George Bellairs was the ''nom de plume'' of Harold Blundell (1902–1982), a crime writer and bank manager born in Heywood, near

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. He began working for

Martins Bank Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of “The Grasshopper”, that could trace its origins back to the London goldsmiths. Martins agreed to its acquisition by the Bank of Liverpool in 1918. The Ba ...

at the age of 15, and stayed there in escalating roles of seniority until his retirement. He then settled in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, and all with the same publisher. His radio comedy ''The Legacy'' was aired in 1951. He also wrote four novels under the alternative pseudonym Hilary Landon. His first novel'','' ''Littlejohn on Leave,'' was published in 1941 and his last one, ''An Old Man Dies'', was published close to his death in 1982. He also contributed articles to the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and to Manx publications such as '' Manx Life'' and received a short review in the print edition of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' in 1958 for his book ''Corpse at the Carnival''. Many of his books were also published by the Thriller Book Club, and several titles have recently been issued in the British Library Crime Classics series. Harold Blundell served on the boards of The United Manchester Hospitals and

Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nati ...

. He married Gladys Mabel Roberts in 1930. She presented hi
personal papers
to the John Rylands Library at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, England. Blundell died on the

in April 1982 just before his eightieth birthday after a protracted illness.

Bibliography

Written as George Bellairs

Tom Littlejohn novels

* ''Littlejohn on Leave'' (1941) * ''The Four Unfaithful Servants'' (1942) * ''Death of a Busybody'' (1942) * ''The Dead Shall Be Raised'' (1942) aka ''Murder Will Speak'' (1942) * ''The Murder of a Quack'' (1943) * ''The Case Of The Seven Whistlers'' (1944) * ''Death in the Night Watches'' (1945) * ''He'd Rather Be Dead'' (1945) * ''Calamity At Hardwood'' (1945) * ''The Case of the Scared Rabbits'' (1946) * ''The Crime At Halfpenny Bridge'' (1946) * ''Death On the Last Train'' (1948) * ''Outrage On Gallows Hill'' (1948) * ''The Case of the Demented Spiv'' (1949) * ''The Case of the Famished Parson'' (1949) * ''The Case of the Headless Jesuit'' (1950) aka ''Death Brings in the New Year'' * ''Crime in Lepers’ Hollow'' (1950) * ''Dead March for Penelope Blow'' (1951) aka ''Dead March for Penelope'' * ''Death in Dark Glasses'' (1952) * ''Half-Mast for the Deemster'' (1953) * ''A Knife for Harry Dodd'' (1953) * ''The Cursing Stones Murder'' (1954) * ''Death In Room Five'' (1955) * ''Death Drops the Pilot'' (1956) * ''Death Treads Softly'' (1956) * ''Death in High Provence'' (1957) * ''Death Sends for the Doctor'' (1957) * ''Corpse at the Carnival'' (1958) * ''Murder Makes Mistakes'' (1958) * ''Bones in the Wilderness'' (1959) * ''Toll the Bell for Murder'' (1959) * ''Corpses in Enderby'' (1960) * ''Death in the Fearful Night'' (1960) * ''The Body in the Dumb River'' (1961) aka ''Murder Masquerade'' * ''Death of a Tin God'' (1961) * ''Death Before Breakfast'' (1962) * ''The Tormentors'' (1962) * ''Death in the Wasteland'' (1964) * ''Death of a Shadow'' (1964) * ''Surfeit of Suspects'' (1964) * ''Death Spins the Wheel'' (1965) * ''Intruder in the Dark'' (1966) * ''Strangers Among the Dead'' (1966) * ''Death in Desolation'' (1967) * ''Single Ticket to Death'' (1967) * ''Fatal Alibi'' (1968) * ''Murder Gone Mad'' (1968) * ''The Night They Killed Joss Varran'' (1970) * ''Tycoon’s Death-bed'' (1970) * ''Pomeroy, Deceased'' (1971) * ''Murder Adrift'' (1972) * ''Devious Murder'' (1973) * ''Fear Round About'' (1975) * ''Close All Roads to Sospel'' (1976) aka ''All Roads to Sospel'' * ''The Downhill Ride of Leeman Popple'' (1978) * ''An Old Man Dies'' (1980)

Other novels

* ''Turmoil in Zion'' (1943) aka ''Death Stops the Frolic'' A title that has sometimes mistakenly been attributed to Bellairs is ''Officer That’s Your Man!'' (1948). This short story collection was by P G Arbaleister.

Written as Hilary Langdon

* ''Murder at Morning Prayers'' (1947) * ''Circle Around a Corpse'' (1948) * ''Choose your Own Verdict'' (1949) * ''Exit Sir Toby Belch'' (1950)

References

External links

George Bellairs' books on WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellairs, George English crime fiction writers People from Heywood, Greater Manchester 1902 births 1982 deaths 20th-century English novelists People educated at Heywood Grammar School English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers