Inspector Joseph French is a fictional British police detective created by Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. French was a prominent detective from the

Golden Age of Detective Fiction The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. The Golden Age proper is, in practice, usually taken to refer to a type of fiction which was pre ...

, appearing in twenty-nine novels and a number of short stories between 1924 and 1957. The character was introduced in the 1924 novel ''

Inspector French's Greatest Case ''Inspector French's Greatest Case'' is a 1924 mystery detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique.Herbert p.76 L ...

'', where he investigates a fatal

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

in Hatton Garden. The series relied largely on puzzle mysteries.

Overview

French was a prominent detective from the

, appearing in twenty nine novels and a number of short stories between 1924 and 1957. French is a

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

detective, whose methodical technique breaks down complex alibis. Over the course of the series, he is promoted to Chief Inspector and the later to Superintendent. His manner is courteous, he is happily married and has no major problems in his private life.

Novels

* ''

'' (1924) * ''

The Cheyne Mystery ''The Cheyne Mystery'' (also known as ''Inspector French and The Cheyne Mystery'') is a 1926 mystery novel, mystery thriller novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the second in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of ...

'' (1926) * '' The Starvel Tragedy'' (1927) * '' The Sea Mystery'' (1928) * '' The Box Office Murders'' (1929) * '' Sir John Magill's Last Journey'' (1930) * ''

Mystery in the Channel ''Mystery in the Channel'' is a 1931 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the seventh book in his series of novels featuring Inspector French of Scotland Yard, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction known for his meth ...

'' (1931) * ''

Sudden Death Sudden Death or Sudden death may refer to: Medical * Cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death, natural death from cardiac causes * Sudden cardiac death of athletes * Sudden infant death syndrome * Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy * ...

'' (1932) * ''

Death on the Way ''Death on the Way'' is a 1932 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the ninth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.Evans p.168 It was published in ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Hog's Back Mystery The Hog's Back Mystery (1933), also known as ''The Strange Case of Dr. Earle'', is a "Golden Age" mystery novel by the Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the tenth novel in his Inspector French series. The novel is an early example of the ...

'' (1933) * '' The 12:30 from Croydon'' (1934) * ''

Mystery on Southampton Water ''Mystery on Southampton Water'' is a 1934 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It was the twelfth in a series of novels featuring Inspector French and takes the form of an inverted detective story, the second Crofts wrote th ...

'' (1934) * '' Crime at Guildford'' (1935) * ''

The Loss of the Jane Vosper ''The Loss of the Jane Vosper'' (also written as ''The Loss of the 'Jane Vosper) is a 1936 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the fourteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden ...

'' (1936) * ''

Man Overboard! ''Man Overboard!'' (also known as ''Cold-Blooded Murder'') is a detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, first published in 1936. It is the fifteenth novel in the Inspector French series. The book is set largely in Northern Ireland, and re-uses ...

'' (1936) * ''

Found Floating ''Found Floating'' is a 1937 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the sixteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Golden Age known fo ...

'' (1937) * ''

The End of Andrew Harrison ''The End of Andrew Harrison'' is a 1938 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the seventeenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. The titl ...

'' (1938) * ''

Antidote to Venom ''Antidote to Venom'' is a 1938 detective novel by the Irish-born novelist Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the eighteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective known for his methodical technique.Evans p.177 It ...

'' (1938) * ''

Fatal Venture ''Fatal Venture'' is a 1939 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the nineteenth in his series of novels featuring Chief Inspector French of Scotland Yard, a prominent investigator of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.E ...

'' (1939) * '' Golden Ashes'' (1940) * ''

James Tarrant, Adventurer ''James Tarrant, Adventurer'' is a 1941 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-first in his series of novels featuring Chief Inspector French of Scotland Yard, written during the Golden Age of Detective F ...

'' (1941) * ''The Losing Game'' (1941) * '' Fear Comes to Chalfont'' (1942) * ''

The Affair at Little Wokeham ''The Affair at Little Wokeham'' is a 1943 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-fourth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.Evans p.182 ...

'' (1943) * ''

Enemy Unseen ''Enemy Unseen'' is a ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' novel written by V.E. Mitchell. The novel was originally set before "Where No Man Has Gone Before", but had to be rewritten at a late stage to be set after '' Star Trek: The Motion Pictu ...

'' (1945) * '' Death of a Train'' (1946) * ''

Silence for the Murderer ''Silence for the Murderer'' is a 1949 detective novel by the writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-seventh entry in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Golden ...

'' (1949) * '' French Strikes Oil'' (1951) * ''

Anything to Declare? ''Anything to Declare?'' is a 1938 British crime thriller film directed by Redd Davis and starring John Loder, Noel Madison and Belle Chrystall. It was shot at Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames. Plot A new gas formula that can be used as ...

'' (1957)

Proposed adaptation

In July 2019,

Brendan Foley Brendan Foley may refer to: * Brendan Foley (filmmaker) * Brendan Foley (rugby union) Brendan Oliver Foley (born 6 August 1950) is an Irish former rugby union player, who played in the amateur era of the sport. He played primarily as a Lock (rug ...

was announced to adapt the Inspector French novels as a television series, with independent production company Free@LastTV on board to produce. There has been no word on the series since then.

References

Bibliography

* Evans, Curtis. ''Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961''. McFarland, 2014. * Herbert, Rosemary. ''Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing''. Oxford University Press, 2003. * James, Russell. ''Great British Fictional Detectives''. Remember When, 2009. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015.

External links

* {{StandardEbooks, Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/collections/inspector-french

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Novel series