# CWA Historical Dagger

The CWA Historical Dagger (currently called the CWA Endeavor Historical Dagger) is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to the author of the best historical crime novel of the year. Established in 1999, it is presented to a novel "with a crime theme and a historical background of any period up to 35 years before the current year".
The award was called the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger from 1999 to 2005, and was known as the Ellis Peters Historical Award from 2006 to 2012, to commemorate the life and work of historical crime writer Ellis Peters, whose Cadfael Chronicles (1977–1994) are generally credited with popularizing the genre that would become known as the historical mystery.
Starting in 2014, the award became known as the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger through sponsorship by Endeavor Press.

## Honorees

| Year | Author | Title | Publisher | Result |
| 1999 | Lindsey Davis | Two for the Lions | Century | Winner |
| 1999 | Ian Morson | Falconer and the Great Beast | | Shortlist |
| 1999 | Charles Todd | Wings of Fire | | Shortlist |
| 2000 | Gillian Linscott | Absent Friends | Virago Press | Winner |
| 2000 | Rennie Airth | River of Darkness | | Shortlist |
| 2000 | Clare Curzon | Guilty Knowledge | | Shortlist |
| 2000 | Pierre Magnan | The Murdered House | | Shortlist |
| 2000 | Hannah March | The Devil’s Highway | | Shortlist |
| 2000 | Michael Pearce | Death of an Effendi | | Shortlist |
| 2000 | Laura Wilson | A Little Death | | Shortlist |
| 2001 | Andrew Taylor | The Office Of The Dead | HarperCollins | Winner |
| 2001 | Michael Pearce | A Cold Touch of Ice | | Runner Up |
| 2001 | Lindsey Davis | Ode to a Banker | | Shortlist |
| 2001 | Hannah March | A Distinction of Blood | | Shortlist |
| 2001 | Steven Saylor | Last Seen in Massilia | | Shortlist |
| 2001 | Penn Williamson | Mortal Sins | | Shortlist |
| 2002 | Sarah Waters | Fingersmith | Virago Press | Winner |
| 2002 | Lindsey Davis | The Jupiter Myth | | Shortlist |
| 2002 | Philip Gooden | The Pale Companion | | Shortlist |
| 2002 | Gillian Linscott | Dead Man Riding | | Shortlist |
| 2002 | José Carlos Somoza | The Athenian Murders | | Shortlist |
| 2002 | Martin Stephen | The Desperate Remedy | | Shortlist |
| 2003 | Andrew Taylor | The American Boy | Flamingo | Winner |
| 2003 | Tom Bradby | The White Russian | | Shortlist |
| 2003 | Marcello Fois | The Advocate | | Shortlist |
| 2003 | Lee Jackson | London Dust | | Shortlist |
| 2003 | Gillian Linscott | Blood on the Wood | | Shortlist |
| 2003 | C. J. Sansom | Dissolution | | Shortlist |
| 2003 | Olen Steinhauer | The Bridge of Sighs | | Shortlist |
| 2004 | Barbara Cleverly | The Damascened Blade | Constable & Robinson | Winner |
| 2004 | Marjorie Eccles | The Shape of Sand | | Shortlist |
| 2004 | Tom Franklin | Hell at the Breech | | Shortlist |
| 2004 | Janet Gleeson | The Thief Taker | | Shortlist |
| 2004 | Matthew Pearl | The Dante Club | | Shortlist |
| 2004 | Steven Saylor | The Judgment of Caesar | | Shortlist |
| 2004 | Laura Wilson | The Lover | | Shortlist |
| 2005 | C. J. Sansom | Dark Fire | Macmillan | Winner |
| 2005 | Tom Bradby | The God of Chaos | | Shortlist |
| 2005 | Barbara Cleverly | The Palace Tiger | | Shortlist |
| 2005 | Catriona McPherson | After the Armistice Ball | | Shortlist |
| 2005 | Iain Pears | The Portrait | | Shortlist |
| 2005 | Frank Tallis | Mortal Mischief | | Shortlist |
| 2006 | Edward Wright | Red Sky Lament | Orion | Winner |
| 2006 | Louis Bayard | The Pale Blue Eye | | Shortlist |
| 2006 | Nick Drake | Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead | | Shortlist |
| 2006 | Jason Goodwin | The Janissary Tree | | Shortlist |
| 2006 | C. J. Sansom | Sovereign | | Shortlist |
| 2006 | Jenny White | The Sultan’s Seal | | Shortlist |
| 2007 | Ariana Franklin | Mistress of the Art of Death | Bantam Press | Winner |
| 2007 | Jason Goodwin | The Snake Stone | | Shortlist |
| 2007 | Philip Kerr | The One from the Other | | Shortlist |
| 2007 | Andrew Martin | Murder at Deviation Junction | | Shortlist |
| 2007 | Mark Mills | The Savage Garden | | Shortlist |
| 2007 | Stef Penney | The Tenderness of Wolves | | Shortlist |
| 2008 | Laura Wilson | Stratton’s War | Orion | Winner |
| 2008 | Ariana Franklin | The Death Maze | | Shortlist |
| 2008 | Philip Kerr | A Quiet Flame | | Shortlist |
| 2008 | Andrew Martin | Death on a Branch Line | | Shortlist |
| 2008 | C. J. Sansom | Revelation | | Shortlist |
| 2008 | Andrew Taylor | Bleeding Heart Square | | Shortlist |
| 2009 | Philip Kerr | If The Dead Rise Not | Quercus | Winner |
| 2009 | Rennie Airth | The Dead of Winter | | Shortlist |
| 2009 | Shona MacLean | The Redemption of Alexander Seaton | | Shortlist |
| 2009 | Mark Mills | The Information Officer | | Shortlist |
| 2009 | Andrew Williams | The Interrogator | | Shortlist |
| 2009 | Laura Wilson | An Empty Death | | Shortlist |
| 2010 | Rory Clements | Revenger | John Murray | Winner |
| 2010 | Aly Monroe | Washington Shadow | | Shortlist |
| 2010 | S. J. Parris | Heresy | | Shortlist |
| 2010 | C. J. Sansom | Heartstone | | Shortlist |
| 2010 | Andrew Taylor | The Anatomy of Ghosts | | Shortlist |
| 2010 | Andrew Williams | To Kill a Tsar | | Shortlist |
| 2011 | Andrew Martin | The Somme Stations | Faber and Faber | Winner |
| 2011 | Rory Clements | Prince | | Shortlist |
| 2011 | Sam Eastland | The Red Coffin | | Shortlist |
| 2011 | Gordon Ferris | The Hanging Shed | | Shortlist |
| 2011 | R. N. Morris | The Cleansing Flames | | Shortlist |
| 2011 | Imogen Robertson | Island of Bones | | Shortlist |
| 2012 | Aly Monroe | Icelight | John Murray | Winner |
| 2012 | Nancy Bilyeau | The Crown | | Shortlist |
| 2012 | Maurizio de Giovanni | I Will Have Vengeance | | Shortlist |
| 2012 | Gordon Ferris | Bitter Water | | Shortlist |
| 2012 | Philip Kerr | Prague Fatale | | Shortlist |
| 2012 | S. J. Parris | Sacrilege | | Shortlist |
| 2012 | Laura Wilson | A Willing Victim | | Shortlist |
| 2013 | Andrew Taylor | The Scent of Death | HarperCollins | Winner |
| 2013 | Rory Clements | The Heretics | | Shortlist |
| 2013 | Gordon Ferris | Pilgrim Soul | | Shortlist |
| 2013 | Imogen Robertson | The Paris Winter | | Shortlist |
| 2013 | Craig Russell | Dead Men and Broken Hearts | | Shortlist |
| 2013 | William Ryan | The Twelfth Department | | Shortlist |
| 2014 | Antonia Hodgson | The Devil in the Marshalsea | Hodder & Stoughton | Winner |
| 2014 | Kate Griffin | Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders | | Shortlist |
| 2014 | S. J. Parris | Treachery | | Shortlist |
| 2014 | Jill Paton Walsh | The Late Scholar | | Shortlist |
| 2014 | Michael Russell | The City of Strangers | | Shortlist |
| 2014 | Imogen Robertson | Theft of Life | | Shortlist |
| 2014 | Robert Ryan | The Dead Can Wait | | Shortlist |
| 2015 | S. G. MacLean | The Seeker | Quercus | Winner |
| 2015 | Martin Davies | Havana Sleeping | | Shortlist |
| 2015 | Luke McCallin | The Man From Berlin | | Shortlist |
| 2015 | C. J. Sansom | Lamentation | | Shortlist |
| 2015 | Andrew Taylor | The Silent Boy | | Shortlist |
| 2016 | David Young | Stasi Child | Twenty7Books | Winner |
| 2016 | Michelle Birkby | The House at Baker Street | | Shortlist |
| 2016 | Philip Kerr | The Other Side of Silence | | Shortlist |
| 2016 | William Shaw | A Book of Scars | | Shortlist |
| 2016 | Fiona Veitch Smith | The Jazz Files | | Shortlist |
| 2016 | A. J. Wright | Striking Murder | | Shortlist |
| 2017 | Abir Mukherjee | A Rising Man | Harvill Secker | Winner |
| 2017 | M. J. Carter | The Devil’s Feast | | Shortlist |
| 2017 | Luke McCallin | The Ashes of Berlin | | Shortlist |
| 2017 | Denise Mina | The Long Drop | | Shortlist |
| 2017 | Steven Price | By Gaslight | | Shortlist |
| 2017 | Michael Russell | The City in Darkness | | Shortlist |
| 2018 | Rory Clements | Nucleus | Zaffre Publishing | Winner |
| 2018 | Abir Mukherjee | A Necessary Evil | Harvill Secker | Shortlist |
| 2018 | L. C. Tyler | Fire | Constable | Shortlist |
| 2018 | Thomas Mullen | Lightning Men | Little, Brown & Co. | Shortlist |
| 2018 | Ngaio Marsh and Stella Duffy | Money in the Morgue | HarperCollins | Shortlist |
| 2018 | Nicola Upson | Nine Lessons | Faber & Faber | Shortlist |
| 2019 | S. G. MacLean | Destroying Angel | Quercus | Winner |
| 2019 | Liam McIlvanney | The Quaker | | Shortlist |
| 2019 | Abir Mukherjee | Smoke and Ashes | | Shortlist |
| 2019 | Alex Reeve | The House on Half Moon Street | | Shortlist |
| 2019 | C. J. Sansom | Tombland | | Shortlist |
| 2019 | Laura Shepherd-Robinson | Blood & Sugar | | Shortlist |
| 2020 | Abir Mukherjee | Death in the East | Harvill Secker | Winner |
| 2020 | Alis Hawkins | In Two Minds | | Shortlist |
| 2020 | Philip Kerr | Metropolis | | Shortlist |
| 2020 | S. G. MacLean | The Bear Pit | | Shortlist |
| 2020 | Alex Reeve | The Anarchists’ Club | | Shortlist |
| 2020 | Ovidia Yu | The Paper Bark Tree Mystery | | Shortlist |
| 2021 | Vaseem Khan | Midnight at Malabar House | Hodder & Stoughton | Winner |
| 2021 | John Banville | Snow | Faber and Faber | Shortlist |
| 2021 | Chris Lloyd | The Unwanted Dead | Orion | Shortlist |
| 2021 | Michael Russell | The City Under Siege | Constable; Little, Brown Book Group | Shortlist |
| 2021 | David Stafford | Skelton’s Guide to Domestic Poisons | Allison & Busby | Shortlist |
| 2021 | Ovidia Yu | The Mimosa Tree Mystery | Constable; Little, Brown Book Group | Shortlist |
| 2022 | Ray Celestin | Sunset Swing | Pan Macmillan; Mantle | Winner |
| 2022 | John Banville | April in Spain | Faber and Faber | Shortlist |
| 2022 | Andy Charman | Crow Court | Unbound | Shortlist |
| 2022 | Alis Hawkins | Not One of Us | Canelo | Shortlist |
| 2022 | Robbie Morrison | Edge of the Grave | Pan Macmillan; Macmillan | Shortlist |
| 2022 | Ambrose Parry | A Corruption of Blood | Canongate Books | Shortlist |
| 2023 | D. V. Bishop | The Darkest Sin | Pan Macmillan; Macmillan | Winner |
| 2023 | Anna Mazzola | The Clockwork Girl | Orion | Shortlist |
| 2023 | J. B. Mylet | The Homes | Viper | Shortlist |
| 2023 | Harini Nagendra | The Bangalore Detectives Club | Little, Brown Book Group, Constable | Shortlist |
| 2023 | Leonora Nattrass | Blue Water | Viper | Shortlist |
| 2023 | Sarah Smith | Hear No Evil | John Murray | Shortlist |
| 2024 | Jake Lamar | Viper's Dream | No Exit Press | Winner |
| 2024 | Lucy Ashe | Clara & Olivia | Oneworld | Shortlist |
| 2024 | Louise Hare | Harlem After Midnight | HarperCollins | Shortlist |
| 2024 | Alis Hawkins | A Bitter Remedy | Canelo | Shortlist |
| 2024 | Leonora Nattrass | Scarlet Town | Viper | Shortlist |
| 2024 | Ambrose Parry | Voices of the Dead | Cannongate Books | Shortlist |