William J. Palmer (born 1943) is a professor of English and the author of the "Mr. Dickens" series of Victorian murder mysteries. The "Mr. Dickens" series of four Victorian murder mysteries -- The Detective and Mr. Dickens, The Highwayman and Mr. Dickens, The Hoydens and Mr. Dickens, and The Dons and Mr. Dickens -- is going to be re-released by Diversion Books in April 2015.

He has written seven novels thus far, including his Wabash Trilogy. These three novels, a sports novel, a crime novel, and a comic novel about theater, are all set in the Wabash valley of Indiana. Academically, Palmer has written books and articles on the nature of literary criticism and the history of film.

Dr. Palmer received his doctorate in English from the University of Notre Dame in 1969, and taught at Purdue University beginning in 1969. He attained the rank of full professor there and is now professor emeritus. He received Purdue's "Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award" for academic year 1998-1999, and he was a member of the elite "Purdue Teaching Academy"