1950s – History and Mystery Reads

The Pledge (1958), Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Rating: 9/10 · Translated from German Plot: A detective promises a murdered girl’s mother that he…

Rating: 7/10 Accuracy: Detailed on coastal trade, the Korean community and provincial administration, with the usual…

Rating: 8/10 Accuracy: Legal procedure, customs and administration are exact, though van Gulik openly mixed Ming…

Rating: 7/10 Accuracy: Strong on the founding of the Metropolitan Police in 1829 and the public…

Rating: 6/10 Accuracy: Good on the Boulogne camp of 1805, Napoleon’s planned invasion of Britain, and…

Rating: 7/10 Accuracy: Solid on legal and frontier administration, with van Gulik’s usual candid blending of…

Rating: 8/10 · Translated from German; English edition 1989 Accuracy: A rich, precise evocation of Rudolf…

Rating: 8/10 Accuracy: Carr knew Restoration London closely and appended notes explaining his sources. Plot: A…

Rating: 10/10 Accuracy: Historians still argue over Tey’s verdict, but her method, ranking contemporary records above…

Rating: 6/10 Accuracy: Lively on Regency London’s prisons, boxing, gaming and dress, but the history serves…

Rati.Rating: 6/10 Accuracy: Broadly grounded in the real waves of settlement, but built from composite families…

Rating: 5/10 Accuracy: Draws on real events, including the 1947 Exodus affair and the Cyprus detention…