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Hildegard of Meaux Books in Order

Part ofCassandra Clark Books in Order

See the Hildegard of Meaux books in order by Cassandra Clark, with short summaries, series background, and clear guidance on where to start.

Last updated: July 1, 2026

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Publication Order

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13 books

1

Hangman Blind

by Cassandra Clark

2008

Riding through Yorkshire on a mission for her priory, Hildegard finds five hanging bodies and a slaughtered boy. The trail leads into family loyalties, political unrest, and a killer who expects silence.

2

The Red Velvet Turnshoe aka The Velvet Turnshoe

by Cassandra Clark

2009

Hildegard is sent across plague-struck Europe to recover the Cross of Constantine from Rome. A murdered clerk and enemies who want her mission to fail make the journey far more dangerous than a pilgrimage should be.

3

The Law of Angels

by Cassandra Clark

2011

When armed men destroy Hildegard's quiet refuge, she escorts two frightened girls to York in search of justice. A stolen relic, a suspicious explosion, and rising unrest soon leave her juggling several mysteries at once.

4

A Parliament of Spies

by Cassandra Clark

2012

Hildegard reaches Westminster as plots close around Richard II and Parliament fills with spies. Poison, divided loyalties, and court intrigue turn her journey south into one of her most dangerous investigations.

5

The Dragon of Handale

by Cassandra Clark

2013

At a remote priory used to discipline unruly nuns, Hildegard finds a ripped corpse and rumors of a dragon in the woods. She trusts neither story, especially after discovering a guarded tower hidden nearby.

6

The Butcher of Avignon

by Cassandra Clark

2014

Sent to the papal court at Avignon, Hildegard enters a maze of politics, suspicion, and old enemies. When a body is found in a secret treasury, the mission turns into a deadly search for who can be trusted.

7

Ten Weeks That Changed England Forever

by Cassandra Clark

2016

This prequel follows a much younger Hildegard, recently widowed and fighting to reclaim her place in a brutal world. In turbulent 1376 London, private loss and national politics collide in ways that will shape everything she becomes.

8

The Scandal of the Skulls

by Cassandra Clark

2016

Back in England during the terror of the Merciless Parliament, Hildegard is drawn into a risky effort to save one of King Richard's allies. A hanging in Salisbury Cathedral suggests a second mystery, and the two may be linked.

9

The Alchemist of Netley Abbey

by Cassandra Clark

2017

Forced to shelter at Netley Abbey, Hildegard finds suspicious guests, a missing book, and a Welsh alchemist with a troubling reputation. When deaths follow, the abbey's welcome starts to feel like a trap.

10

Murder at Meaux

by Cassandra Clark

2018

Returning home at last, Hildegard finds Meaux Abbey shaken by a corpse discovered in a locked room. When an old friend is accused of murder, she risks everything to save him and expose what is being hidden.

11

Murder at Whitby Abbey

by Cassandra Clark

2019

Hildegard travels to Whitby Abbey to bargain for a prized relic, only to find rival bidders, bitter tensions, and a dead monk. The holy precinct soon feels anything but safe as the hunt for a killer gathers speed.

12

Murder at Beaulieu Abbey

by Cassandra Clark

2021

Sent south to escort a young heiress and quietly judge Beaulieu Abbey's loyalties, Hildegard walks into an abduction plot. With ransom, religious division, and danger circling the abbey, she has little time to separate devotion from deceit.

13

Dark Waters Rising

by Cassandra Clark

2022

At Swyne Priory, whispering novices, a fugitive musician, and a missing lay sister pull Hildegard into overlapping mysteries. Rising floodwaters cut off help and turn suspicion into immediate danger.

Series background & context

This series follows Hildegard, a widowed gentlewoman who joins the Cistercian order and finds that a religious life does not keep her far from danger. The prequel, Ten Weeks That Changed England Forever, shows her younger and more exposed, but the main run truly begins with Hangman Blind, when she rides out through Yorkshire and stumbles into murder. From there the books grow into a long, connected portrait of England under Richard II, seen from the road, the cloister, and the edges of power.

She is not a stay-at-home nun.

Hildegard belongs to the world of Swyne Priory and the great Abbey of Meaux, yet she is constantly sent beyond their walls. She travels through forests, ports, abbeys, market towns, and noble households, and later much farther afield, to London, Avignon, and Rome. That movement is a big part of the appeal. These books are mysteries, but they are also a journey through a harsh, busy, deeply political medieval landscape where bad weather, bad roads, war, and church rivalry all matter.

The cases usually begin with a body, a missing person, a theft, or a suspicious message, but they rarely stay small. A local crime can open onto disputes over land, wool, loyalty, or dynastic power. By the time you reach The Law of Angels, A Parliament of Spies, The Butcher of Avignon, and The Scandal of the Skulls, Hildegard is dealing with rebels, bishops, rival popes, royal plots, and the fear that the wrong alliance can ruin whole lives. Clark is very good at showing how private violence and public upheaval feed each other.

The supporting cast helps give the series its shape. Abbot Hubert de Courcy is sometimes protector, sometimes problem, and often both at once. Ulf of Langbar ties Hildegard to her earlier life, while figures like Gregory, Egbert, and the minstrel Pierrekyn keep the books lively and widen the sense of the world. Their shifting loyalties, friendships, and rivalries mean the series never feels like one woman solving puzzles in a vacuum.

Expect mud, menace, and argument, not modern coziness.

What makes these books stand out is the balance. Hildegard is thoughtful and practical, and the mysteries are real puzzles, but the novels also care about work, travel, prayer, property, class, and the narrow choices available to women. The tone can be dark, yet it is not built around gore. Instead, the tension comes from intelligence, atmosphere, and the sense that one wrong step can have political as well as personal consequences. If you like historical mysteries that feel fully inhabited, with a strong central investigator and a medieval setting that never feels cleaned up for comfort, this series gives you a lot to settle into.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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