Explore how many writers take the foundational elements of mystery and suspense and move them to earlier periods of history, often mixing true events and historical facts with fictional characters or situations. Professor Schmid introduces you to two types of historical mysteries and showcases a number of examples to understand why historical mysteries are so popular among their legions of fans.

"When a cache of seventeenth-century Jewish documents is discovered, historian Helen Watt is tasked to find the identity of the documents' scribe, the elusive "Aleph"--

"A reenactment leads to the death of Bayport's biggest benefactor, and the Hardy Boys get involved, especially when a favorite teacher turns out to be a prime suspect."--

A fictionalized rendition of the heroic exploits of Theseus, King of Athens, beginning with his triumphant return from Crete after slaying the Minotaur.

Traces the passions and privileges of four generations of Colemans--a powerful clan that owns the Texas aerospace industry and controls the lives of all who encounter their obsessive dynasty.

The rascally Thomas of Hookton, aka Le Batard, and his band of not-so-merry mercenaries are bidden by the Earl of Northhampton to unearth the lost sword of Saint Peter in this recreation of the Battle of the Poitiers in 1356 wherein a severely outnumbered English army defeats the French and captures the Poitiers and French King John II.

Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856 - a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces - when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry's master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town - along with Brown, who believes Henry to be a girl and his good-luck charm. Over the ensuing months, Henry, whom Brown nicknames Little Onion, conceals his true identity to stay...

In the late 1700s-When America was so young, it did not even have a president-James Gould, a shy farm boy, dreamed of building a lighthouse. This dream takes him from the cold New England hills to the warm sands of St. Simon's Island, Georgia

A fictionalized account of the life of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a late-eighteenth-century German philosophy student, who later becomes the Romantic poet Novalis, focusing on his infatuation with twelve-year-old Sophie von Kuhn.

The war is drawing to a close, but Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands. Loss has left Cornelia a shadow of the woman she once was. The war widow now fights to protect her younger brother, Johan, who lives in hiding. Then Johan brings a wounded Dutch Resistance member to her doorstep. Cornelia's faith won't let her turn him out. And while nursing him back to health, she's drawn to his fierce passion and ideals.