each case, while Victoria’s independence and determination make her an increasingly capable…

The Gentleman Detective

4.2

The Unholy Preacher

4.4

The Unwelcome Guests

4.4

The Last Word in Pickles

4.4

The Mayfair Mystery

4.5

Murder on Ice

4.3

The Man of Friars’ Wood

4.4

The Cherry Tree Murder

4.3

The Mystery of Cromwell’s Skull

4.4

The Return of Turpin

4.4

The Fatal Gathering

4.4

The Mystery of the Cursed Castle

4.4

The Mystery of the Brewer’s Suicide

4.4

The Curse of the Norwich Mermaid

4.3

The Mystery of the Misplaced Teaspoon

4.5

Bad Luck Comes in Threes

4.5

Who Killed Houston Fairchild?

4.6

The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries in Order

by Evelyn James 38 books 4.4

The Clara Fitzgerald Mysteries follow Brighton’s first female private detective from 1920 into the middle of the decade. Clara works beside her brother Tommy, Annie Fitzgerald and Captain O’Harris, later her husband, investigating murders, disappearances, frauds and conspiracies in a society still marked by the First World War…