Benjamin Bennett (1907–1985) was a well known
South African crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
writer. He worked as a
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
with the
Cape Argus
The ''Cape Argus'' is a daily newspaper co-founded in 1857 by Saul Solomon and published by Sekunjalo in Cape Town, South Africa. It is commonly referred to as ''The Argus''.
Although not the first English-language newspaper in South Africa ...
newspaper from 1925 to 1975, as a crime reporter, and subsequently as
news editor
Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...
and finally editor of ''Argus Action''. He was born in London, England and emigrated with his family to
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
Queensland
* Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas
South Australia
* County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia
Ta ...
, South Africa, in 1912. He was educated at
Kimberley Boys' High School.
Bennett's prodigious output of books reflects a close involvement, as
crime reporter, both at the crime scene and in the courtroom, where his professional life regularly took him, pen and notebook in hand. It is said that, for his insight, he was even consulted by the police for the solving of certain complex cases.
He is credited with having posed the most plausible scenarios for enduring murder mysteries, such as that of
Bubbles Schroeder.
Bennett's books include:
* ''Down Africa's Skyways (1932)''
* ''Up For Murder (1934)'' with François Pierre Rousseau
* ''Famous South African Murders (1938)''
* ''Hitler Over Africa (1939)''
* ''Too Late For Tears (1948)''
* ''The Clues Condemn (1949)''
* ''The Evil That Men Do (1950)''
* ''Murder Is My Business (1951)''
* ''Why Did They Do It? (1953)''
* ''And Your Verdict? (1954)''
* ''Destiny Comes Too Soon (1955)''
* ''Freedom or the Gallows (1956)''
* ''This Was A Man (1958)''
* ''Genius For the Defense (1959)''
* ''Murder Will Speak (1962)''
* ''Why Women Kill (1965)''
* ''Why Men Kill (1965)''
* ''The Amazing Case of the Baron von Schauroth (1966)''
* ''The Cohen Case (1971)''
* ''They Crossed My Path (1972)''
* ''Some Don't Hang (1973)''
* ''The Noose Tightens (1974)''
* ''Was Justice Done? The Scissors Murder (1975)''
He also
ghost-wrote
A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literature, literary or journalism, journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and pol ...
''Looking at My Heart (1968)'', the biography of
Philip Blaiberg
Philip Blaiberg (24 May 1909 – 17 August 1969) was a South African dentist and the third person to receive a heart transplant. On 2 January 1968, in Cape Town, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the third heart transplant in the world on the 5 ...
.
Encyclopaedia of Southern African Arts, Culture and History
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References
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120126051309/http://www.africacrime-mystery.co.za/books/fsac/chp10.htm THE MYSTIFYING DEATH OF BUBBLES SCHROEDER,1949, by Rob Marsh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Benjamin
1904 births
1985 deaths
20th-century South African male writers
20th-century South African journalists
Crime journalists
Alumni of Kimberley Boys' High School