Books in series
#1
A Plague on Both Your Houses
1996
In the tradition of Ellis Peters, A Plague on Both Your Houses introduces the physician Matthew Bartholomew, whose unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues. Besides his practice, Bartholomew is teacher of Medicine at Michaelhouse, part of the fledgling University of Cambridge. In 1348, the inhabitants of Cambridge live under the shadow of a terrible pestilence that has ravaged Europe and is travelling relentlessly eastward towards England. Bartholomew, however, is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated. When three more scholars die in mysterious circumstances, Bartholomew defies the University and begins his own enquiry. His pursuit for the truth leads him into a complex tangle of lies and intrigue that causes him to question the innocence of his closest friends, and even his family. And then the Black Death finally arrives and Bartholomew is dragged deeper and deeper into a quagmire which threatens not only his life, but the continued existence of the University and the future of the town.
#2
An Unholy Alliance
1996
Introduces medieval monk, Cambridge physician, and forensic sleuth Matthew Bartholomew and his boon companion, the Falstaffian Brother Michael, who try to sort out a conspiracy involving devil worship, the Black Death, and a missing chancellor. Reprint.
#3
A Bone of Contention
1997
It is 1392, and Matthew Bartholomew, physician to Michaelhouse College, is called to examine some mysterious bones found in the King's Ditch. The next day he is called to the Ditch again—a student has been found dead there. Meanwhile, there is unrest in the town, and the strange disappearance of Dominica, the former lover of the dead student. Are these events connected? Then a skeletal hand is found in the Ditch, hailed by townsfolk as the final remains of local martyr Simon d'Ambrey, and hence a holy relic. When Bartholomew finds that the hand is wearing a ring apparently identical to a pair that were worn by Dominica and her ex-lover, and now missing, he knows that his investigative skills are called for.
#4
A Deadly Brew
1998
In the winter of 1353, torrential rains are spreading fever to the poor and making travel especially hazardous along the town’s outlaw-infested roads. Then three members of the University die by drinking poisoned wine. College physician Matthew Bartholomew would rather not get involved in the investigation, but when his life is threatened, he stumbles on criminal activities that implicate friends, relatives, and colleagues—a deadly brew of evil intent.
#5
A Wicked Deed
1999
Matthew Bartholomew, doctor of medicine and fellow of Michaelhouse, Cambridge, is traveling with a party from the college to accept the gift of a parish church in Suffolk. But when the benefactor begins to unduly rush the deed to legalize the transfer, Bartholomew senses that Suffolk is not the tranquil retreat that he had been led to believe. And when Michaelhouse’s student priest is found murdered in the church that was to become his living, Bartholomew realizes that he and his party are threatened by dark forces within the village. Compelled to investigate, he descends into a nightmarish world of superstition and heresy.
#6
A Masterly Murder
2000
Michaelhouse is in uproar: Kenyngham the saintly but ageing Master has announced his retirement and with unseemly haste Runham arranges his own 'election' as his successor. Within days he has dismissed several members of staff, including the redoubtable laundress Agatha, and is making life so unpleasant for the scholars that even Matthew Bartholomew believes his future as physician and teacher at the college is untenable. But Matthew has many patients to divert his attention and Brother Michael, Proctor of the fledgling university, has some suspicious deaths to investigate, although they cannot help but notice that the new Master has commissioned a flurry of building work. Then Runham himself is murdered and, although mourned by none, Matthew and Michael know they have to solve the mystery before any more damage is done to their beloved Michaelhouse.
#7
An Order for Death
2001
Believers in the theory of nominalism have set some Cambridge colleges at the throats of those who believe them to be heretics, and Brother Michael, the Senior Proctor, is struggling to keep the peace. When a nominalist is murdered during a riot, Michael is certain he will find the killer among the Dominicans—but before he can act, his junior proctor, Walcote, is found hanged. Meanwhile, Matthew Bartholomew discovers evidence that leads to Michael himself. Unable to believe his lifelong friend could be capable of such acts, Bartholomew knows that the only way he can quiet his own conscience is to solve the murders himself.
#8
A Summer of Discontent
2002
It is 1354, and the Bishop of Ely has been accused of a most terrible murder. Glovere was steward to Lady Blanche de Wake, a close relative of the King. A malicious gossip, his body was discovered days after the Bishop had publicly threatened him. Protesting his innocence, the Bishop summons Cambridge proctor Brother Michael to help clear his name. When Michael and his friend, Matthew Bartholomew, inspect the body, they realize someone has stabbed him quite precisely in the back of the neck. When two similar murders are discovered, it is clear that whoever the murderer is, he is getting better and better at his modus operandi.
#9
A Killer in Winter
2003
Cambridge 1354. Christmas approaches and the town is gripped by the worst blizzards in living memory. As the physician, Matthew Bartholomew, struggles to help the poorer citizens cope with freezing temperatures, his colleagues prepare for the festivities. The weather has trapped many travellers in the town, including Matthew's erstwhile love, Philippa. She and her wealthy husband are invited to Michaelhouse for the main feast, and Matthew is horrified that he does not immediately recognise the over-weight, sulky woman who once stole his heart. In some ways he is relieved to accept Brother Michael's orders to identify a man found dead, apparently from exposure, in a nearby church, but the success of his mission brings him closer to Philippa's circle, for the man was her husband's servant. And then the husband himself is dead, victim of an accident on the treacherous ice of the fens - or was it a more sinister death, somehow linked to the death of one of his business rivals months earlier in London?
Susanna Gregory again brings medieval Cambridge to rich and vibrant life in a beautifully crafted mystery.
#10
The Hand of Justice
2004
In Cambridge 1355 the colleges of the fledgling university are as much at odds with each other as they are with the ordinary townfolk. This tension has recently been heightened by the return of two well-born murderers after receiving the King's pardon, showing no remorse but ready to confront those who helped convict them. And in the midst of this Bartholomew the physician is called to the local mill to examine two corpses. It is almost a relief to be able to turn his back on the fractious town, but as always in Cambridge nothing is disconnected.
#11
The Mark of a Murderer
2005
It is February 1355, and Oxford has exploded in one of the most serious riots of its turbulent history. Fearing for their lives, the scholars flee the city, and some choose the University at Cambridge as their refuge. They don’t remain safe for long, however—within hours of their arrival, two people have died. When Bartholomew and Brother Michael investigate the deaths, they uncover evidence that the Oxford riot was part of a carefully orchestrated plot. With the Archbishop of Canterbury about to honor Cambridge with a visitation, and a close colleague accused of a series of murders that Bartholomew is certain he didn’t commit, the race is on to bring a ruthless killer to justice.
#12
The Tarnished Chalice
2006
In 1356, on a bitter winter evening, Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael arrive in Lincoln—Michael to accept an honor from the cathedral, and Bartholomew to look for the woman he wants to wed. It is not long before they learn that the friary in which they are staying is not the safe haven they imagine—one guest has already been murdered. It emerges that the dead man was holding the Hugh Chalice, a Lincoln relic with a curiously bloody history. Bartholomew and Michael are soon drawn into a web of murder, lies, and intrigue in a city where neither knows who can be trusted.
#13
To Kill or Cure
2008
Cambridge University is in dire financial straits—the town's landlords are demanding an extortionate rent rise for the students' hostels and the plague years have left the colleges with scant resources. Tension between town and gown is at a boiling point and soon explodes into violence and death. Into this maelstrom comes a charismatic physician whose healing methods owe more to magic than medicine—but his success threatens Matthew Bartholomew's professional reputation, and his life.
#14
The Devil's Disciples
2008
Rumors of plague threaten Cambridge again, 10 years after the Black Death almost laid waste to the town. Neither the church nor its priests had defended people from the disease so now they turn elsewhere for protection, to pagan ritual and magical potions. It is a ripe atmosphere to be exploited by the mysterious Sorcerer, an anonymous magician whose increasing influence seems certain to oust both civil and church leaders from power. One murder, another unexplained death, a font filled with blood, a desecrated grave—all bear the hallmarks of the Sorcerer's hand, only the identity of the magician remains a mystery. A mystery which Matthew Bartholomew must solve before he loses his reputation . . . and his life.
#15
A Vein of Deceit
2009
Despite a new influx of well-heeled students, Michaelhouse has suffered from an acute lack of funds that has made itself manifest in a lack of decent provisions. It is only when the Brother in charge of the account books dies unexpectedly that an explanation is revealed: large amounts of money had been paid for goods the college never received. Although shocked by this evidence of fraud, Matthew Bartholomew is more concerned with the disappearance of a quantity of pennyroyal from his herbarium. Pennyroyal is known to cause a woman to miscarry, and a pregnant visitor to his sister's household has died from an overdose of the substance. Had she meant to abort her child, or had someone else wanted to ensure that she was unable to provide an heir to her husband's wealthy estates? When Matthew learns that it was the dead woman’s husband who had received Michaelhouse's missing money, he begins to search for other connections and quickly exposes a deep and treacherous conspiracy.
#16
A Killer of Pilgrims
2010
When a wealthy benefactor is found dead in Michaelhouse, Brother Michael and Matthew Bartholomew must find the culprit before the college is accused of foul play. At the same time, Cambridge is plagued by a mystery thief, who is targetting rich pilgrims. Moreover, pranksters are at large in the University, staging a series of practical jokes that are growing increasingly dangerous, and that are dividing scholars into bitterly opposed factions. Bartholomew and Michael soon learn that their various mysteries are connected, and it becomes a race against time to catch the killer-thief before the university explodes into a violent conflict that could destroy it forever.
#17
Mystery in the Minster
2011
The 17th episode in the popular Cambridge series of medieval mysteries, featuring the physician-cum-sleuth, Matthew Bartholomew In 1358 the fledging college of Michaelhouse in Cambridge is in need of extra funds. A legacy from the Archbishop of York of a parish close to that city promises a welcome source of income. However, there has been another claim to its ownership and it seems the only way to settle the dispute is for a deputation from Michaelhouse to travel north. Matthew Bartholomew is among the small party which arrives in the bustling city, where the increasing wealth of the merchants is unsettling the established order, and where a French invasion is an ever-present threat to its port. But soon he and his colleagues learn that several of the Archbishop's executors have died in unexplained circumstances and that the codicil naming Michaelhouse as a beneficiary cannot be found.
#18
Murder by the Book
2012
The 18th episode in the popular Cambridge series of medieval mysteries, featuring the physician-cum-sleuth, Matthew Bartholomew It is drawing near to the end of term, and the University at Cambridge is in turmoil over the opening of a new Common Library. There is an attack on one of the masters at a meeting to discuss the matter, and a body is found floating in the pond in the library's garden on the eve of its opening. Meanwhile, there are rumors of a large force of dangerous smugglers lurking in the Fens. Aided by their friend Sheriff Tulyet, Bartholomew and Michael must thwart the invaders before the Feast of Corpus Christi the following week—to fail might mean the destruction of the town.
#19
The Lost Abbot
2013
The latest episode in the popular Cambridge series of medieval mysteries, featuring the physician-cum-sleuth Matthew Bartholomew
Matthew Bartholomew doesn't want to travel to Peterborough in the summer of 1358, but his friendship with the lovely Julitta Holm has caused a scandal in Cambridge, so he has no choice. He is one of a party of Bishop's Commissioners, charged to discover what happened to Peterborough's abbot, who went for a ride one day and has not been seen since. When the Commissioners arrive, they find the town in turmoil. A feisty rabble-rouser is encouraging the poor to rise up against their overlords, the abbey is at war with a powerful goldsmith and his army of mercenaries, and there are bitter rivalries between competing shrines. One shrine is dedicated to Lawrence de Oxforde, a vicious felon who was executed for his crimes, but who has been venerated after miracles started occurring at his grave. However, it is not long before murder rears its head, and its first victim is Joan, the woman in
charge of Oxforde's tomb.
#20
Death of a Scholar
2014
The twentieth chronicle in the Matthew Bartholomew series.
In the summer of 1358 the physician Matthew Bartholomew returns to Cambridge to learn that his beloved sister is in mourning after the unexpected death of her husband, Oswald Stanmore. Aware that his son has no interest in the cloth trade that made his fortune and reputation, Oswald has left the business to his widow, but a spate of burglaries in the town distracts Matthew from supporting Edith in her grief and attempting to keep the peace between her and her wayward son.
As well as the theft of irreplaceable items from Michaelhouse, which threatens its very survival, a new foundation, Winwick Hall, is causing consternation amongst Matthew's colleagues. The founder is an impatient man determined that his name will grace the University's most prestigious college. He has used his wealth to rush the construction of the hall, and his appointed Fellows have infiltrated the charitable Guild founded by Stanmore, in order to gain the support of Cambridge's most influential citizens on Winwick's behalf.
A perfect storm between the older establishments and the brash newcomers is brewing when the murder of a leading member of the Guild is soon followed by the death of one of Winwick's senior Fellows. Assisting Brother Michael in investigating these fatalities leads Matthew into a web of suspicion, where conspiracy theories are rife but facts are scarce and where the pressure from the problems of his college and his family sets him on a path that could endanger his own future...
'A first-rate treat for mystery lovers' ( Historical Novels Review )
'Susanna Gregory has an extraordinary ability to conjure up a strong sense of time and place' ( Choice )
#21
A Poisonous Plot
2015
The twenty first chronicle in the Matthew Bartholomew series.
In 1358, over a century after its foundation in Cambridge, the college of Michaelhouse is facing a serious shortfall of funds and competition from upstarts rivals such as Zachary Hostel. Their problems are made no easier by the hostility of the town's inhabitants who favour the university moving away to the Fens.
This simmering tension threatens to break into violence when a well-known tradesman is found dead in one of the colleges. Matthew Bartholomew knows he was poisoned but cannot identify the actual substance, never mind the killer. He also worries that other illnesses and deaths may have been caused by the effluent from his sister's dye works.
Torn between loyalties to his kin and to his college, he fears the truth may destroy both his personal and professional life, but he knows he must use his skills as a physician to discover the truth before many more lose their lives entirely.
'A first-rate treat for mystery lovers' ( Historical Novels Review )
'Susanna Gregory has an extraordinary ability to conjure up a strong sense of time and place' ( Choice )
#22
A Grave Concern
2016
Identifying the murderer of the Chancellor of the University is not the only challenge facing physician Matthew Bartholomew. Many of his patients have been made worse by the ministrations of a 'surgeon' recently arrived from Nottingham, his sister is being rooked by the mason she has commissioned to build her husband's tomb, and his friend, Brother Michael, has been offered a Bishopric which will cause him to leave Cambridge.
Brother Michael, keen to leave the University in good order, is determined that the new Chancellor will be a man of his choosing. The number of contenders putting themselves forward for election threatens to get out of control, then more deaths in mysterious circumstances make it appear that someone is taking extreme measures to manipulate the competition.
With passions running high and a bold killer at large, both Bartholomew and Brother Michael fear the very future of the University is at stake.
#23
The Habit of Murder
2017
In 1360 a deputation from Cambridge ventures to the Suffolk town of Clare in the hope that the wealthy Elizabeth de Burgh has left a legacy to Michaelhouse. Yet when they arrive they discover that the report of her death is false and that the college seems destined for bankruptcy.
Determined to see if some of its well-heeled citizens can be persuaded to sponsor Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew, Brother Michael and Master Langelee become enmeshed in the town's politics. They quickly discover that a great many other people in Clare have recently met untimely deaths. These killings, combined with the arrogance Lady de Burgh has shown over the refurbishment of the church and the grotesque behaviour of some of her entourage, have created a dangerous restlessness in the town: an atmosphere intensified when yet more murders occur.
One of the victims is a fellow traveller of the Michaelhouse contingent, and Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael feel honour-bound to identify his killer. It is a hunt which takes them deep into Clare's murky foundations and which threatens their own survival as well as that of their beloved college.
#24
The Sanctuary Murders
2019
In 1360 Edward III issues a call to arms, as sporadic attacks by the French threaten to turn into a full-blown invasion. In Cambridge, fear of the enemy is magnified by the belief that foreign agents are lurking in the area. Tension runs ever higher as rumours and ignorance fan the flames of suspicion amid preparations for war.
And then the first murder occurs - of a French scholar living in the town.
At Michaelhouse, Brother Michael is now Master, but his reach of power in the University is under threat by the election of a new Chancellor and his cohort of dubious advisors. Soon, the Colleges begin to squabble amongst themselves, as well as with the town that never wanted a University in the first place.
Amidst this atmosphere of swelling distrust, physician Matthew Bartholomew is called upon to investigate mysterious deaths in a nearby hospital. He quickly realises that there is something odd about the inmates and their keepers - something dark and deadly, which seems to be connected to the growing number of murders in the town. Pressure mounts as the University and the town clamour for answers, leading Bartholomew and Michael in a frantic quest for a solution before the powder-keg of animosity in Cambridge is ignited.
#25
The Chancellor's Secret
2021
In 1360, the Great Bridge over the River Cam is close to collapse. To repair it will cost the town and the University dear, especially if its rotten wood is replaced by more durable stone. As arguments rage over raising the money other, equally heated, differences are coming to the boil over the election of a new Chancellor. While the majority support Brother Michael for the post, at least one of his opponents aims to seize it by fair means or foul. Then the discovery of a body under the bridge and the disappearance of two scholars throws a more sinister shadow over both disputes.
Matthew Bartholomew, the University's Corpse Examiner, already has his hands due to marry in under a fortnight, he is determined to conclude his teaching duties and deal with an outbreak of the summer flux before relinquishing his official duties. With more deaths, an 'accident' at the bridge and an increasing stench of corruption over the financing of the bridge's repairs, he realises he owes more to his soon-to-be former colleagues than to his future life as a secular doctor.
But will there be enough time for him to unveil the identities of those who seek to undermine both the town and the University, or will he prove powerless to protect those he loves from death or disgrace or worse?
Author
Susanna Gregory
Author · 40 books
Susanna Gregory is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cruwys, a Cambridge academic who was previously a coroner's officer. She is married to author Beau Riffenburgh who is her co-author on the Simon Beaufort books. AKA Simon Beaufort She writes detective fiction, and is noted for her series of mediaeval mysteries featuring Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders in 14th-century Cambridge. These books may have some aspects in common with the Ellis Peters Cadfael series, the mediaeval adventures of a highly intelligent Benedictine monk and herbalist who came to the Benedictine order late in an eventful life, bringing with him considerable secular experience and wisdom combined with a deal of native wit. This sets him apart from his comparatively innocent and naíve monastic brethren. His activities, both as a monk and a healer, embroil him in a series of mysterious crimes, both secular and monastic, and he enthusiastically assumes the rôle of an amateur sleuth. Sceptical of superstition, he is somewhat ahead of his time, and much accurate historical detail is woven into the adventures. But there any resemblance to the comparatively warm-hearted Cadfael series ends: the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels is far darker and does not shrink from portraying the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages. The first in the series, A Plague on Both Your Houses is set against the ravages of the Black Death and subsequent novels take much of their subject matter from the attempts of society to recover from this disaster. These novels bear the marks of much detailed research into mediaeval conditions - many of the supporting characters have names taken from the documentation of the time, referenced at the end of each book - and bring vividly to life the all-pervading squalor of living conditions in England during the Middle Ages. The deep-rooted and pervasive practice of traditional leechcraft as it contrasts with the dawning science of evidence-based medicine is a common bone of contention between Matthew and the students he teaches at Michaelhouse College (now part of Trinity College, Cambridge), whilst the conflict between the students of Cambridge and the townsfolk continually threatens to escalate into violence. Another series of books, set just after the Restoration of Charles II and featuring Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy, began with A Conspiracy of Violence published in January 2006, and continues with The Body in the Thames, published in hardback edition January 2011.
