Keith Miles

Keith Miles (born 1940) is a writer of historical fiction and mystery novels. He has also written children's books, radio and television dramas and stage plays. He is best known under the pseudonym Edward Marston, and has also written as Martin Inigo and Conrad Allen.

Career

Miles was born and educated in South Wales.^[1] He gained a degree in Modern History from Oxford University and spent three years as a lecturer, before becoming a full-time writer.^[2] Miles's early work was as a scriptwriter for television and radio, including series such as Crossroads, Z-Cars and The Archers.^[3]

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Miles turned to writing mystery fiction. His first series, written under his own name, featured Alan Saxon, a professional golfer-turned-amateur detective. After four books, Miles's publisher did not wish to continue the series,^[1] which only resumed after a hiatus of more than a decade.^[4]

In 1988, Miles began another series, set in the theatrical world of Elizabethan London. For this series, and for most of his subsequent writing, he adopted the pseudonym Edward Marston, the name reflecting that of a real Elizabethan playwright, John Marston.^[5] The series features a fictional theatrical company, Westfield's Men, and, in particular, Nicholas Bracewell, its book-holder, a position similar to that of the modern stage manager.

Marston's next series was set during the reign of William the Conqueror; its two main characters, surveyors for Domesday Book, are Ralph Delchard, a Norman soldier, and Gervase Bret, a former novice turned lawyer, who is half Saxon and half Breton.

Miles has written three other series of historical mysteries under the Marston pseudonym: one set in Restoration London; another set in Victorian England during the 1850s against a background of the development of the railways; and the third set during the military campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough.

Under another pseudonym, that of Conrad Allen, he has written a series featuring two ship's detectives during the early 1900s, while under his own name he has written two mysteries, set in the United States, which feature a Welsh architect, Merlin Richards.

Keith Miles was chairman of the Crime Writers' Association for 1997-8.^[6] He was previously married to Rosalind Miles and is now married to another mystery writer, Judith Cutler.^[4]

Bibliography

As Keith Miles

• The Alan Saxon series
  1. Bullet Hole (1986)
  2. Double Eagle (1987)
  3. Green Murder (1990)
  4. Flagstick (1991)
  5. Bermuda Grass (2002)
  6. Honolulu Play-Off (2004)
• The Merlin Richards series
  1. Murder in Perspective (1997)
  2. Saint's Rest (1999)
• Warrior Kings (1978)

As Martin Inigo

• Stone Dead (1991)
• Touch Play (1991)

As Edward Marston

• The Elizabethan Theatre series, featuring Nicholas Bracewell, stage manager (and amateur detective) for one of Elizabethan London leading theatrical companies:
  1. The Queen's Head (1988)
  2. The Merry Devils (1989)
  3. The Trip to Jerusalem (1990)
  4. The Nine Giants (1991)
  5. The Mad Courtesan (1992)
  6. The Silent Woman (1992)
  7. The Roaring Boy (1995) (nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, 1996)^[7]
  8. The Laughing Hangman (1996)
  9. The Fair Maid of Bohemia (1997)
  10. The Wanton Angel (1999)
  11. The Devil's Apprentice (2001)
  12. The Bawdy Basket (2002)
  13. The Vagabond Clown (2003)
  14. The Counterfeit Crank (2004)
  15. The Malevolent Comedy (2005)
  16. The Princess of Denmark (2006)
• The Domesday series, featuring Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, commissioners appointed by William the Conqueror, to look into the serious irregularities that come to light during the compilation of the Domesday Book, the great survey of England:
  1. The Wolves of Savernake (1993)
  2. The Ravens of Blackwater (1994)
  3. The Dragons of Archenfield (1995)
  4. The Lions of the North (1996)
  5. The Serpents of Harbledown (1996)
  6. The Stallions of Woodstock (1997)
  7. The Hawks of Delamere (1998)
  8. The Wildcats of Exeter (1998)
  9. The Foxes of Warwick (1999)
  10. The Owls of Gloucester (2000)
  11. The Elephants of Norwich (2000)
• The Restoration series, featuring architect Christopher Redmayne and Constable Jonathan Bale, set in 1660s/70s London:
  1. The King's Evil (1999)
  2. The Amorous Nightingale (2000)
  3. The Repentant Rake (2001)
  4. The Frost Fair (2003)
  5. The Parliament House (2006)
  6. The Painted Lady (2007)
• The Railway Detective series, featuring Scotland Yard detectives Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming, set in the 1850s:
  1. The Railway Detective (2004)
  2. The Excursion Train (2005)
  3. The Railway Viaduct (2006)
  4. The Iron Horse (2007)
  5. Murder on the Brighton Express (2008)
  6. The Silver Locomotive Mystery (2009)
  7. Railway to the Grave (2010)
  8. Blood on the Line (2011)
  9. The Stationmaster's Farewell (2012)
  10. Peril on the Royal Train (2013)
  11. A Ticket to Oblivion (2014)
  12. Inspector Colbeck's Casebook: Thirteen Tales from the Railway Detective (2014)
  13. Timetable of Death (2015)
  14. Signal for Vengeance (2016)
      [The first three above-mentioned in this series are available in an omnibus edition]
• The Captain Rawson series, featuring Captain Daniel Rawson, soldier and spy, set around the period of the War of the Spanish Succession:
  1. Soldier of Fortune (2008)
  2. Drums of War (2008)
  3. Fire and Sword (2009)
  4. Under Siege (2010)
  5. A Very Murdering Battle (2011)
• The Home Front Detective Series, featuring Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy, set in 1915.
  1. A Bespoke Murder (2011)
  2. Instrument of Slaughter (2012)
  3. Five Dead Canaries (2013)
  4. Deeds of Darkness (2014)
  5. Dance of Death (2015)
• The Bow Street Rivals series
  1. Shadow of the Hangman (2015)
  2. Steps to the Gallows (2016)
• Short Story Collections
  1. Perfect Shadows' (1999)
  2. Murder, Ancient and Modern (Crippen & Landru, 2005)
• Non-fiction (Crime studies)
  1. John Christie. Surrey: The National Archives. ISBN 978-1-905615-16-2.

As Conrad Allen

• The Dillman and Masefield series, featuring private detectives George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, and set on board ocean liners of the early 1900s:
  1. Murder on the Lusitania (1999)
  2. Murder on the Mauretania (2000)
  3. Murder on the Minnesota (2002)
  4. Murder on the Caronia (2002)
  5. Murder on the Marmora (2004)
  6. Murder on the Salsette (2005)
  7. Murder on the Oceanic (2006)
  8. Murder on the Celtic (2007)

As David Garland

• The American Revolutionary War series, featuring Captain Jamie Skoyles, set during the American Revolutionary War:^[8]
  1. Valley Forge: A Novel of the American Revolution (2005)
  2. Saratoga (2006)

References