Dorothy dunnett society for creative anachronism

By Heather Jacobson

While working on 'The Lymond Chronicles', Dorothy Dunnett began interspersing her historical fiction with detective novels featuring the unglamourous but internationally renowned portrait painter and secret agent Johnson Johnson.

A key (nonhuman) character in the novels is Johnson's yacht Dolly, the name of which was included in the book titles (for example, 'Dolly and the Doctor Bird') until the decision was made to change them. These books allowed Dunnett to use her extensive personal knowledge of portrait painting and yachting in ways not possible for her historical fiction.

The 'Johnson Johnson' (or Dolly) books are mad-cap thrillers in which Dunnett was free from the strictures of historical record to have fun with the things she loved to do in her writing: lay out an intricate puzzle for readers to solve, set her plots in far-flung and interesting locations, and create unforgettable (and unreliable), sharp-witted and observant ch