Edith Caroline Rivett (6 May 1894 – 2 July 1958) was a British

crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

, who wrote under the pseudonyms E. C. R. Lorac, Carol Carnac and Mary Le Bourne during the golden age of detective fiction.

Life and career

Childhood

The youngest daughter of Harry (1861–1900) and Beatrice Rivett (née Foot; 1868–1943), Edith was born in Hendon,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, (now London) on 6 May 1894. She had two sisters. In 1898 the family emigrated to Australia, for warm weather to treat Harry Rivett's tuberculosis. This was unsuccessful, and in 1900 the family returned, traveling on the SS ''Illawarra''. Harry Rivett died on the voyage, and was buried at sea. When the family reached London, they were literally penniless but were received into the welcoming, if crowded, household of Beatrice Rivett's father, Edward Foot, and the widow found employment as an assistant rate collector. Edith attended

South Hampstead High School ) , established = as St. Johns Wood School , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

, and the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central ...

in London and she continued as a craft practitioner throughout her life; her work included embroidery and calligraphy that has been on display at Westminster Abbey.

Literary career

She published her first detective novel in 1931; this was ''The Murder on the Burrows'', a well-crafted debut which launched her detective Macdonald on a career that was to last for more than a quarter of a century. Nine Lorac novels were published by Sampson Low, earning increasingly favorable reviews, before she moved to the more prestigious imprint of Collins Crime Club in 1936, with Crime Counter Crime, set during a General Election. She remained a Crime Club stalwart for the rest of her life. John Curran, historian of the Crime Club, argues that she was especially well served by the designers of the cover artwork for her books, and this is no doubt one of the factors that has made her work especially collectible. First editions in the attractive dust jackets of the period can now change hands—on the rare occasions when they come on to the market—for thousands of pounds. She was equally at home with urban and rural settings. Her early books include ''Murder in St John’s Wood'' and ''Murder in Chelsea'', while two other books set in London, ''Bats in the Belfry'' and the war-time mystery ''Murder by Matchlight''. Like Rosanne Manaton, she was artistic and had an interest in ski-ing; the winter sport plays a central part in her Carol Carnac novel ''Crossed Skis'', also published by the British Library. In November 1940, having been evacuated to Devon, she wrote to a friend about the horrors of living through a war. Referring to the death of one of her oldest friends, killed while fire-fighting, she said: “Most of my other friends have been bombed or burnt out of their homes. What a sickening insanity it all is.”

Personal life and death

Remaining unmarried, she lived her last years with her elder sister, Gladys Rivett (1891–1966), in Lonsdale, Lancashire. She became a popular figure in the village while continuing to work productively as a detective novelist. To this day, she is remembered in the local community as spirited and strong-willed, a woman with a strong social conscience. Edith Rivett died at the Caton Green Nursing Home, Caton-with-Littledale, near Lancaster. According to the probate records for her will, she left an estate valued at £10,602, 16 shillings bout £250,000 today, 2020 Rivett is buried in the churchyard at St Saviour's Church, Aughton.

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

holds a number of works by the

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

-trained

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...

Omar Ramsden Omar Ramsden (1873–1939) was a Sheffield-born silversmith. He was one of England's leading designers and makers of silverware. He lived on Fir Street in Walkley, Sheffield, Yorkshire, but spent his entire career working in London. Early life ...

. One of these was given by Miss Carol Rivett in memory of her grandfather, Edward Smith Foot. It is a silver alms dish of hammer and repousse work. She also donated a

tunicle The tunicle is a liturgical vestment associated with Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. Contemporary use For a description of the tunicle, see dalmatic, the vestment with which it became identical in form, although earlier editions ...

(the

vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

worn by a subdeacon) to the Abbey.

Legacy

As of 2021, the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

has included eight novels by E.C.R. Lorac in its "Crime Classics" series of re-issued works: ''

Fire in the Thatch ''Fire in the Thatch'' is a 1946 detective novel E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the twenty seventh in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.Reilly p.260 Orig ...

''; '' Bats in the Belfry''; ''

Murder by Matchlight ''Murder by Matchlight'' is a 1945 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It was the twenty sixth novel of her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.Reilly ...

''; ''

Murder in the Mill-Race ''Murder in the Mill-Race'' (sometimes written as ''Murder in the Mill Race'') is a 1952 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the thirty seventh in her long-running series featuring Ch ...

''; ''

Fell Murder ''Fell Murder'' is a 1944 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It was the twenty fourth novel of her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.Reilly p.260 Or ...

''; ''

Checkmate to Murder ''Checkmate to Murder'' is a 1944 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It was the twenty fifth in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.Reilly p.260 O ...

'' and ''

Crossed Skis ''Crossed Skis'' is a 1952 detective novel by Carol Carnac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It features the character of Inspector Julian Rivers of Scotland Yard, who appeared in fourteen novels by Carnac who under th ...

''. A previously unpublished late work, ''Two-Way Murder'', was added in 2021; the original manuscript was under a new pen name, 'Mary le Bourne', but has been published by the British Library as by E.C.R. Lorac. The back cover of the re-issued, ''Fire in the Thatch: A Devon Mystery'' (originally published in 1946), declares that, "Her books have been almost entirely neglected since her death, but deserve rediscovery as fine examples of classic British crime fiction in its golden age."

Bibliography

Novels

As E. C. R. Lorac

Most of these books feature her main series character, Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald, a "London Scot" and an avowed bachelor with a love for walking in the English countryside. In 28 of these books, he has the help of his assistant, Detective Inspector Reeves. * ''

The Murder on the Burrows ''The Murder on the Burrows'' is a 1931 detective story by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. Her debut novel, it introduced the character of Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard who went on to appea ...

'' (1931) * ''The Affair on Thor's Head'' (1932) * ''The Greenwell Mystery'' (1932) * ''

The Case of Colonel Marchand ''The Case of Colonel Marchand'' is a 1933 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the fourth book featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard who appeared in a lengthy series o ...

'' (1933) * ''

Death on the Oxford Road ''Death on the Oxford Road'' is a 1933 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the fifth book featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard who appeared in a lengthy series of novels ...

'' (1933) * '' Murder in St. John's Wood'' (1934) * '' Murder in Chelsea'' (1934) * '' The Organ Speaks'' (1935) * '' Death of an Author'' (1935) not featuring MacDonald * '' Crime Counter Crime'' (1936) * '' A Pall for a Painter'' (1936) * '' Post After Post-Mortem'' (1936) * ''

These Names Make Clues ''These Names Make Clues'' is a 1937 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It was the twelfth entry in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.Reilly p.260 ...

'' (1937) * '' Bats in the Belfry'' (1937) * ''The Devil and the C.I.D.'' (1938) * ''Slippery Staircase'' (1938) * ''John Brown's Body'' (1939) * ''Black Beadle'' (1939) * ''Tryst for a Tragedy'' (1940) * ''

Death at Dyke's Corner ''Death at Dyke's Corner'' is a 1940 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the nineteenth in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, a Golden Age ...

'' (1940) * '' Case in the Clinic'' (1941) * '' Rope's End, Rogue's End'' (1942) * '' The Sixteenth Stair'' (1942) * ''

Death Came Softly ''Death Came Softly'' is a 1943 detective story by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It was the twenty third entry in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.Reilly p.260 ...

'' (1943) * ''

'' (1944) gricultural setting in Lancashire* ''

'' (1944) * ''

'' (1945) * ''

'' (1946) * ''The Theft of the Iron Dogs'' (1946); U.S. title ''Murderer's Mistake'' (1947) * '' Relative to Poison'' (1947) * ''

Death Before Dinner ''Death Before Dinner'' is a 1948 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the thirtieth in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, one of the detectiv ...

'' (1948); U.S. title ''A Screen for Murder'' (1948) * '' Part for a Poisoner'' (1948); U.S. title ''Place for a Poisoner'' (1948) * '' Still Waters'' (1949) * '' Policemen in the Precinct'' (1949) * '' Accident by Design'' (1950) * '' Murder of a Martinet'' (1951) * '' The Dog It Was That Died'' (1952) * ''

'' (1952); U.S. title ''Speak Justly of the Dead'' (1953) * '' Crook O'Lune'' (1953); U.S. title ''Shepherd's Crook'' (1953) * ''

Shroud of Darkness ''Star Wars Rebels'' is an American 3D CGI animated television series produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation. Beginning fourteen years after '' Revenge of the Sith'' and five years before '' A New Hope'', ''Rebels'' takes place during ...

'' (1954) * '' Let Well Alone'' (1954) * ''

Ask a Policeman ''Ask a Policeman'' is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt. The plot sees Will Hay playing a policeman at the Turnbotham Round police force. The force hasn't arrested anyb ...

'' (1955) * ''

Murder in Vienna ''Murder in Vienna'' is a 1956 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the forty second in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard, one of the more conv ...

'' (1956) * ''Dangerous Domicile'' (1957) * ''Picture of Death'' (1957) * '' Murder on a Monument'' (1958) * ''Death in Triplicate'' (1958) Non-MacDonald story featuring Superintendent Kempson * ''Dishonour Among Thieves'' (1959); U.S. title ''The Last Escape'' (1959) * ''Two-Way Murder'' (published posthumously in 2021)

As Carol Carnac

They feature three different series characters. The first one is Inspector Ryvet, a homophonous allusion to her own surname. The other two are Chief Inspector Julian Rivers (who appears in 15 books), and his assistant, Inspector Lansing, who appears in 18 cases (four of them with Ryvet.) * ''Triple Death'' (1936) * ''Murder at Mornington'' (1937) * ''The Missing Rope'' (1937) * ''When the Devil Was Sick'' (1939) * ''The Case of the First Class Carriage'' (1939) * ''Death in the Diving Pool'' (1940) * ''A Double for Detection'' (1945) * ''The Striped Suitcase'' (1946) * ''Clue Sinister'' (1947) * ''Over the Garden Wall'' (1948) * ''Upstairs Downstairs'' (1950) * ''Copy for Crime'' (1950) * ''It's Her Own Funeral'' (1951) * ''

'' (1952) * '' Murder as a Fine Art'' (1953) * ''A Policeman at the Door'' (1953) * ''Impact of Evidence'' (1954) * ''Murder among Members'' (1955) * ''Rigging the Evidence'' (1955) * ''The Double Turn'' (1956) * ''The Burning Question'' (1957) * ''Long Shadows'' (1958) (U.S. title: ''Affair at Helen's Court'') * ''Death of a Lady Killer'' (1959)

As Mary Le Bourne

* ''Two-Way Murder'' (2021)

As Carol Rivett

* ''Outer Circle'' (1939) * ''A Time Remembered'' (1940) * ''Island Spell'' (1951)

Unpublished Novels

* ''Forty Years On''. * '' ntitled'. An unfinished detective story.

Short stories

* 'Chance Is a Great Thing'. (London)

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

, 8 August 1950. * 'Remember to Ring Twice'. MacKill's Mystery Magazine, September 1952. * 'Death at the Bridge Table'. MacKill's Mystery Magazine, October 1952. * 'Permanent Policeman'. MacKill's Mystery Magazine, March 1953. * 'A Bit of Wire-Pulling'. The Saint Detective Magazine, October 1955. * 'Half-Term Hold-Up'.

Radio and stage plays

Radio play

* 'Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble'. BBC Light Programme (Mystery Playhouse presents 'THE DETECTION CLUB'), 17 February 1948.

Stage plays and sketches

* 'Death in Park Lane'. Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London, 13 July 1951. A single performance presented by St James Theatre Company at a luncheon to mark the 21st anniversary of Collins Crime Club imprint.

References

External links

*
Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorac, E. C. R. 1894 births 1959 deaths 20th-century British novelists English mystery writers Members of the Detection Club People from Hendon People educated at South Hampstead High School British women novelists 20th-century British women writers Women mystery writers Alumni of Central Saint Martins