So, you say you want "REAL PEOPLE" mixed into your mysteries! I went through the authors on the site to find the authors who have incorporated "real people" into their mysteries. Since this is the Cozy Mystery Site… most of the authors write cozies…. (By the way, I am writing the descriptions in present tense… even though in some cases… the author is no longer with us…)
Please remember that I only include authors who are on the Cozy Mystery site…
Susan Wittig Albert: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter take place in England during the early 1900s, with Beatrix Potter and her menagerie of animals.
Bruce Alexander (aka Bruce Cook) writes the Sir John Fielding Mystery Series which features Sir John, who along with his older brother Henry, established the first British criminal records and police department.
Steve Allen writes the (comedian) Steve Allen Mystery Series…
Robert Barnard… as Bernard Bastable he writes the (composer) Amadeus Mozart Mystery Series…
Stephanie Barron (aka Francine Mathews) writes the (author) Jane Austen Mystery Series…
George Baxt writes the Celebrity Sleuth Mystery Series featuring such celebrities as Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, etc.
Ron Goulart writes the Groucho Marx Mystery Series which features this 1930s Hollywood actor/comedian.
Barbara Hamilton pens the Abigail Adams Mystery Series which is set in colonial Boston…
Peter King writes the (author) Jack London Mystery Series…
Deryn Lake writes the John Rawlings Mystery Series which features Sir John Fielding (the blind British magistrate who started the Bow Street Runners – the first British police force) along with John Rawlings, a young apothecary…
Anna Maclean (aka Jeanne MacKin) writes the (author) Louisa May Alcott Mystery Series…
J. J. Murphy writes the Algonquin Round Table Mystery Series which features poet/writer Dorothy Parker…
Elliot Roosevelt writes the (first lady) Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery Series…
Rosemary Stevens (aka Rosemary Martin) writes the (Regency England's fashion expert) Beau Brummel Mystery Series…
Nicola Upson: The Josephine Tey Mystery Series is based on the "real life" author of Scotland Yard's Alan Grant Mystery Series.
Nancy Means Wright: The Mary Wollstonecraft Mystery Series features Mary, an English governess in 18th Century Ireland. (Mary was a real person.)
***To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.***
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Hi–Please add Beatrix Potter to your list. I have incorporated her into my Cottage Tales mysteries, which span the years 1905-1913 of Potter’s life. There are currently four books in the series, with the fifth (The Tale of Briar Bank) to be published in October. Altogether, there will be eight tales.
Hi Susan…
I do not know how I skipped the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Mystery Series in this list! I think that when I was dividing all of "my authors" into piles… I inadvertently put the Cottage Tales into the historical mystery pile only, instead of putting the series into both of these themes. Thank you for reminding me.
You might want to add Peter J. Heck’s series of Mark Twain mysteries to this list, too. Not quite citified enough to be properly cozy, but still a lot of fun.
Thanks, Kell, for telling us about Peter J. Heck’s Mark Twain series. They sound interesting…
Ron Goulart has written a very good series with Groucho Marx as the Sleuth. As you can imagine these stories are filled with humor , but are actually very good mysteries.
Thanks, Dave, for telling us about Ron Goulart’s series. I will try to take a look at them soon… They sound like fun…
I just read the first book by Nicola Upson, An Expert in Murder. It features Josephine Tey (the mystery writer). Since Josephine Tey was a pseudonym, I’m not sure exactly where this book fits, but it was really a fun read. I am getting ready to read the second in the series, Angel with Two Faces.
Carol,
Thanks for letting us know about Nicola Upson’s An Expert in Murder… featuring the mystery author Josephine Tey. The series sounds intriguing…
Lol Lol Lol you’ll never believe this, but there’s an Elvis Presley one too lol. I can’t remember the Author’s name but some of the titles are as follows.
Kill Me Tender
Blue Suede Clues
I don’t remember the rest but I know there’s at least 3 others.
Rochelle,
I just looked him up… The author is Daniel Klein. His main character is, indeed, Elvis Presley, a young, singing sleuth.
Kill Me Tender
Blue Suede Clues
Viva Las Vengeance
Such Vicious Minds
Thanks for telling us about Daniel Klein!
I stumbled across this list and I am fully overwhelmed! which is a good thing
I have to look at this list before I do put authors in here.
I will get back to this later.
But thanks for an enjoyable link!
Welcome to the site, Mary! Hope you are able to find a new author… or two…
Roberta Rogow has a Rev Dodgson AKA Lewis Carroll series I think Conan Doyle shows up in it too.
Thanks, Tessa, for telling us about Roberta Rogow.
There’s a series by Ron Goulart starring Groucho Marx that are a lot of fun. You can find the list……… at Ron Goulart’s website.
Thank you, Martha, for telling us about Ron Goulart. (He is actually on my list of authors to post on the site.)
Oh, I forgot to thank you for this list. I love this kind of cozy.
And, I’m glad you’re enjoying the site, Martha…
Carol McCleary has two books with Nellie Bly as the main character – I’m halfway through the first one and she has met Jules Verne.
Thank you, Judith, for telling us about Carol McCleary’s Nellie Bly mystery series…