The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction.
 These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder).
 Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 20th century, many credit Ellis Peters's "Cadfael Chronicles" (1977–1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery.
 The increasing popularity and prevalence of this type of fiction in subsequent decades has spawned a distinct subgenre recognized by the publishing industry and libraries. "
Publishers Weekly" noted in 2010 of the genre, "The past decade has seen an explosion in both quantity and quality.
 Never before have so many historical mysteries been published, by so many gifted writers, and covering such a wide range of times and places."
 Editor Keith Kahla concurs, "From a small group of writers with a very specialized audience, the historical mystery has become a critically acclaimed, award-winning genre with a toehold on the "New York Times" bestseller list."
Ragtime is a novel by E. L. Doctorow, published in 1975.
 This work of historical fiction is mainly set in the New York City area from 1902 until 1912, with brief scenes towards the end describing the United States' entry into World War Im in 1917.
 A unique adaptation of the historical narrative genre with a subversive 1970s slant, the novel blends fictional and historical figures into a framework that revolves around events, characters, and ideas important in American history.
The March is a 2005 historical fiction novel by E. L. Doctorow.
 It won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (2006) and the National Book Critics Circle Award/Fiction (2005).
Louis Dearborn L'Amour ( ; March 22 1908 –June 10 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer.
 His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work 'frontier stories'); however, he also wrote historical fiction ("The Walking Drum"), science fiction ("The Haunted Mesa"), non-fiction ("Frontier"), as well as poetry and short-story collections.
 Many of his stories were made into films and John Wayne once made the dubious assertion that L'Amour was the most interesting man in the world.
 L'Amour's books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings.
 At the time of his death almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was considered "one of the world's most popular writers".
Gary Blackwood (born October 23, 1945) is an American author known for "The Shakespeare Stealer" trilogy.
 Born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen.
 In 1998, he published "The Shakespeare Stealer", a historical fiction novel about an orphan, Widge, who is sent to steal "Hamlet" from William Shakespeare and The Lord Chamberlain's Men.
 After it won the 1999 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Blackwood published two sequels, "Shakespeare's Scribe" (2000) and "Shakespeare's Spy" (2003).
 Since then, he has continued writing historical fiction, such as "Around the World in 100 Days" (2010), which the "Smithsonian" named a 2010 Notable Book for Children and "Kirkus Book Reviews" one of 2010's Best Books for Teens.
Umberto Eco {'1': ", '2': ", '3': 'OMRI', '4': "} (] ; 5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian novelist, literary critic, philosopher, semiotician, and university professor.
 He is best known internationally for his 1980 novel "Il nome della rosa" ("The Name of the Rose"), a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory.
 He later wrote other novels, including "Il pendolo di Foucault" ("Foucault's Pendulum") and "L'isola del giorno prima" ("The Island of the Day Before").
 His novel "Il cimitero di Praga" ("The Prague Cemetery"), released in 2010, topped the bestseller charts in Italy.
Edgar Lawrence "E. L." Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known internationally for his works of historical fiction.
 He has been described as one of the most important American novelists of the 20th century.
Homer & Langley is a novel by American author E. L. Doctorow published in September 2009.
 It imagines a version of the lives of the Collyer brothers of New York City, notorious for their eccentricities as well as their habit of compulsively hoarding a plethora of various bric-a-brac, newspapers, books and other items.
Loon Lake is a 1980 novel by E. L. Doctorow published in 1980.
 The plot of the novel is mostly set on Loon Lake in the Adirondacks during the Depression.
 The novel is one of the more experimental works of Doctorow, incorporating a great variety of different techniques, many of which are used for preventing the reader from an easy understanding of the narration: traditional narratives, stream of consciousness, poetry, mixed up chronology.
Billy Bathgate is a 1989 novel by author E. L. Doctorow that won the 1989 National Book Critics Circle award for fiction for 1990, the 1990 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 1990 William Dean Howells Medal, and was the runner up for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the 1989 National Book Award.
 The story is told in the first person by Billy "Bathgate" Behan, a fifteen-year-old boy who first becomes the gofer and then surrogate son of mobster Dutch Schultz.

Question: Homer & Langley is a novel by American author E. L. Doctorow, an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known internationally for his works of historical fiction, published when?
Answer: September 2009