A Great Deliverance

A Great Deliverance is the first novel by Elizabeth George. Born in Ohio and raised in California, George taught English before turning to fiction. Archival research, on-the-ground note taking, and interviews with police, lawyers, clergy, and residents help to provide her novels a feeling of authenticity. A Great Deliverance is also the first novel in the Inspector Lynley series, the success of which has defined much of George’s career. The Inspector Lynley series follows an ensemble through changing personal lives and changing times. At its center are Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, the Eighth Earl of Asherton, and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, a working-class Londoner who distrusts and challenges privilege. Recurring characters include forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James, photographer Deborah St. James, and Lady Helen Clyde, all three of whom are introduced in the first novel.

George uses crime to explore social fault lines. Well-Schooled in Murder (1988) takes readers into the culture of elite boarding schools. Missing Joseph (1993) scrutinizes the power dynamics of a country parish. Other novels move into London’s political world, immigrant communities on the southeast coast, or the backstage rooms of the performing arts. The crimes change, but the series’ commitments to Psychological