William Edward Vickers (1889–1965) was an English mystery writer better known under his pen name Roy Vickers, but used also the pseudonyms Roy C. Vickers, David Durham, Sefton Kyle, and John Spencer. He is the author of over 60 crime novels and 80 short stories. Vickers is now remembered mostly for his attribution to

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

of a ''Department of Dead Ends'', specialized in solving old, sometimes long-forgotten cases, mostly by chance encounters of odd bits of strange and apparently disconnected evidence. He was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

, and left

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

without a degree. For some time he studied law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, but never practiced. He married Mary Van Rossem and they had one son. He worked as a journalist, as a court reporter and as a magazine editor; he also wrote a large number of nonfiction articles and sold hundreds of them to newspapers and magazines. Between November 1913 and February 1917, twenty short stories by Vickers were published in the '' Novel Magazine''. About this time he published his first book, a biography of Field Marshal Frederick, Earl Roberts. In 1924 he published '' The Exploits of Fidelity Dove'' under the name David Durham, one of the rarest mystery books of the twentieth century. In September 1934, ''The Rubber Trumpet'', the first of thirty-eight stories featuring the fictitious ''Department of Dead Ends'', appeared in ''

Pearson's Magazine ''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contribut ...

''. In 1960 he edited 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 ...

's anthology of short stories ''Some Like Them Dead''. The ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

'' called one of his collections, "one of the half-dozen successful books of detective short stories published since the days of Sherlock Holmes." Vickers's work has been adapted for film and TV, including ''

Girl in the News ''The Girl in the News'' is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood, Barry K. Barnes and Emlyn Williams. It was based on the eponymous novel by Roy Vickers, released the same year. Plot After her el ...

'' (1940), ''

Violent Moment ''Violent Moment'' is a 1959 British drama film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Lyndon Brook, Jane Hylton and Jill Browne. It was made as a B film for release on the lower-half of a double bill. It was the film editor Hayers' first film ...

'' (1959) and three episodes of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'' (Season 3: 1957–58).BFI
/ref>

Non-Fiction as Roy Vickers

As Roy Vickers

* ''Lord Roberts: the Story of His Life'' (1914)

Novels

* ''Humbugs Ltd''. Serialised, The Novel Magazine, June to October 1914 * ''Bonnie Mary Myles or The Mystery of Old Monkland'' (1919). Serialised, Dundee People's Journal, 1919 * ''The Woman without a Soul'' (1920) * ''The Lady of Lombard Street'' (1920) * ''The Man from Dartmoor''. Serialised,

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

, 1920 * ''The Brown Arm''. Serialised,

, 1920 * ''The Fatal Necklace'' (1920). Serialised, San Francisco Examiner, 12, 19 and 26 September 1920 * ''The Thief of Love'' (1921). Serialised,

Dundee Evening Telegraph The ''Evening Telegraph'' is a local newspaper in Dundee, Scotland. Known locally as the ''Tele'' (usually pronounced ''Tully or Tilly''), it is the sister paper of '' The Courier'', also published by Dundee firm D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. It w ...

, 1921 * ''The Mystery of the Scented Death'' (1921) * ''The Vengeance of Henry Jarroman''. Serialised, London

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

, 17 March to 17 May 1921; and

, 1922 * ''The Marriage Flaw''. Serialised,

, 1922 * ''The Door to Desire''. Serialised as ''The Dominant Desire'', London Daily Mail, 2 May to 28 June 1922; and

, 1922 * ''The Gay Adventure'' (1922). Serialised,

, 1922 * ''The Woman Accused'' (1923). Serialised as ''Suppressed Evidence'', London

, 14 June 14 to 25 July 1923, and reprinted in other newspapers

, 1923 * ''Ishmael's Wife'' (1924) * ''Murder for a Million'' (1924) * ''The Man in the Shadow''. Serialised,

, 1924 * ''The Man She Bought''. Serialised, San Francisco Examiner, 1924 * ''Four Past Four'' (1925). Serialised,

Melbourne Herald ''The Herald'' was a morning and, later, evening broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 January 1840 to 5 October 1990, which is when it merged with its sister morning newspaper ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' to form the ''H ...

* ''The Pearl-Headed Pin''. Serialised,

, 1925 * ''The Master of Money''. London

, 1 July to 19 August 1925 * ''The Unforbidden Sin'' (1926). Expanded from the novella qv * ''His Other Wife'' (1926) * ''The White Raven'' (1927). Serialised, London

, 17 November 1926 to 25 January 1927 * ''They Wouldn't Believe''. Serialised,

, 1927 * ''Seals of Silence''. Serialised, San Francisco Examiner, 1928 * ''Master of Money''. Serialised, (Wilkes-Barre) Evening News, 1928 * ''The Radingham Mystery'' (1928) * ''A Girl of These Days'' (1929). Serialised as If Love Should Change, 26 November 1928 to 14 January 1929 * ''The Hawk''. Serialised,

, 1929 * ''Hidden Gold'' (1929). Serialised,

London Evening News The ''London Evening News'' was a newspaper whose first issue was published on 14 August 1855. Usually, when people mention the ''London Evening News'', they are actually referring to '' The Evening News'', published in London from 1881 to 1980, ...

and other newspapers, for example

Derby Evening Telegraph The ''Derby Telegraph'', formerly the ''Derby Evening Telegraph'', is a daily tabloid newspaper distributed in the Derby area of England. Stories produced by the Derby Telegraph team are published online under the Derbyshire Live brand. Histor ...

, 1929 * ''The Rose in the Dark'' (1930). Serialised, Michigan Times Herald, 1930 * ''The Victim'' (1930). Serialised, Topical Times, 1930 * ''The Gold Game'' (1930) * ''Deputy for Cain'' (1931). Serialised,

, 1931, as ''The Deputy for Cain'' * ''The Mystery of the Scented Death'' (1931) * ''The Girl in His Way'' (1932). Serialised, (Dundee) Sunday Post, 1932 * ''The Whisperer''. Serialised,

, 1932. Published as ''The Whispering Death'' (1947) * ''The Marriage for the Defence'' (1932) * ''Bardelow's Heir'' (1933) * ''Swell Garrick. Serialised,

, 1933 * ''Money Buys Everything'' (1934) * ''The Forgotten Honeymoon''. Serialised,

, 1934 * ''Kidnap Island'' (1934). Serialised,

Tit-Bits ''Tit-Bits from all the interesting Books and Newspapers of the World'', more commonly known as ''Tit-Bits'', was a British weekly magazine founded by George Newnes, a founding figure in popular journalism, on 22 October 1881. History In 1886 ...

, 1934 * ''The Exploits of Fidelity Dove'' (1935) * ''Hide Those Diamonds'' (1935) * ''Four Past Four'' (1935) * ''Too Dangerous to Live'' (1937). Serialised, Topical Times, 1937 * ''I'll Never Tell'' (1937). Serialised,

, 1936; and

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

, 1936 * ''Find This Girl''. Serialised (New York) Daily News, 1937 * ''The Girl in the News'' (1937) * ''The Life Between'' (1938) * ''The Enemy Within'' (1938) * ''Fate Calls the Tune'' (1939). Serialised,

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England * Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastl ...

, 1939 * ''The Girl in the Shadows''. Serialised, (New York) Daily News, 1940 * ''She Walked in Fear'' (1940) * ''Playgirl Wanted'' (1940) * ''Brenda Gets Married'' (1941) * ''War Bride'' (1941) * ''Six Came to Dinner'' (1942) * ''A Date with Danger'' (1942) * ''The Girl Who Stood Alone''. Serialised,

, 1942 * ''The Wicked Mrs Steel''. Serialised,

, 1945 * ''A King's Ransom''. Serialised, (New York) Daily News, 1947 * ''Murder at Bishop's Runt''. (New York) Daily News, 18 and 25 July 1948 * ''The Department of Dead Ends'' (1949) – short story collection * ''Blackmail''. Boston Globe, 9 October 1949 * ''Death's Warning''. Boston Globe, 16 October 1949 * ''Murder of a Snob'' (1949) * ''Dinner for Two''. Boston Globe, 12 February 1950 * ''Maid to Murder'' (1950) * ''On the Road''. Boston Globe, 7 May 1950 * ''Murdering Mr Velfrage'' (1950) * ''Anointed Quinine''. Boston Globe, 4 June 1950 * ''Gold and Wine'' (1950) * ''They Can't Hang Caroline'' (1950) * ''Murder Will Out'' (1950) – short story collection * ''The Snatch Racket''. Boston Globe, 22 April 1951 * ''The Sole Survivor and The Kynsard Affair'' (1952) * ''The Fire Bug''. Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 June 1953 * ''Eight Murders in the Suburbs'' (1950) – short story collection * ''Double Image'' (1955) – short story collection * ''Seven Chose Murder'' (1959) – short story collection * ''Find the Innocent'' (1959) * ''The Girl Who Wouldn't Talk'' (1960) * ''Best Detective Stories'' (1965) – short story collection

Short Stories

* ''The Stolen Melody''. Sheffield Weekly Telegraph, 21 June 1913 * ''Harwood's Discovery''. Sheffield Weekly Telegraph, 11 October 1913 * ''The Goth''. The Novel Magazine, November 1913 * ''The House that Didn't Exist''. Sheffield Weekly Telegraph, 22 November 1913 * ''Duplicates''. ''

Pearson's Weekly ''Pearson's Weekly'' was a British weekly periodical founded in London in 1890 by Arthur Pearson, who had previously worked on ''Tit-Bits'' for George Newnes. The first issue was well advertised and sold a quarter of a million copies. The paper's ...

'', ate to be confirmed 1913. Reprinted Nebraska State Journal, 25 October 1913 * ''TITLE UNKNOWN. Chamber's Journal, April 1914 * ''The Hands of the Clock''. The Novel Magazine, July 1915 * ''Polite Society''. The Novel Magazine, October 1915 * ''Somewhere in London''. The Novel Magazine, November 1915 * ''The Secret Remedy''. The Novel Magazine, December 1915 * ''The Lost Platoons''. The Novel Magazine, January 1916 * ''The Blackleg''. Pearson's Weekly, 28 March 1916 * ''The Unforbidden Sin''. The Novel Magazine, March to June 1916. Reprinted: Detective Story Magazine, 23 and 30 October 1917 * ''Honours Easy''. The Novel Magazine, January 1917 * ''Blackmail''. Detective Story Magazine, 11 December 1917 * ''A Champion of Poverty''. Detective Story Magazine, 25 December 1917 * ''Instinct vs Logic''. Detective Story Magazine, 1 January 1918 * ''A Dicker in Art''. Detective Story Magazine, 15 January 1918 * ''The Man from Dartmoor''. Serialised, Topical Times, Vol 1 No 1 (18 October 1919) – DATE OF ISSUE UNKNOWN * ''TITLE UNKNOWN''. Ideas Magazine, Christmas 1924 * ''TITLE UNKNOWN''.

, October 1927 * ''The Red Ember''· Complete Detective Novel Magazine, December 1932 * ''The Rubber Trumpet''. Pearson's Magazine, September 1934 * ''The Starting-Handle Murder''. Pearson's Magazine, October 1934 * ''The Three-Foot Grave''. Pearson's Magazine, November 1934 * ''TITLE UNKNOWN''. Pearson's Magazine, March 1935 * ''According to Plan''. The Thriller, 26 October 1935 * ''The Notorious Miss Walters''. Radio Review No 1, October – November 1935 * ''The Man Who Murdered in Public''. Fiction Parade, 1935 * ''The Case of Poor Gertrude''. Fiction Parade, 1935 * ''Murder in Mayfair''. * ''The Yellow Jumper'' * ''The Hen-Pecked Murderer'' * ''A Toy for Jiffy'' * ''The Case of the Social Climber'' * ''A Man and His Mother-in-Law'' * ''The House-in-Your-Hand'' * ''Little Things Like That'' * ''Kill Me, kill My Dog'' * ''The Nine-Pound Murder'' * ''Marion, Come Back'' * ''The parrot's beak'' * ''A fool and her money'' * ''The lady who laughed'' * ''The snob's murder'' * ''The Cowboy of Oxford Street'' * ''The Clue of the Red Carnations'' * ''Blind Man's Buff'' * ''The Meanest Man in Europe'' * ''The Case of the Merry Andrew'' * ''Mean Man's Murder'' * ''The Man Who Was Murdered by a Bed'' * ''The Case of the Honest Murderer'' * ''The Eight Pieces of Tortoiseshell'' * ''Dinner for Two'' * ''The Crocodile Case'' * ''Wit's End'' * ''The Patchwork Murder'' * ''The Man with the Sneer'' * ''The Hair Shirt'' * ''The Man Who Could Not Hold Women'' * ''Miss Paisley's Cat'' * ''Little Things Like That'' * ''The Frame-Up'' * ''The Man Who Punished Himself'' * ''Double Image'' * ''The Color of Truth''

As Sefton Kyle

Novels

* ''The Man in the Shadow'' (1924) * ''Dead Man's Dower'' (1925) * ''Guilty – But'' (1927) * ''The Hawk'' (1930 * ''The Bloomsbury Treasure'' (1930) * ''Red Hair'' (1933) * ''The Life He Stole'' (1933) * ''The Man without a Name'' (1935) * ''Silence'' (1935) * ''Number 73'' (1936) * ''The Durand Case'' (1936) * ''The Notorious Miss Walters'' (1937) * ''The Body in the Safe'' (1937) * ''During Her Majesty's Pleasure'' (1938) * ''Missing'' (1938) * ''Miss X'' (1939) * ''The Judge's Dilemma'' (1939) * ''The Shadow over Fairholme'' (1940) * ''The Girl Known as D13'' (1940) * ''Sweet Adversity'' (1941) * ''The Price of Silence'' (1942) * ''Love was Married'' (1943)

Short Stories

* ’’On the Giant's Head’’. The Novel Magazine, July 1915. Reprinted as by Roy Vickers. Detective Story Magazine, 28 October 1919

As David Durham

* ''Hounded Down'' (1923) * ''The Exploits of Fidelity Dove'' (1924) * ''The Pearl-Headed Pin'' (1925) * ''The Forgotten Honeymoon'' (1935)

As John Spencer

* ''The Whispering Death'' (1932) * ''Swell Garrick'' (1933)

References

External links

*
Photo
taken at Bassano Ltd., 1921, in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery
Bibliography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, William Edward 1889 births 1965 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British novelists Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British male novelists English male journalists English mystery writers English writers Members of the Detection Club People educated at Charterhouse School