This award is for the best historical crime novel, first published in the UK in English during the judging period, set in any period up to 50 years prior to the year in which the award will be made. For novels that involve passages set later than this time period, at least three quarters of the book should be set in an earlier period.
The Historical Dagger is sponsored by Morgen Witzel in memory of Dr. Marilyn Livingstone.
| Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| D.V. Bishop | A Divine Fury | Macmillan |
| Rory Clements | Munich Wolf | Zaffre |
| Emily Critchley | The Undoing of Violet Claybourne | Manilla Press |
| D.L. Douglas | Dr Spilsbury and the Cursed Bride | Orion Publishing |
| Douglas Jackson | Blood Roses | Canelo |
| Chris Lloyd | Banquet of Beggers | Orion Books |
| Anna Mazzola | The Book of Secrets | Orion Books |
| Lizzie Pook | Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge | Picador |
| Sally Smith | A Case of Mice and Murder | Raven Books |
| L.C. Tyler | The Three Deaths of Justice Godfrey | Constable |
| A.J. West | The Betrayal of Thomas True | Orenda Books |
| Clare Whitfield | Poor Girls | Aries |
Judges’ Comments
Clyde ‘the Viper’ Morton travelled to Harlem to become a musician. Instead he became a lynchpin in the marijuana trade that fuelled the musicians. Now, thirty years later, he is dealing with the rise … More
Professor Edward James (Chair)
Edward James is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at University College Dublin. He has published numerous papers on the archaeology, art and history of early medieval Europe. He is also an enthusiastic reader of science fiction and fantasy. In 2017 the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts presented him with their Distinguished Scholarship Award.
Charlotte Beyer
Dr Charlotte Beyer is Senior Lecturer in English Studies at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. She has published widely on crime fiction and contemporary literature. She is the author of four single-author scholarly monographs, Murder in a Few Words: Gender, Genre and Location in the Crime Short Story (2020), Contemporary Children’s and Young Adult Literature: Writing Back to History and Oppression (2021), and Intersectionality and Decolonisation in Contemporary British Crime Fiction (2023). Her latest book, Crime Fiction in the Age of #MeToo (Anthem, 2024) examines the intersections between fourth-wave feminism and contemporary crime fiction. She has also edited six books, including Teaching Crime Fiction (2018). She has a long-standing interest in historical crime fiction and has also published on the subject.
Paul Burke
Paul writes The Verdict column for NB magazine, interviews, articles and features for Crime Fiction Lover, Crime Time and the European Literature Network. He also edits and presents the Crime Time FM podcast and is a book collector and lover of crime fiction.
Farah Mendlesohn
Farah Mendlesohn is an academic with the title Emerita Professor from Anglia Ruskin University, where she was Head of English. She has always enjoyed reading crime fiction, but is also particularly interested in historical fiction. She is working on a major study of the children’s historical writer Geoffrey Trease.
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