Showing titles in Historical

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.

September, 1145. The body of a Templar knight is discovered in the Forest of Wyre on Worcestershire's northern border, and concealed upon his person is a bloodstained document that reveals the identity of a traitor. Undersherif Hugh Bradecote, Sergeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin must discover who the dead man was and whether his death was personal, political or an outlaw killing.

Holmes and Watson discover that the missing woman—Hannah Woolfson—was herself on the trail of a missing person, her close friend Sophia. Sophia was recruited to a group known as the Elysians, a quasi-religious sect obsessed with Ancient Greek myths and rituals, run by the charismatic Sir Philip Buchanan. Hannah has joined the Elysians under an assumed name, convinced that her friend has been murdered. Holmes agrees that she should continue as his agent within the secretive yet seemingly harmless cult, yet Watson is convinced Hannah is in terrible danger.

This program is read by Downton Abbey actor David Robb, and includes footnotes read by the author. In Nicholas Meyer's The Return of the Pharaoh, Sherlock Holmes returns in an adventure that takes him to Egypt in search of a missing nobleman, a previously undiscovered pharaoh's tomb, and a...

"...rich with period detail and clever invention!" -- Wall Street Journal This program is read by Downton Abbey actor David Robb, and includes a bonus conversation with the author. With the international bestseller The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer brought to light a previously...

There, in the district of Lan-fang, separated from the vast Tartar steppes of Central Asia by only a boundary river, Judge Dee faces and solves one of the most frightening cases of his long career. Outside the east city gate, on a wooded hill, stood a centuries-old Buddhist temple. It was there that the phantom stalked; and there also a series of brutal murders were committed. Judge Dee's inquiry into them is complicated by a mysterious dying message from a young girl and by the theft of a large sum in gold from an imperial treasurer.

London, 1859. Nurse Gemma Tate boards the American packet ship the Prince Regent to aid Inspector Sebastian Bell in investigating the death of a British aristocrat. But when she sees the crime scene, Gemma realizes that her knowledge of human nature will be just as valuable as her medical training. Lord Anthony Blackstock lies murdered in his cabin, his head locked inside a nightmarish iron cage. His wife has vanished without a trace, and time is running out to find her, dead or alive…

Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but things are not going well. After spending her entire inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns too late that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered by his robot invention during a sold-out demonstration, rumors circulate that the curse is real.

The girls of Dressmakers Alley are happy in their new jobs. Business is thriving and yet a new shadow looms. Women are being attacked and robbed whilst several businesses have been burgled. Are these two circumstances linked or is this just a coincidence? As the attacks escalate, and the police seem unmoved to intervene, the men of Dressmakers Alley decide to take the law into their own hands and patrol the streets to keep them and their women safe.

Marrakesh, 1893: His military career in disgrace, Harry Delhaze turns to a life of drink and gambling. But then he’s offered a way out–a small fortune to help the Sultan of Morocco quell a rebel uprising. It sounds like easy money. Instead, Harry is forced to battle the wild bandit armies of ruthless prophet-warlord, Bou Hamra, through the snows of the Atlas Mountains and the baking deserts of the Sahara. And he finds himself in the fight of his life.

The year is 1143 and King Owain seeks to unite his daughter in marriage with an allied king. But when the groom is murdered on the way to his wedding, the bride's brother tasks his two best detectives—Gareth, a knight, and Gwen, the daughter of the court bard—with bringing the killer to justice. And once blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, Gwen must continue her search for the truth alone, finding unlikely allies in foreign lands, and ultimately uncovering a conspiracy that will shake the political foundations of Wales.

Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot.

Commander Thomas Kydd is eager to play his part in thwarting Bonaparte’s plans for the invasion of England. Joining Admiral Nelson’s command, Kydd and his ship soon find themselves at the heart of the action that leads up to the famous clash of the mighty British and French fleets at Trafalgar.Kydd’s journey takes him from false sightings of the enemy and dramatic chases across the Atlantic, to the bloody annihilation of the enemy during the actual battle, and the heroic aftermath.

Who killed Sir Crispin Gibbons? A wedding invitation and news of mischief that could be murder, takes Lennox to the Earl of Bloxford's country pile. He soon finds himself in a world of purloined artworks, forgeries and a priceless Bloxford Beauty. But who are the Bloxford Beauties? And why are they the focal point around which swirls death? Lennox must confront life-long friends, unscrupulous artists and dealers to finally unravel a plot so complex that even his old adversary, Chief Inspector Swift of Scotland Yard, is befuddled.

Fen Churche arrives in Paris, determined to put the horrors of the war behind her. But the City of Lights has lost its spark, except inside the apartment of Fen’s godmother, Rose Coillard. Fen can’t wait to hear about Rose’s war work - under the nose of prominent Nazis, Rose created a secret list of the precious paintings they stole. Now Rose will be able to return them to their rightful Jewish owners. But after a few days reuniting with old friends, Fen finds Rose stabbed through the neck with one of her own paintbrushes. Fen is determined to solve her beloved friend’s murder.

Bombay, 1952. When once legendary British film producer, Richard Boorman, working in India's film capital, Bombay, is found murdered, shot dead, his body stuffed into the trunk of his car, Persis, India's first female police detective, is tasked to find his killer. Working with Archie Blackfinch...

As much as Beatrice Hyde-Clare relished the challenge of figuring out who murdered a fellow guest during a house party in the Lake District, she certainly does not consider herself an amateur investigator. So when a London dandy falls dead at her feet in the entryway of a London Daily Gazette, she feels no compulsion to investigate. It was a newspaper office, after all, and reporters are already on the case as are the authorities.

Hidden beneath her British reserve, Edwina has a secret: she’s finished her novel and is bravely mailing the manuscript to a publisher. Beryl also has a secret: as thanks for solving a case, the American adventuress has been gifted an airplane. After swooping over the fields and hedgerows of Walmsley Parva, livestock scattering beneath her, she flamboyantly lands the plane on the village green, prompting a startled Edwina to consider a stiff gin fizz. Beryl’s aircraft is not the only disruption of village peace. Miss Dinsdale, a psychic medium, has started holding séances.

Georgia Fenchurch is a demure Victorian spinster and part of the secretive investigative group the Archivist Society. She is both a quiet antiquarian bookseller and adventurous hunter of killers and thieves. When a woman comes into Georgia's bookshop asking for the Archivist Society's help in finding her neighbor, she sends Georgia and her friends onto a perilous path where aristocrats lie to them, thugs attack, and the dashing, enigmatic Duke of Blackford appears to be involved in thwarting them at every step.

In 1982, Italian financier Roberto Calvi, known as “God’s Banker”, was discovered hanging under London’s Blackfriars Bridge. What wasn’t found was the briefcase he was known to have had with him the night before, reportedly stuffed with incriminating documents, a special key, and a computer disk filled with codes, which together unlock a piece of the Vatican’s troubled past. When the briefcase mysteriously reappears in the Vatican Secret Archives, Father Michael Dominic and his team are up against two powerful and enigmatic organizations.