Peter Tremayne books

Anthologies

Dracula Lives Reading Order

Lan-Kern Reading Order

Non-Fiction

Short Stories/Novellas

Short Story Collections

Sister Fidelma Reading Order

Sister Fidelma Collections Reading Order

Standalone Novels

Peter Tremayne is the fiction-writing pen name of Peter Berresford Ellis, a historian and author who has written extensively on Celtic history, culture, and languages under his real name. Born in Coventry, England in 1943 to an Irish journalist father and a Cork-born mother, Ellis grew up between England and Ireland. His academic work on the Celts, the Irish revolution, and endangered Celtic languages has earned him recognition as one of the foremost popular historians of Celtic civilization.

Under the Tremayne name, he first gained attention in the late 1970s with horror novels like the Dracula Lives trilogy and creature features such as Zombie!, The Morgow Rises!, and Snowbeast!. He also wrote the Lan-Kern fantasy trilogy, set in a post-apocalyptic Celtic world, along with thrillers, adventure novels, and short fiction spanning several decades.

His best-known work by far is the Sister Fidelma series, which began with Absolution by Murder in 1994. Set in 7th-century Ireland, these historical mysteries follow a religieuse and legal advocate who solves murders using the principles of the ancient Brehon law system. The series has been translated into numerous languages and developed a loyal international readership, with new entries still being published into the 2020s. Tremayne’s deep knowledge of early medieval Irish society gives the books an unusual level of historical detail that sets them apart from other entries in the genre.