Historical fiction book · Curated
An Instance of the Fingerpost
Iain Pears · historical fiction
In 1663 Oxford, just after Charles II’s return, fellow Robert Grove is found dead at New College and the servant Sarah Blundy is accused of poisoning him. Iain Pears’s 1997 novel is early-modern mystery historical fiction of four witnesses who will not agree—a Venetian visitor, a dispossessed student, the mathematician John Wallis, and the antiquary Anthony Wood—each telling a Restoration in which the murder is also a political plot.
Why read it: A widely searched Restoration mystery—the Pears title readers look up by name, and a 1663 Oxford counterpart to Dissolution already on the shelf.
About this historical novel
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears is historical fiction set around 1663 in the Early modern period with key settings including Oxford, New College, England. In 1663 Oxford, just after Charles II’s return, fellow Robert Grove is found dead at New College and the servant Sarah Blundy is accused of poisoning him. Iain Pears’s 1997 novel is early-modern mystery historical fiction of four witnesses who will not agree—a Venetian visitor, a dispossessed student, the mathematician John Wallis, and the antiquary Anthony Wood—each telling a Restoration in which the murder is also a political plot.
On HisFic we tag it under 3. Historical mystery & crime and 1. Literary historical fiction so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include murder, Restoration, unreliable narrators, science, and conspiracy. A widely searched Restoration mystery—the Pears title readers look up by name, and a 1663 Oxford counterpart to Dissolution already on the shelf.
Use HisFic’s free journey planner to stay in this era or subgenre, save titles to a want-to-read list in your browser, and open Amazon when you are ready to buy. HisFic is discovery-only—not a bookstore—so pages like this exist to help you choose the next historical novel with intent.
Plot summary
In 1663 Oxford, just after Charles II’s return, fellow Robert Grove is found dead at New College and the servant Sarah Blundy is accused of poisoning him. Iain Pears’s 1997 novel is early-modern mystery historical fiction of four witnesses who will not agree—a Venetian visitor, a dispossessed student, the mathematician John Wallis, and the antiquary Anthony Wood—each telling a Restoration in which the murder is also a political plot. A widely searched Restoration mystery—the Pears title readers look up by name, and a 1663 Oxford counterpart to Dissolution already on the shelf.
Subgenres
Eras
Browse this mix
More like this on HisFic
Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- My Name Is Red · Orhan Pamuk
In nine snowy days of 1591, Black comes home to Istanbul and finds the Sultan’s miniaturists split over a secret book that would paint faces the Frankish way; Elegant has already been killed, and the corpse, a dog, a gold coin, and the color red take turns naming the murderer. Orhan Pamuk’s 1998 novel (English translation 2001) is early-modern mystery historical fiction of Ottoman book art, heresy, and a workshop that may go blind before it tells the truth.
- Year of Wonders · Geraldine Brooks
A Derbyshire village quarantines itself during the plague—and a servant girl finds her strength.
- Dissolution · C. J. Sansom
In 1537 the lawyer Matthew Shardlake is sent by Thomas Cromwell to the Sussex monastery of Scarnsea, where Commissioner Robin Singleton has been found with his head severed, and the sacrilege around the killing will not stay a single death. C. J. Sansom’s 2003 novel is early-modern mystery historical fiction of the dissolution of the monasteries, a reformer who still has to walk the cloisters, and a detective Cromwell expects to close the file.
- The Miniaturist · Jessie Burton
A young wife in 1680s Amsterdam receives a cabinet house—and cryptic dolls that seem to know too much.
- Wolf Hall · Hilary Mantel
Thomas Cromwell rises through Tudor England’s deadly court, told in close, modern-feeling prose.
- Bring Up the Bodies · Hilary Mantel
Thomas Cromwell, now Master Secretary, engineers the fall of Anne Boleyn as Henry VIII turns toward Jane Seymour. The middle novel of Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy is court politics at close range—cool, lethal, and intimate.
Regions & places
Britain & Ireland
Oxford · New College · England
Themes
- murder
- Restoration
- unreliable narrators
- science
- conspiracy
Tags
mystery · bestseller