List of assassinations in fiction information

Assassinations have formed a major plot element in various works of fiction. This article provides a list of fictional stories in which assassination features as an important plot element. Passing mentions are omitted.

Assassination can be regarded as the murder of a prominent person for a motive which is broadly public and political rather than merely personal or financial.^[1]

Assassinations in fiction have attracted scholarly attention. In Assassinations and Murder in Modern Italy: Transformations in Society and Culture, as well as analyzing Italian assassinations in their historical and cultural contexts, Stephen Gundle and Lucia Rinaldi explore the films, plays, other works of fiction, and art that the act of assassination has inspired.^[2] Nick Cullather has discussed "The Movie Version" of John F. Kennedy's assassination.^[3]

This list prefers to highlight less familiar cultural artifacts, while trying not to itemize every Ian Fleming or Agatha Christie title, or every Mafia film. The historical–historically based or historically inspired–takes precedence over the purely fictional and sensational.

^ Murders within families are often termed assassinations if the family members are very prominent. This would be true of Roman Empire poisonings, or the 2001 slaughter of the royal family in Nepal. The murder of the well-known actor Phil Hartman by his wife in 1998 does not qualify.
Is the 1978 murder of actor Bob Crane assassination? No. Is the 1987 murder of singer Peter Tosh by robbers assassination? If the motive is extortion, no. If an author writes a novel proposing a broad conspiracy, then yes. Is the 1948 death of actor Solomon Mikhoels assassination? Yes. It was orchestrated by Stalin.
King Charles I? No. Executed publicly, after a trial. Tsar Nicholas II? Yes. Executed secretly, with his children, without a trial.
There will always be a problem with a precise definition and applying that definition to specific cases.
^ Assassinations and Murder in Modern Italy^{[permanent dead link]}: Transformations in Society and Culture, edited by Stephen Gundle and Lucia Rinaldi (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
^ Nicholas Cullather, "History, Conspiracy, and the Kennedy Assassination", Retrieving the American Past, ed. Marc Horger (New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005), pp. 301–30

[1] Murders within families are often termed assassinations if the family members are very prominent. This would be true of Roman Empire poisonings, or the 2001 slaughter of the royal family in Nepal. The murder of the well-known actor Phil Hartman by his wife in 1998 does not qualify.
Is the 1978 murder of actor Bob Crane assassination? No. Is the 1987 murder of singer Peter Tosh by robbers assassination? If the motive is extortion, no. If an author writes a novel proposing a broad conspiracy, then yes. Is the 1948 death of actor Solomon Mikhoels assassination? Yes. It was orchestrated by Stalin.
King Charles I? No. Executed publicly, after a trial. Tsar Nicholas II? Yes. Executed secretly, with his children, without a trial.
There will always be a problem with a precise definition and applying that definition to specific cases.

[2] Assassinations and Murder in Modern Italy^{[permanent dead link]}: Transformations in Society and Culture, edited by Stephen Gundle and Lucia Rinaldi (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)

[3] Nicholas Cullather, "History, Conspiracy, and the Kennedy Assassination", Retrieving the American Past, ed. Marc Horger (New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005), pp. 301–30

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