Evelyn Domenica Berckman (18 October 1900 – 18 September 1978) was an American writer noted for her detective and Gothic horror novels. In addition to her novels and screenplays, she also wrote four non-fiction titles about British naval history.

Personal life

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Berckman was the daughter of woolen goods merchant Aaron Berkman and his wife Hannah who emigrated to the United States in 1891 and from 1900 to 1936 resided in

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

a suburb some seven miles from downtown Philadelphia. After attending the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she was a contemporary of

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

among others, Berckman spent the 1930s in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, living in East 60th Street on the city's

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

. She worked as a piano teacher, and as a pianist and composer, before this career was curtailed by paralysis brought on by arduous sessions of piano practice. Her compositions were performed, amongst others by the

Pro Arte Quartet The Pro Arte String Quartet is a string quartet founded in Belgium, which became affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1941. History Origins 1912-1941 The Pro Arte String Quartet was founded by Alphonse Onnou in Brussels in 19 ...

and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her first novel, ''The Evil of Time'', was published in 1954. Berckman made several visits to London, staying for extended periods in various

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

hotels while she wrote, building up a second career "to avoid the threat of poverty".Interview – ''The Scotsman'', 14 June 1975. In 1960 she moved to the city permanently, settling in the

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

area and living at various addresses until her death from heart disease in 1978. Research for her books brought her in contact with art historian

Rupert Gunnis Rupert Forbes Gunnis (11 March 1899 – 31 July 1965) was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'', which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, pr ...

, to whom she dedicated her 1967 novel ''The Heir of Starvelings'', an apparently true story which she based on anecdotal information from Gunnis.

Fiction

* ''The Evil of Time'', Dodd 1954 * ''The Beckoning Dream'', Dodd 1955 (filmed for television as ''Worse Than Murder'', 1960, with

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

and

Constance Ford Constance Ford (born Cornelia M. Ford; July 1, 1923 – February 26, 1993) was an American actress and model. She is best known for her long-running role as Ada Lucas Hobson on the daytime soap opera '' Another World'', which she played from 1 ...

) * ''The Strange Bedfellow'', Dodd 1956 * ''The Blind Villain / House of Terror" Dodd 1957 * ''The Hovering Darkness'', Dodd 1957 * ''No Known Grave'', Dodd 1958 * ''Lament for Four Brides'', Dodd 1959 * ''Do You Know This Voice?'', Dodd 1960 * ''Blind Girl's Buff'', Dodd 1962 * ''A Thing That Happens to You'', Dodd 1964 * ''Keys From a Window'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1965 * ''A Simple Case of Ill-Will'', Dodd 1965 * ''Stalemate'', Doubleday 1966 * ''The Heir of Starvelings'', ('A Novel of Innocence and Evil'), Doubleday 1967 * ''A Case in Nullity'', Doubleday 1968 (also published as ''A Hidden Malice'') * ''The Long Arm of the Prince'', Hale 1968 * ''She Asked for It'', Doubleday 1969 * ''The Voice of Air'', Doubleday 1970 * ''A Finger to Her Lips'', Doubleday 1971 * ''The Fourth Man on the Rope'', Doubleday 1972 * ''The Stake in the Game'', Doubleday 1973 * ''The Hidden Island''. Hamish Hamilton 1973 * ''The Victorian Album'', ('A Novel of Possession'), Doubleday 1973 * ''Wait, Just You Wait'', Doubleday 1974. (Published as ''Wait'', Hamish Hamilton, London, 1973) * ''The Nightmare Chase'', Doubleday 1975. (Published as ''Indecent Exposure'', Hamish Hamilton, London, 1975) * ''The Crown Estate'', Doubleday 1976. (Published as ''The Blessed Plot'', Hamish Hamilton. London, 1976) * ''Journey's End'', Doubleday 1977. (Published as ''Be All and End All'', Hamish Hamilton, London, 1976)

Non-fiction

* ''Nelson's Dear Lord: A Portrait of St. Vincent'', Hamish Hamilton, London, 1962 * ''Hidden Navy'', Hamish Hamilton, 1973 * ''Creators and Destroyers of the English Navy'', Hamish Hamilton, London, 1974 * ''Victims of Piracy: Admiralty Court, 1575–1678'', Hamish Hamilton, London, 1979

Reception

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berckman, Evelyn 1900 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American novelists American classical pianists American women classical pianists American women classical composers American classical composers Writers from Philadelphia American women screenwriters Eastman School of Music alumni 20th-century classical composers American naval historians American expatriates in England Women military writers American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American historians 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American composers Novelists from Pennsylvania Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Historians from Pennsylvania American women historians American mystery novelists 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century women composers