Susanna Gregory

Susanna Gregory is the pen name of English author Elizabeth Cruwys, who is well-known for her historical mystery novels. She is an academic from Cambridge and has previously worked as a coroner's officer. Gregory writes under the pseudonym Susanna Gregory for her popular series of detective and medieval mystery novels, which have received significant acclaim. She is a member of the Medieval Murderers group and also writes alongside her husband, Beau Riffenburgh, as Simon Beaufort.

Gregory's novels are renowned for their historical accuracy, which is attributed to her background as a Cambridge academic. Her books, featuring ongoing protagonists such as Matthew Bartholomew, are set in the medieval era and are rich in historical detail. The author is not only known for her meticulous attention to detail but also for her ability to keep the stories engaging and her characters grounded in reality. This enables her readers to relate to them on a more personal level, which is a hallmark of her writing style.

The Matthew Bartholomew series, set in 14th-century Cambridge, follows the character of Matthew Bartholomew, a teacher of medicine and investigator of murders. The series has some similarities to the Ellis Peters Cadfael series, featuring a highly intelligent Benedictine monk and herbalist who becomes an amateur sleuth. However, the tone and subject matter of the Gregory novels are far darker and do not shy away from portraying the harsh realities of life in the Middle Ages. The first book in the series, "A Plague on Both Your Houses," is set against the backdrop of the Black Death, and subsequent novels delve into the attempts of society to recover from this disaster.

In addition to the Matthew Bartholomew series, Gregory has also written a series of books set just after the Restoration of Charles II, featuring Thomas Chaloner, detective and former spy. The first book in this series, "A Conspiracy of Violence," was published in 2006, and the series continues with "The Body in the Thames," published in 2011. Gregory's writing is characterized by her meticulous research into medieval conditions, which she uses to 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 theme in her novels.