Anthony Berkeley Cox (5 July 1893 – 9 March 1971) was an English

crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley and A. Monmouth Platts.

Early life and education

Anthony Berkeley Cox was born 5 July 1893 at

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, son of medical practitioner Dr Alfred Edward Cox (1861–1936), of Monmouth House and The Platts, two adjoining properties on Watford High Street, and Sybil Maud (died 1924), née Iles, who ran a school at Monmouth House. His paternal grandfather was a

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

wine merchant. Cox had two younger siblings: Stephen Henry Johnson Cox (1899–1960), who became a schoolmaster, and Cynthia Cicely Cox (born 1897). With his brother, Cox was educated at Rose Hill School, Banstead, Surrey, and from the age of 14 was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

Career

As an ex-cadet of the

Officer Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

, Cox was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

on 19 September 1914. He was promoted to temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 4 November 1915. He served in 7th Battalion of the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He suffered from a

gas attack Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...

in France, which caused long-term damage to his health. Following the attack, he was invalided back to England and then worked an number of desk jobs for the Army. On 15 April 1919, he was transferred to the unemployed list, therefore ending his military service. Following the war, he worked as a journalist for many years, contributing to such magazines as ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' and ''The Humorist''. His first novel, ''The Layton Court Mystery'', was published anonymously in 1925. It introduced Roger Sheringham, the amateur detective who features in many of the author's novels including the classic '' Poisoned Chocolates Case''. In 1930, Berkeley founded the

Detection Club The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison, Hugh Walpole, John Rhode, Jessie Rickard, Baroness Emma Orczy, R. ...

in London along with Agatha Christie,

Freeman Wills Crofts Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA (1 June 1879 – 11 April 1957) was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French. A railway engineer by training, Crofts introduced railway themes into many of his stories, ...

and other established mystery writers. His 1932 novel (as "Francis Iles"), '' Before the Fact'' was adapted into the 1941 classic film ''

Suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...

'', directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

and

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

. ''Trial and Error'' was turned into the unusual 1941 film ''

Flight from Destiny ''Flight from Destiny'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Vincent Sherman and written by Barry Trivers. The film stars Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Jeffrey Lynn, James Stephenson, Mona Maris and Jonathan Hale. The film was rel ...

'' starring Thomas Mitchell. He was a friend of EM Delafield and they each dedicated a book to the other (''Jill'' and ''The Wychford Poisoning Case''). She gently ragged him in her ''Provincial Lady Goes Further'' by having people tell her that "Francis Iles" is really

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

Edith Sitwell Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (7 September 1887 – 9 December 1964) was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess ...

. The opening sentence of ''

Malice Aforethought Malice aforethought is the "premeditation" or "predetermination" (with malice) required as an element of some crimes in some jurisdictions and a unique element for first-degree or aggravated murder in a few. Insofar as the term is still in use, ...

'' has been described as "immortal": "It was not until several weeks after he had decided to murder his wife that Doctor Bickleigh took any active steps in the matter." In 1938, he took up book reviewing for ''

John O'London's Weekly ''John O'London's Weekly'' was a weekly literary magazine that was published by George Newnes Ltd of London between 1919 and 1954. In 1960 it was briefly brought back into circulation (writer Peter Green's biography lists him as having been fi ...

'' and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', writing under his pen name Francis Iles. He also wrote for the '' Sunday Times'' in the 1940s and for the ''Manchester Guardian'', later ''

The 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 ...

'', from the mid-1950s until 1970. A key figure in the development of crime fiction, he died in 1971 in St John's Wood, London. His estate was valued at £196,917.

Novels and stories

Published as Anthony Berkeley

Roger Sheringham

* ''The Layton Court Mystery'' (Herbert Jenkins, 1925) (Published as "?") * ''The Wychford Poisoning Case'' (Collins, 1926) (published as the author of "The Layton Court mystery") * ''Roger Sheringham and the Vane Mystery'' S title: ''The Mystery at Lovers' Cave''(1927) * ''The Silk Stocking Murders'' (1928) * '' The Poisoned Chocolates Case'' (1929) * ''The Second Shot'' (1930) * ''Top Storey Murder'' (1931) * ''Murder in the Basement'' (1932) * ''Jumping Jenny'' S title: ''Dead Mrs. Stratton''(1933) * ''Panic Party'' S title: ''Mr Pidgeon's Island''(1934) * ''The Roger Sheringham Stories'' (1994); limited edition of 95 copies: ''The Avenging Chance'', ''White Butterfly'', ''Perfect Alibi'', ''The Wrong Jar'', ''Mr Bearstowe Says...'', ''The Body's Upstairs'' (a brief parody), ''Double Bluff'', ''Razor-Edge'' and ''Red Anemones'' (These are earlier versions of "Mr. Bearstowe Says...". "Red Anemones" is a radio script.), ''Temporary Insanity'' (a stage play adapted from ''The Layton Court Mystery'', ''Direct Evidence'' (an earlier version of "Double Bluff") * ''The Avenging Chance and Other Mysteries from Roger Sheringham's Casebook'' (2004); 2nd edition with an additional story,

Crippen & Landru Crippen & Landru Publishers is a small publisher of mystery fiction collections, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1994 by husband and wife Sandi and Douglas G. Greene in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is named af ...

, 2015: ''The Avenging Chance'', ''White Butterfly'', ''Perfect Alibi'', ''The Wrong Jar'', ''Mr Bearstowe Says...'', ''The Body's Upstairs''(a brief parody), ''Double Bluff'', ''The Mystery of Horne's Copse'', ''Unsound Mind'', ''The Bargee's Holiday'' (First published

Diss Express The ''Diss Express'' is an English newspaper that covers a 500-square-mile circulation area on the Norfolk/Suffolk border and has a print/online audience of more than 29,000. It was owned by Johnston Press with a print edition released every Frida ...

, 5 February 1943)

Other novels

* ''Professor On Paws'' (1926) * ''Mr Priestley's Problem'' (first published as by A.B. Cox) S title: ''The Amateur Crime''(1927) * '' The Piccadilly Murder'' (1929) * ''

The Floating Admiral ''The Floating Admiral'' is a collaborative detective novel written by fourteen members of the Detection Club in 1931. The twelve chapters of the story were each written by a different author, in the following sequence: Canon Victor Whitechurch ...

'' (1931) (written in collaboration with eleven members of the

) * ''

Trial and Error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan (18 ...

'' (1937) * '' Not to Be Taken'' S title: ''A Puzzle in Poison''(1938) * '' Death in the House'' (1939) * '' The Scoop and Behind the Screen'' (1983) (Originally published in '' The Listener'' (1931) and (1930), both written by members of the

)

Uncollected short stories

* "Mr Simpson Goes to the Dogs" (1934) * "The Policeman Only Taps Once" (1936) * "Publicity Heroine" (1936) * "Hot Steel" (Sheringham)

Published as Francis Iles

Novels

* ''

'' (1931) * '' Before the Fact'' (1932) * '' As for the Woman'' (1939)

Short stories

* "Outside the Law" (1934) * "Dark Journey" (1935) * "It Takes Two to Make a Hero'" (1943)

True crime essays

* "The Rattenbury Case" (1936)

Published as A. Monmouth Platts

* '' Cicely Disappears'' (1927) (Also known as The Wintringham Mystery)

Humour

Published as A. B. Cox

*''Brenda Entertains'' (1925) *''Jugged Journalism'' (1925)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Anthony Berkeley English crime fiction writers Alumni of University College London People educated at Sherborne School People from Watford 1893 births 1971 deaths Members of the Detection Club 20th-century English novelists British Army personnel of World War I Northamptonshire Regiment officers