Matthew Bartholomew Books In Order

Publication Order of Matthew Bartholomew Books

The Matthew Bartholomew series is a series of Mystery and Thriller novels written by the noteworthy English author named Susanna Gregory. There is a total of 21 books published in the series between the years 1996 and 2015. It is an ongoing series and author Susanna Gregory is currently working on the latest novel of the series, which is about to be released in the coming days. All the novels of the series revolve around the occurrences in the life of the main character named Matthew Bartholomew, who is depicted by the author as a physician. The novels of the series also feature Brother Michael, who is the colleague of Matthew Bartholomew. The stories of all the novels of the series are set during the 14 century in Cambridge, England.

Author Susanna Gregory has shown Matthew has a fictional character in the series, who lives in Cambridge and works as a master at the Michaelhouse College at the University of Cambridge, and also teaches medicine. Being a physician as well as a teaching fellow at the Cambridge University, Matthew seems to be unusual to have appeared in the time and space of the 14th century. His beliefs and thinkings are totally different from that of most of the people of his time. Matthew is of the opinion that washing your hands can do a lot better for your health instead of showing it to horoscopes. This belief of Matthew is not liked by many of the contemporaries living in his time. Other than having a few different beliefs, Matthew Bartholomew also seems to be involved in certain crime solving activities reluctantly along with his partner named Brother Michael, who also serves as a teaching fellow at the Michaelhouse College.

Brother Michael is believed to be a Benedictine monk with a vast knowledge and love related to intrigue, good food, and politics. Together, Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael try to fight against the criminal activities taking place in the city. They mostly get involved in solving the murder cases that tend to plague the university town as well as the places nearby it. The Matthew Bartholomew series opens up with the arrival of a plague known as the Black Death. It appears to be so deadly none of the medical practitioners, including Matthew, believe that their remedies will have any effect in fighting against the plague. Like everyone else, he also dreads against the onslaught that is expected to come into the city due to the Black Death. The first novel of the series depicts such devastating time of uncertainty and fear among the people of Cambridge.

All the other novels of the Matthew Bartholomew series are set in the post-plague time periods, which also seem to be equally terrifying and devastating. The people of Cambridge begin to think that they have deserted by the God and His angels during their darkest hour. Due to this, the mortality rates in some of the religious foundations were quite high. The people begin to ignore the priests as they think that there is no point in listening to their preachings when the Almighty has himself ignored their prayers. This caused many of the settlements of the city to rededicate their prayers to the Virgin Mary, while some of them transformed into ancient religions and witchcraft activities.

The first novel of the Matthew Bartholomew series was published under the title ‘A Plague on Both Your Houses’. It was released by the Little Brown Book Group publishing house in the year 1996. The plot of the novel is set in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom, during the time of the year 1348. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Matthew Bartholomew is introduced as a physician and a teacher on fellowship at the College of Michaelhouse of the Cambridge University. He is depicted to have several unorthodox and efficient treatment tricks for the effective treatment of his patients. Matthew has the habit of drawing frequent accusations from his traditional colleagues about heresy.

Other than his practice, Matthew also teaches medicine to his students at the Michaelhouse College, which is considered to be a part of the popular Cambridge University. Later, it is shown that around the middle of the year 1348, the inhabitants of the city of Cambridge begin to fear the shadow of a devastating pestilence that seems to have ravaged the entire Europe and moving towards England relentlessly. Meanwhile, Matthew Bartholomew seems to be distracted by the inexplicable and sudden death of the Michaelhouse College’s Master. To his surprise, the authorities of the college did not want to get the death of the Master investigated. But, Matthew decides to go in the pursuit of the truth which leads him in a tangle of intrigue and lies. As a result, Matthew begins to question the very innocence of his close friends and colleagues, as well as his family members. Finally, a more dangerous problem arrives in the city, which is the plague called the Black Death.

The second novel of the Matthew Bartholomew series was published by the St. Martin’s Press in the year 1996. It was titled ‘An Unholy Alliance’ and was set during the year 1350, two years after the arrival of the Black Death in Cambridge, England. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, the city of Cambridge seems to be under the threat of a new killer a couple of years after the population decimation of England at the hands of the Black Death. A serial murderer appears to be preying on the lives of the young women of the town. Now, it is up to Matthew Bartholomew and his monk friend Brother Michael to catch the deadly killer and reveal his identity using their useful and modern ideas.

At the same time, the lands of the Cambridge city get filled by the bands of helpless and homeless peasants who seemed to have shunned their lives of slavery in the fields, and turning towards violence and robbery. Due to the increasing death rate among the monks and the priests has left them vulnerable to the sinister activities. While investigating against the serial killer, Brother Michael and Matthew are forced to undertake a clerk’s exhumation, get involved in a sinister meeting in one of the abandoned churches, and ride on horsebacks to desperately save their lives from the evil, which takes advantage of the devastating situation created by the plague in the city.