September

1st

Arthur W. Upfield was born in 1888 in Hampshire, England. In 1911, his father told him that he would never amount to anything and sent the young man to Australia, so he would be less likely to bring disgrace to the family. Upfield created the half-aborigine, half-English detective, Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte. Bony tells that as an infant he was found next to his dead mother's body and brought to a mission school. The detective was so named when he was found attempting to eat a biography of The French Emperor. The first Bonaparte mystery was "The Barakee Mystery (U.S. title "The Lure of the Bush) published in 1929. Upfield went on to write 28 more Bonaparte mysteries.

10th

Peter Lovesey was born in 1936 in Whitton, Middlesex, England. He created his most famous character, Sgt. Richard Cribb, in response to a contest held by Macmillan Publishing that offered one thousand pounds for the best mystery. Sgt. Cribb is a Victorian-era Scotland Yard detective who sports a type of side-burns known as Picadilly Weepers. He first appeared in "Wobble to Death" in 1970.

13th

John B. Priestley was born in 1894 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England. His best known work was "Benighted" (U.S. title "The Old Dark House"), published in 1927. This book's plot, innocent people trapped with strange inhabitants in a spooky house during a storm, has become a cliche of the mystery genre.

15th

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay, Devonshire, England. Her father was an American named Frederick Miller, who died while she was young. Her half-American heritage did little to influence her perception of Americans in her writing. Ms. Christie did not suffer Americans gladly. She spent her time during World War I in the dispensary of a hospital which gave her an important asset for her future career: an intimate knowledge of drugs and poisons. She typically wrote in the mornings, in the bathtub, on a writing board that spanned the tub. She is one of the top-selling authors in the world.

21st

Collin Wilcox was born in 1924 in Detroit, Michigan. He served briefly in the Air Force and was a partner in a furniture store before turning to writing full-time in 1970. One of his characters, Lt. Frank Hastings, is a homicide police officer living in San Francisco, California. Lt. Hastings' private life often plays an important part of the story lines. His daughter, son and lover have been pivotal characters in these novels. Lt. Hastings first appeared in 1970 in a mystery titled "The Lonely Hunter."

24th

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. This great American author wrote his first fiction, a mystery, in 1909, titled "The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage."

28th

Ellis Peters was born in 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England. Her given name was Edith Mary Pargeter. Like Agatha Chrisie, Ms. Peters knowledge of drugs and poisons came from work experiences. Ms. Peters worked for 7 years as a chemist's assistant. She began her writing career as an author of historical novels. Her first mysteries, writing as Edith Pargeter, featured Inspector Felse and his family. They were created in 1951 and appeared in "Fallen into the Pit." She found her greatest succes, however, with the arrival of Brother Cadfael in 1977. This Welsh monk, an herbalist, was introduced in "A Morbid Taste for Bones." Brother Cadfael went on to solve the problems of Shrewsbury Monastery in 21 more mysteries, several of which have been made into BBC productions featuring Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael.

Comments? I'd love to hear from you --