Paul Charles Dominic DohertyOBE (born 21 September 1946)[1] is an English author, educator, lecturer and historian. He is also the Headmaster of
Trinity Catholic High School in
London, England. Doherty is a prolific writer, has produced dozens of historical novels and a number of nonfiction history books.
Biography
Doherty was born in 1946 and spent his early years in
Middlesbrough.[2] After A-levels, he went to
Ushaw College, Durham for three years to study for the Catholic priesthood, which he did not pursue. He attended
Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and at
Exeter College, Oxford, where he received a doctorate for his thesis on
Edward II. Doherty is a historian who lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries.[citation needed]
In 1981 he was appointed Headmaster at
Trinity Catholic High School in
Woodford Green and a role he continues to this day. In 2003 he was appointed as Interim Headteacher of King Solomon High School, after Jo Shooter left. He was awarded an
Order of the British Empire for his services to education in 2011.[3]
Literary career
Doherty has published several series of
historical mysteries set in the Middle Ages, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egyptian and other periods. He writes both fiction and non-fiction under his own name, both as P.C. Doherty and Paul C. Doherty, as well as under the pennames Anna Apostolou, Michael Clynes, Ann Dukthas, C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, and Vanessa Alexander.[4]
His works include The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan, the Hugh Corbett medieval mysteries, and the Canterbury Tales of Mystery and Murder, which are listed below. As "Michael Clynes", Doherty wrote the Roger Shallot mysteries, set in the era of
Henry VIII.[5] He has written 100 published books which have been printed in multiple languages and published around much of the world.[4]
In a Doherty interview with Michael Shankland, the latter says of Doherty: "I admire how this writer can use the medium of a novel to demonstrate a deep knowledge of the complex working of early 14th-century diplomacy and espionage. Paul C. Doherty seems to be one of the few writers focusing on the
Hundred Years' War who understands the importance of the relationship between England and
Gascony during this era".[6]
A review of The Horus Killings at reviewingtheevidence.com opines that Doherty maintains a balance between historical description and the action of the plot on perfect pitch. "The mix is near perfect. The descriptive passages enhance the story, allowing the reader to vividly visualize an unfamiliar setting without detracting from the page-turning pace desirable in a light mystery." Harriet Klausner states in her review of this same book that "Ancient historical fiction/mystery readers, especially Egyptologists, will cherish this novel."[7]
A 2009 review by
Mike Ripley, himself an acclaimed author and regular contributor to SHOTS Crime and Mystery magazine, states of Doherty's book The Spies of Sobeck:
"A very wise literary agent (and there are some) once told me that the trick with historical mysteries was to hook the reader early on with the mystery and then give them the history lesson. They know the lesson is coming but they want to be lured, almost fooled, into listening to it. Paul Doherty goes out of his way to break this rule. His latest novel and the seventh in his 'Ancient Egyptian Mysteries' series, "The Spies of Sobeck" starts (and ends) with historical notes by the author; there's also a map and a list of characters and their position in the hierarchy of Egypt in 1477BC. So the reader is left in no doubt that they are in for a history lesson and they get one; and it is the positive master class we have come to expect from Paul Doherty. This is history red in tooth and claw and Doherty has proved, in more than fifty novels over a variety of historical settings, that when he gives a history lesson, readers sit up straight and pay attention."[8]
In 1998 Doherty was included in the
Times' "Murder They Write: 100 masters of crime" list published as a supplement to the Times on 18 April 1998. The list, compiled by book critics and authors, included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler.[9]
He was awarded the Herodotus Award, for lifelong achievement for excellence in the writing of historical mysteries by the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society.[10]Treason of the Ghosts was named one of The Times'Best of this year's crime novels in 2000.[11]
Documentaries
The UK
Channel Five documentary, The Secret Life of Elizabeth I (2006), was based on his book of the same title.[12] It explored Doherty's theory that
Elizabeth I may have had a secret love child.
He recently appeared in a National Geographic Channel documentary, Secrets of the Virgin Queen. The documentary examines some controversial theories as to why Elizabeth never married (2011).[13]
Centered around the character of Amerokte, the chief judge of the temple of
Ma'at, who becomes the investigator of conspiracies against the 15th-century BC Queen
Hatusu.
The ancient Egyptian noble
Mahu recounts the events of the age of
Akhenaten and his part in them and his relationships with other personages of the
Amarna period.
Domina (2002), a fictionalized account of Agrippina, mother of Nero, A.D. 15-59.
Murder mysteries with investigator Claudia, a spy for both
Helena, mother of
Constantine the Great, and Sylvester, presbyter of Rome (later
Pope Sylvester I), in A.D. 313 when Christianity is beginning to be established openly in Rome.
Murder Imperial (2003)
The Song of the Gladiator (2004)
The Queen of the Night (2006)
Murder's Immortal Mask (2008)
Alexander the Great Mysteries
The House of Death (2001)
The Godless Man (2002)
The Gates of Hell (2003)
Templar
The Templar (2007)
The Templar Magician (2009)
Margaret Beaufort Series
Dark Queen Rising (2018)
Dark Queen Waiting (2019)
Dark Queen Watching (2021)
Dark Queen Wary (2023)
Other novels
The Death of a King: A Medieval Mystery (1985)
Prince Drakulya (1986)
The Fate of Princes (1990)
Dove Amongst the Hawks (1990)
The Masked Man (1991)
The Rose Demon (1997)
The Haunting (1997)
The Soul Slayer (1997)
The Love Knot (1999) (writing as Vanessa Alexander)
Of Love and War (2000) (writing as Vanessa Alexander)
The Loving Cup (2001) (writing as Vanessa Alexander)