Margot Bennett (19 January 1912 – 6 December 1980), born Margot Mitchell, was a Scottish-born screenwriter and author of

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

and thriller novels.

Early life

Margot Mitchell (sometimes called Margot Miller) was born in

Lenzie Lenzie () is an affluent town by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. It is about north-east of Glasgow city centre and south of Kirkintilloch. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 8,873. ...

, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. She was educated in Scotland and in Australia.

Career

Before publishing fiction, Bennett worked as an advertising

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

in Sydney and London. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, she worked as a nurse, translator, and broadcaster for the Spanish Medical Aid. During her war nursing work, she broke her arm when a truck overturned, and she was shot in both legs. Bennett was a regular writer for ''Lilliput'' magazine between 1943 and 1950. She is best remembered for her crime fiction from the 1940s and 1950s, though she also wrote contemporary literature, thrillers and a science guide, ''The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Atomic Radiation'' (1964). She wrote two

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novels, one of which was ''The Long Way Back'', about African colonization of Britain following a

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

. Her novel ''The Man Who Didn't Fly'' was nominated for a Gold Dagger Award. In a 1962 review essay in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,''

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...

counted Bennett among "the best Englishwomen in the suspense field," alongside Charity Blackstock,

Nina Bawden Nina Bawden CBE, FRSL, JP (19 January 1925 – 22 August 2012) was an English novelist and children's writer. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987 and the Lost Man Booker Prize in 2010. She is one of very few who have both se ...

, and Joan Fleming. Bennett wrote scripts for television, including contributions to ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

'', ''

Emergency-Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's f ...

'', ''

Market in Honey Lane ''Market in Honey Lane'' was an ATV British television weekly series, which switched to a twice weekly soap opera format (shown at varying times around the ITV regions) after the first year. It was broadcast between April 1967 and March 1969. ...

'' and ''

Quick Before They Catch Us ''Quick Before They Catch Us'' was a 1966 British action/adventure children's television series. It starred then child actors Pamela Franklin, Teddy Green and David Griffin as three teenagers who become amateur detectives in Swinging London ...

''. In early 1964, she was the second female writer to be associated with ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'', though the historical story she was scheduled to contribute never went ahead. Bennett also wrote the screenplays for her books which were adapted for the screen.

Personal life

During the Spanish Civil War, Margot Miller met Richard Lawrence Bennett (1912–1999), an English journalist and writer who had served in the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Repú ...

since 1936. During the conflict, he had written broadcasts for Radio Catalan. They were married in 19387 in Barcelona, the ceremony being conducted by a Republican soldier. They had three sons and a daughter. One of her sons, Rob, died from

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

. Bennett was a supporter of left-wing politics, including the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

. Bennett lived in London in her later life. She died there in 1980, aged 68 years.

Bibliography

Novels

Short stories

Television Projects Contributed To

Screenplays

* ''

The Man Who Liked Funerals ''The Man Who Liked Funerals'' is a 1958 British comedy film directed by David Eady (film director), David Eady and starring Leslie Phillips, Susan Beaumont and Bill Fraser. It was written by Margot Bennett (writer), Margot Bennett, Cecily Fin ...

'' (1959) * ''

The Crowning Touch ''The Crowning Touch'' is a 1959 British comedy film directed by David Eady and starring Ted Ray, Irene Handl and Greta Gynt. Plot The "Crowning Touch" of the title is a fancy ladies hat. It has been ordered and specially set aside at a posh Br ...

'' (1959)

References

External links

*Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 6 December 1980 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Margot 1912 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Scottish writers Scottish crime fiction writers People from Lenzie Scottish science fiction writers 20th-century British novelists Scottish women novelists 20th-century British women writers Women mystery writers British science fiction writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century Scottish women