James Edward Preston Muddock also known as "Joyce Emmerson Preston Muddock" and "Dick Donovan" (28 May 1843 – 23 January 1934), was a prolific British journalist and author of mystery and horror fiction. For a time his detective stories were as popular as those of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

. Between 1889 and 1922 he published nearly 300 detective and mystery stories.

Life

Muddock was the third of four children, born near

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England, to sea captain James Muddock and Elizabeth Preston. At 14 he travelled to India. During his journalistic career he travelled to China, the United States, and Australia. Muddock's father had made poor investments and was compelled to work overseas, so Muddock rarely saw his father in his early years. By 1870 Muddock had started publishing serial stories in English newspapers.

Family

Muddock had been married three times, in 1861, in 1871 and in 1880, with ten children who survived infancy.http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7930475/Donovan%2C%20Dick ''Dick Donovan'', retrieved 2017 Sept 27 One of his daughters was the

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Dorothy Greenhough-Smith Dorothy Greenhough-Smith (27 September 1882 – 9 May 1965) was a British figure skater. She was born Dorothy Vernon Muddock in Stokesley, North Riding of Yorkshire, the daughter of writer James Edward Preston Muddock, and married publish ...

. Another daughter, Evangeline Hope Muddock (1883-1953), changed her name to

Eva Mudocci Eva Mudocci (1872–1953), born Evangeline Hope Muddock, was an English violinist, who toured Europe with the pianist Bella Edwards. She was the friend and probably lover of the artist Edvard Munch. Early life She was born Evangeline Hope Mud ...

. She was a violinist, and became mistress and friend to Expressionist painter

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

. One of his grandsons was

Charles le Gai Eaton Charles le Gai Eaton (also known as Hasan le Gai Eaton or Hassan Abdul Hakeem; 1 January 1921 – 2010) was a British diplomat, writer, historian, and Sufi Islamic scholar. Life and career Early life Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and raised ...

. He had three sons who fell in World War I. Replying to a letter of condolence from a lady (a certain "Collette") on Christmas Eve, 1917 - writing from his home near Putney Common - he also recounted how his last son had fallen just "seven miles from Jerusalem". Despite this most tragic personal loss, Muddock still managed to see his sons as English "gentlemen" whose deaths were part of the great sacrifice the nation was making. Muddock had few publications after about 1920 and died in 1934, relying on his daughters to support him at the end of his life.

Works

Most of Muddock's stories featured his continuing character Dick Donovan, the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Detective, named for one of the 18th Century

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. The character was so popular that later stories were published under this pen name. Muddock also wrote true crime stories, horror, and 37 novels, most as "Dick Donovan". His non-fiction included four history books, seven guidebooks for areas in the Alps and his autobiography. His stories were used by ''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'' in months when there were no

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

stories available. Muddock's detective stories differ from the psychological investigation of character in modern detective fiction, and they are described as having sensational plots but little character development. Atmospheric details of the setting were minimal, perhaps to ensure acceptance in both the U.K. and the U. S. markets. Deduction and logical thought in the "Donovan" stories are of significantly less importance than in the nearly contemporary

stories.

Flin Flon, Manitoba

The town of

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within ...

takes its name from the lead character in a 1905 paperback novel by Muddock. In ''

The Sunless City ''The Sunless City: From the Papers and Diaries of the Late Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin'' (or simply ''The Sunless City'') is a dime novel written by J. E. Preston Muddock in 1905. The novel is about a prospector named Josiah Flintabbaty Flonati ...

'', Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin pilots a submarine through a bottomless lake. Upon passing through a hole lined with gold, he finds a strange underground world. A prospector Thomas Creighton found the book in the wilderness. When he discovered a rich vein of almost pure copper, by a deep lake, it reminded him of the book. So he called it Flin Flon's mine, shortening the name.

References

Who Was Dick Donovan?
Essay by Bruce Durie, retrieved Sept. 8, 2005

External links

* ttp://www.erbzine.com/mag18/sunless.htm Online version of ''The Sunless City''br>''His short ghost story the 'Corpse Light' that is in the public domain''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muddock, J.E. Preston 1843 births 1934 deaths British writers