William Mesusan

William Mesusan (est. birth 1958 in Berkeley, CA, now resides in the American southwest) – author of The Andalusian Trilogy, a series of historical detective novels set in 10th-century Islamic Spain during the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. Two research trips to Spain, together with an interest in medieval Iberian history, inspired him to write the Andalusian Trilogy. Outside writing, his interests include organic gardening, guitar, and songwriting; he has also collaborated musically with the Serbian singer Jovana, with recordings released online.

The series follows the investigations of Solomon Levy, a translator and amateur sleuth who works alongside his cousin, Hasdai Shaprut, the Caliph’s Foreign Minister. The novels emphasize:

• Jewish participation at the highest levels of the Caliphate.
• Relations among Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities.
• Political intrigue, espionage, and murder investigations within the court of Córdoba.
• The cultural flowering of Sephardic Jewry during the so-called Golden Age of al-Andalus.

Mesusan, William [The Andalusian Trilogy #1], (The Galician Woman [pb, self-published by author, 2021] 978-1736460719 [Solomon Levy is tasked with finding a missing suspect after the murder of the Caliph’s nephew, Umar abd-Rahman. His search leads him to far-away, Catholic Galicia in pursuit of a mysterious entertainer.]

Mesusan, William [The Andalusian Trilogy #2], (The Bone Relic [pb, self-published by author, 2022] 978-1736460733 [When the arm bone of the prophet Muhammad is stolen from the Great Mosque of Cordoba, Solomon must recover it. His investigation takes him through Cordoba, Seville, and Cadiz as he navigates a world of holy artifacts.]

Mesusan, William [The Andalusian Trilogy #3], (The Missing Vizier [pb, self -published by author, 2025] 978-1736460795 [The Grand Vizier and Foreign Minister Hasdai Shaprut vanishes, threatening the stability of the kingdom. Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III enlists Solomon to find him and protect Cordoba’s future.]

Note: Mesusan has also stated that he is working on a prequel to the Andalusian Trilogy, tentatively titled The Lost Manuscript. Originally intended as the trilogy’s third volume, he decided to complete the trilogy with The Missing Vizier instead and reserve the prequel as a separate project. As of the latest information available, the prequel has not yet been published. – ChatGPT]

This series belongs to the genre of “historical who-dunnits”, and highlights the Convivencia, a period in 10^th-century Islamic Spain characterized by a “culture of tolerance” where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in a relatively harmonious society. The series features actual figures such as Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III and his advisor, Hasdai ibn Shaprut. Descriptions of cities like Córdoba, Seville, and Cádiz, as well as the Great Mosque of Córdoba, are based on historical and geographical reality. Google/AI offers the following reservation: “Readers and reviewers generally describe the series as an ‘evocative tale’ that brings a little-known time in history to life. However, historians often debate the extent of the “Andalusian Paradise,” noting that while it was enlightened for its time, it still faced significant political and religious complexities that fiction sometimes simplifies.” [Google/AI] In other words, it may not have been quite as harmonious and tolerant as all that.