Amelia Peabody
historical mystery
Series · historical mystery
Inspector George Felse
The Inspector George Felse series by Ellis Peters has 13 known books (13 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Fallen into the Pit (1951).
- Books
- 13 known books (13 novels)
- Published
- 13
- First published
- 1951
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime, Historical Fiction
- Last checked
Start here: Fallen into the Pit (1951) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Fallen into the Pit
Fallen into the Pit (1951, 301 pages) opens the Inspector George Felse series, written in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War and introducing the quietly perceptive detective in the fictional Midlands town of Comerford. It's an English village mystery of character and community, closer to the classic Golden Age tradition than Ellis Peters' later Brother Cadfael novels.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fallen into the Pit - Book 2:
Death and the Joyful Woman
Death and the Joyful Woman (1961, 256 pages) is the second Inspector George Felse novel, and generally considered the series' high point -- it won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. It arrives a decade after the series opener, as George's son Dominic begins growing from schoolboy into the young investigator he becomes across later entries.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death and the Joyful Woman - Book 3:
Flight of a Witch
Flight of a Witch (1964, 232 pages) is the third book in the Inspector George Felse series, continuing Ellis Peters' close attention to landscape, folklore and ordinary people under moral pressure in and around the fictional town of Comerford.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Flight of a Witch - Book 4:
A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs
A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs (1965, 192 pages) holds the fourth slot in the Inspector George Felse series, continuing the slow real-time family arc that runs beneath the mysteries as Dominic Felse matures alongside his detective father.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs - Book 5:
The Piper on the Mountain
The Piper on the Mountain (1966, 192 pages) is the fifth Inspector George Felse novel, one of the entries that centres on Dominic Felse as an adult investigator rather than his father George -- part of what makes the series as much a coming-of-age story as a straight procedural.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Piper on the Mountain - Book 6:
Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Heart
Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Heart (1967, 223 pages) is the sixth Inspector George Felse novel, continuing the family saga that runs alongside the mysteries -- George, his wife Bunty, and their son Dominic maturing across the series' near three-decade real-time span.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Heart - Book 7:
The Grass Widow's Tale
The Grass Widow's Tale (1968, 192 pages) is the seventh Inspector George Felse novel, continuing Ellis Peters' English small-town mysteries of character and community in the years following the Edgar-winning Death and the Joyful Woman.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Grass Widow's Tale - Book 8:
The House of Green Turf
The House of Green Turf (1969, 192 pages) is the eighth Inspector George Felse novel, part of the series' mid-run stretch as the story's geography begins widening beyond Comerford into settings further afield.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The House of Green Turf - Book 9:
Mourning Raga
Mourning Raga (1969, 192 pages) holds the ninth slot in the Inspector George Felse series, one of the entries -- alongside The Piper on the Mountain -- that centres on Dominic Felse as a grown investigator, sending the family story abroad as his character matures.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mourning Raga - Book 10:
The Knocker on Death's Door
The Knocker on Death's Door (1970, 212 pages) is the tenth Inspector George Felse novel, continuing the family saga that runs beneath Ellis Peters' small-town mysteries as the series moves into its final stretch.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Knocker on Death's Door - Book 11:
Death to the Landlords!
Death to the Landlords! (1972, 221 pages) took the eleventh spot in the Inspector George Felse series, part of the later run of books that sends the Felse family further afield -- into Wales, Vienna, Greece and beyond -- widening the series' geography without losing its focus on family and community.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death to the Landlords! - Book 12:
City of Gold and Shadows
Following Death to the Landlords! in the Inspector George Felse series, City of Gold and Shadows (1973, 248 pages) is the twelfth book, continuing the later entries' pattern of sending the Felse family beyond Comerford as the series nears its end.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of City of Gold and Shadows - Book 13:
Rainbow's End
Rainbow's End (1978, 192 pages) is the thirteenth and final Inspector George Felse novel, closing out a series that unfolded over nearly three decades of real time, with Dominic Felse having grown from schoolboy sleuth in the earlier books to a married adult by the series' close.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rainbow's End
About the Inspector George Felse series
Long before Brother Cadfael, Ellis Peters (the pen name of Edith Pargeter) wrote thirteen contemporary mysteries centred on George Felse, a quietly perceptive detective inspector in the fictional Midlands town of Comerford, and — as the series goes on — his wife Bunty and their son Dominic, who takes over as the effective lead investigator in several later entries as he grows from schoolboy to young adult. Beginning with Fallen into the Pit (1951), written in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the series moves at a markedly different pace and register from Cadfael: these are English village and small-town mysteries of character and community, closer to the classic Golden Age tradition, with Peters' interest in landscape, folklore and ordinary people under moral pressure already fully present.
The series unfolds gradually over nearly three decades of real time, with Dominic Felse maturing from a teenager solving cases alongside his father in the earlier books to a married adult with his own entanglements by the later ones — Death and the Joyful Woman (1961) won the Edgar Award for Best Novel and is generally considered the series' high point. Later entries send the family further afield, into Wales, Vienna, Greece and beyond, widening the series' geography without losing its close attention to family and community. It's a rewarding find for readers who love Cadfael's humane observation of character but want something set in the twentieth century, with a genuine family saga running underneath the mysteries.
Frequently asked questions
How many Inspector George Felse books are there?
Thirteen, from Fallen into the Pit (1951) to Rainbow's End (1978). The series is complete.
What order should I read the Inspector George Felse books in?
Publication order, starting with Fallen into the Pit. Dominic Felse's growth from teenager to adult unfolds across the series' 27-year real-time span, so reading in order preserves that arc.
Is this the same detective as Brother Cadfael?
No. George Felse is a 20th-century English police inspector, entirely unrelated to the medieval monk-detective Brother Cadfael; both are creations of the same author, Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter), but the two series share no characters or setting.
Which Felse book won an award?
Death and the Joyful Woman (1961), the second book, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.
Is the Inspector George Felse series finished?
Yes, complete at thirteen novels published between 1951 and 1978, well before Peters began the Brother Cadfael series in 1977 (the two series briefly overlapped, with Felse's last two entries appearing alongside Cadfael's earliest).
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Reading order last verified .