Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell (21 April 1901 – 27 July 1983) was an English writer best known for her creation of
Mrs Bradley, the heroine of 66
detective novels. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Stephen Hockaby and Malcolm Torrie. Fêted during her life (called "the Great Gladys" by
Philip Larkin), her work has been largely neglected in the decades since her death.
Life
Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was born in
Cowley, Oxford on 19 April 1901 to James, a
market gardener of Scottish parentage, and Annie. She was educated at
Rothschild School, Brentford
Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...
and
The Green School. From 1919 to 1921 she attended
Goldsmiths College and
University College London.
Upon her graduation, Mitchell became a teacher of history, English and
games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
at
St Paul's School, Brentford until 1925. She then taught at St Ann's Senior Girls School, Hanwell until 1939. In 1926 she obtained an external diploma in European History from University College, and she then began to write novels while continuing to teach. In 1941 she joined
Brentford School for Girls
Brentford School for Girls is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status for girls aged 11–18, in Brentford, Greater London, England.
History
The school was established as the Brentford British School in 1834, and was initially ...
where she stayed until 1950. After a three-year break from teaching, she took a job at
Matthew Arnold School, Staines, where she taught English and history, coached
hurdling and wrote the annual school play until her retirement to
Corfe Mullen, Dorset in 1961. She continued to write until her death aged 82 on 27 July 1983. Her estate was valued at £48 082.
She was a member of the
Middlesex Education Association, the
British Olympic Association, the
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
,
PEN and the
Society of Authors. Her hobbies included architecture and writing poetry. She studied the works of
Sigmund Freud and her interest in
witchcraft was encouraged by her friend the detective novelist
Helen Simpson. Mitchell never married.
Work
Mitchell wrote at least one novel a year throughout her career. Her first novel (''
Speedy Death
''Speedy Death'' is a 1929 mystery novel, mystery Detective fiction, detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Reilly p.1089 It introduced the character of Mrs Bradley who would go on to appear in a further sixty five novels. The titl ...
'', 1929) introduced
Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, a
polymathic psychoanalyst and author who was featured in a further 65 novels. Her strong views and those of her assistant, Laura Menzies, on social and philosophical issues reflected those of her author; they appear to have been something of a self-portrait of the young Mitchell, reflecting, for good or ill, the standards of the modern, post-war era of the 1920s.
Mitchell was an early member of the
Detection Club along with
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...
,
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
and
Dorothy L. Sayers and throughout the 1930s was considered to be one of the "Big Three women detective writers", but she often challenged and mocked the conventions of the genre – notably in her earliest books, such as the first novel ''Speedy Death'', where there is a particularly surprising twist to the plot, or her parodies of Christie in ''The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop'' (1929) and ''
The Saltmarsh Murders
''The Saltmarsh Murders'' is a 1932 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the fourth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley. It has been highly acclaimed as a part o ...
'' (1932). Her plots and settings were unconventional with
Freudian psychology
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...
, witchcraft (notably in ''The Devil at Saxon Wall''
935and ''The Worsted Viper''
943 and the supernatural (
naiads and
Nessie, ghosts and Greek gods) as recurrent themes.
In addition to her 66 Mrs. Bradley novels Mitchell also used the pseudonyms of Stephen Hockaby (for a series of historical novels) and Malcolm Torrie (for a series of detective stories featuring an architect named Timothy Herring) and wrote ten children's books under her own name.
After her death Mitchell's work was neglected although three posthumously published novels sold well in the 1980s. Radio adaptations were made (by Elizabeth Proud) of ''Speedy Death'' (6 October 1990) and ''The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop'' (11 & 18 December 1991) both with
Mary Wimbush as Mrs Bradley and broadcast on
BBC Radio 4; both adaptations were very faithful to the original books. A
BBC television series, ''
The Mrs Bradley Mysteries'' (starring
Diana Rigg) was produced in 1999; however, the characteristic cackle and crocodilian looks were absent, and the plots and characters were changed. Several of her books were published in large print editions in the mid 1980s.
By the mid 1990s, only one of her novels was in regular print: a
Virago Press paperback edition of ''The Rising of the Moon'' (1945) – which is still in print. Something of a renaissance began in 2005 with the publication of a collection of hitherto unpublished short stories, ''Sleuth's Alchemy'', by
Crippen & Landru. In the same year
Minnow Press published a new edition of her rare 1940 novel ''Brazen Tongue''.
[ Minnow Press Website. Retrieved 9 February 2012] Also,
Rue Morgue Press
''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...
published new editions of ''
Death at the Opera'' (1934) and ''When Last I Died'' (1941)
[ Rue Morgue publisher's catalogue. Retrieved 9 February 2012] – this publisher now has a total of nine Mrs Bradley books in print. Minnow Press continued their Mrs Bradley Collectors' Series with the reissue of the scarce 1939 title ''Printer's Error'' in 2007, ''The Worsted Viper'' in 2009, and ''Hangman's Curfew'' in 2010. Of the four Minnow Press titles, only the last two are still in print.
More recently,
Random House has published nine titles in paperback and as ebooks under their
Vintage imprint,
Random House author page for Gladys Mitchell. Retrieved 9 February 2012 Greyladies has published ''Convent on the Styx'' (1976) in paperback, and ''
Groaning Spinney'' (1950) was republished as ''Murder in the Snow: a Cotswold Christmas Mystery''.
Although critical opinion is divided on what is her best work, her strengths and style can be gleaned from the following 16 books: ''The Saltmarsh Murders'' (1932), ''
Death at the Opera'' (1934), ''The Devil at Saxon Wall'' (1935), ''Come Away, Death'' (1937), ''Brazen Tongue'' (1940), ''When Last I Died'' (1941), ''The Rising of the Moon'' (1945), ''Death and the Maiden'' (1947), ''The Dancing Druids'' (1948), ''Tom Brown's Body'' (1949), ''Groaning Spinney'' (1950), ''The Echoing Strangers'' (1952), ''Merlin's Furlong'' (1953), ''Dance to Your Daddy'' (1969), ''Nest of Vipers'' (1979), and ''The Greenstone Griffins'' (1983)
The Gladys Mitchell Tribute Sitehas reviews of almost all the books in its Bibliography section.
Bibliography
as Gladys Mitchell
Novels
* ''
Speedy Death
''Speedy Death'' is a 1929 mystery novel, mystery Detective fiction, detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Reilly p.1089 It introduced the character of Mrs Bradley who would go on to appear in a further sixty five novels. The titl ...
'', (London:
Gollancz Gollancz may refer to:
* Gollancz (surname), a Polish-Jewish surname
* Victor Gollancz Ltd, a former British publishing house, now used as an imprint by the Orion Publishing Group
See also
* Gołańcz
Gołańcz (german: Gollantsch) is a town ...
, 1929)
* ''
The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop'', (London: Gollancz, 1929)
* ''
The Longer Bodies
''The Longer Bodies'' is a 1930 mystery novel, mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the third in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089
Synopsis
In orde ...
'', (London: Gollancz, 1930)
* ''
The Saltmarsh Murders
''The Saltmarsh Murders'' is a 1932 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the fourth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley. It has been highly acclaimed as a part o ...
'', (London: Gollancz, 1932)
* ''
Death at the Opera'', (London: Grayson, 1934)
* ''
The Devil at Saxon Wall
''The Devil at Saxon Wall'' is a 1935 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the sixth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 It was the first of a ...
'', (London: Grayson, 1935)
* ''
Dead Men's Morris
''Dead Men's Morris'' is a 1936 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the seventh in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 It was the first to be pub ...
'', (London:
Michael Joseph, 1936)
* ''
Come Away, Death'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1937)
* ''
St Peter's Finger
''St Peter's Finger'' is a 1938 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the ninth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Walton p.89
Synopsis
Mrs Bradley is called in ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1938)
* ''
Printer's Error
''Printer's Error'' is a 1939 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the tenth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Miskimmin p.155
Synopsis
A small publisher ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1939)
* ''
Brazen Tongue
''Brazen Tongue'' is a 1940 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the eleventh in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theori ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1940)
* ''
Hangman's Curfew
''Hangman's Curfew'' is a 1941 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the twelfth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theo ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1941)
* ''
When Last I Died
''When Last I Died'' is a 1941 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the thirteenth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 In a review in '' The Ob ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1941)
* ''
Laurels are Poison'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1942)
* ''
The Worsted Viper
''The Worsted Viper'' is a 1943 detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the fifteenth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories a ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1943)
* ''
Sunset Over Soho
''Sunset Over Soho'' is a 1943 detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the sixteenth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 Bradley was one of a number of inv ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1943)
* ''
My Father Sleeps
''My Father Sleeps'' is a 1944 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the seventeenth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 It is set in the Western H ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1944)
* ''
The Rising of the Moon'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1945)
* ''
Here Comes a Chopper
''Here Comes a Chopper'' is a 1946 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the nineteenth in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 The title references ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1946)
* ''
Death and the Maiden'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1947)
* ''
The Dancing Druids
''The Dancing Druids'' is a 1948 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the twenty-first in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs. Bradley.Reilly p.1089 The title refers to a ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1948)
* ''
Tom Brown's Body'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1949)
* ''
Groaning Spinney'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1950)
* ''
The Devil's Elbow'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1951)
* ''
The Echoing Strangers
''The Echoing Strangers'' is a 1952 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the twenty fifth entry in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089
In a review in ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1952)
* ''
Merlin's Furlong
''Merlin's Furlong'' is a 1953 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the twenty sixth entry in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley
Beatrice Adela Bradley is a fic ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1953)
* ''
Faintley Speaking
''Faintley Speaking'' is a 1954 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the twenty seventh in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of The ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1954)
* ''
Watson's Choice'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1955)
* ''
Twelve Horses and the Hangman's Noose'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1956)
* ''
The Twenty-Third Man
''The Twenty-Third Man'' is a 1957 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Magill p.1235 It is the thirtieth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known creation, the psychoanalyst and amateur dete ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1957)
* ''
Spotted Hemlock
''Spotted Hemlock'' is a 1958 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the thirty first in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known creation, the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Brad ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1958)
* ''
The Man Who Grew Tomatoes'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1959)
* ''
Say It with Flowers'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1960)
* ''
The Nodding Canaries
''The Nodding Canaries'' is a 1961 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Reilly p.1089 It is the thirty fourth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known character, the psychoanalyst and amateur de ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1961)
* ''
My Bones Will Keep
''My Bones Will Keep'' is a 1962 mystery novel, mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Craig & Cadogan p.186 It is the thirty fifth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known character, the psychoan ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1962)
* ''
Adders on the Heath
''Adders on the Heath'' is a 1963 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Reilly p.1089 It is the thirty sixth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known character, the psychoanalyst and amateur dete ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1963)
* ''
Death of a Delft Blue
''Death of a Delft Blue'' is a 1964 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Reilly p.1089 It is the thirty seventh in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known character, the psychoanalyst and amateur ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1964)
* ''
Pageant of Murder
''Pageant of Murder'' is a 1965 mystery novel, mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Reilly p.1089 It is the thirty eighth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known character, the psychoanalyst an ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1965)
* ''
The Croaking Raven
''The Croaking Raven'' is a 1966 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Magill p.1235 It is the thirty ninth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known creation, the psychoanalyst and amateur det ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1966)
* ''Skeleton Island'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1967)
* ''Three Quick and Five Dead'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1968)
* ''Dance to Your Daddy'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1969)
* ''Gory Dew'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1970)
* ''
Lament for Leto
''Lament for Leto'' is a 1971 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell.Parker & Kermode p.462 It is the forty fourth in the long-running series of books featuring Mitchell's best known character, the psychoanalyst and amat ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1971)
* ''A Hearse on May-Day'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1972)
* ''The Murder of Busy Lizzie'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1973)
* ''A Javelin for Jonah'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1974)
* ''Winking at the Brim'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1974)
* ''Convent on Styx'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1975)
* ''Late, Late in the Evening'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1976)
* ''Noonday and Night'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1977)
* ''Fault in the Structure'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1977)
* ''Wraiths and Changelings'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1978)
* ''Mingled with Venom'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1978)
* ''Nest of Vipers'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1979)
* ''The Mudflats of the Dead'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1979)
* ''Uncoffin'd Clay'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1980)
* ''The Whispering Knights'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1980)
* ''The Death-Cap Dancers'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1981)
* ''Lovers, Make Moan'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1981)
* ''Here Lies Gloria Mundy'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1982)
* ''The Death of a Burrowing Mole'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1982)
* ''The Greenstone Griffins'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1983)
* ''Cold, Lone and Still'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1983)
* ''No Winding-Sheet'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1984)
* ''
The Crozier Pharaohs
''The Crozier Pharaohs'' is a 1984 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the sixty sixth and last in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley.Reilly p.1089 The series ...
'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1984)
Short Story Collection
* ''Sleuth's Alchemy'', Cases of Mrs. Bradley and Others (
Crippen & Landru, 2005). A collection of all but one of Gladys Mitchell's short stories from 1938 to 1956, many previously uncollected; edited and with a comprehensive introduction by Nicholas Fuller: "The Case of the hundred cats", "Daisy Bell", "Strangers' Hall", "A Light on murder", "Rushy Glen", "Juniper gammon", "Manor Park", "A Jar of ginger", "The Knife", "The Practical joke", "Our pageant", "The Tree", "Sammy", "Peach jam", "The Plumb-line", "The Haunted house", "Falling petals", "The Price of lead", "The Spell", "The Bit of garden", "The Swimming gala", "The Tooth-pick", "The Bodkin", "The Boxer", "The Visitor", "The Oversight", "The Manuscript", "The Fish-pond", "The Alibi", "The vacuum cleaner", "Arsenic in the house"
as Malcolm Torrie
Mystery novels:
*''Heavy as Lead'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1966)
*''Late and Cold'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1967)
*''Your Secret Friend'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1968)
*''Churchyard Salad'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1969)
*''Shades of Darkness'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1970)
*''Bismarck Herrings'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1971)
as Stephen Hockaby
Historical adventure novels:
*''Marsh Hay'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1933)
*''Seven Stars and Orion'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1934)
*''Gabriel's Hold'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1935)
*''Shallow Brown'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1936)
*''Grand Master'', (London: Michael Joseph, 1939)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Gladys
1901 births
1983 deaths
English children's writers
English mystery writers
Alumni of University College London
Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
Writers from Oxford
Members of the Detection Club
Women mystery writers
British women children's writers
20th-century British women writers
20th-century English writers
20th-century British novelists