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Martha Grimes (born May 2, 1931) is an American writer of
detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...
. She is best known for a series featuring Richard Jury, a
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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
inspector, and Melrose Plant, an aristocrat turned amateur sleuth.


Early life and education

Martha Grimes was born May 2, 1931 in Pittsburgh, to William Dermit Grimes, Pittsburgh's city solicitor, and June Dunnington, who owned the Mountain Lake Hotel in
Western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland panhandle or Mountain Maryland, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washing ...
, where Martha and her brother spent much of their childhood."Martha Grimes Biography"
encyclopedia.com, accessed October 12, 2019
She earned her B.A. and M.A. at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
and did postgraduate work at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
.


Career

Grimes has taught at the University of Iowa,
Frostburg State University Frostburg State University (FSU) is a public university in Frostburg, Maryland. The university is the only four-year institution of the University System of Maryland west of the Baltimore-Washington passageway in the state's Appalachian highlan ...
, and
Montgomery College Montgomery College (MC) is a Public college, public community college in Montgomery County, Maryland. The school was founded in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College. Four years later, it absorbed the 57-year-old Bliss Electrical School, which b ...
(Takoma Park). Grimes initially became known for her series of novels featuring Richard Jury, an inspector with
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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
, and his friend Melrose Plant, a British
aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
who has given up his titles. Each of the Jury mysteries is named after a
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
. Her Emma Graham quartet of novels beginning with ''Hotel Paradise'' is set in an atmospheric aging lake resort in western Maryland, and delves into mysteries of past secrets and human nature. The background of the series draws from the experiences that she enjoyed while spending summers at her mother's hotel in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. One of the characters, Mr. Britten, is drawn on Britten Leo Martin Sr., who then ran Martin's Store, which he owned with his father and brother. Martin's Store is accessible by a short walkway from the Mountain Lake Hotel, the site of the former hotel, which was torn down in 1967. ''Biting the Moon'' (1999) was the first of two books featuring young teenagers who fight animal abuse.


Recognition

In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for ''The Anodyne Necklace''. In 2012, Grimes was named Grand Master by the Edgar Awards
Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...
.Rasicot, Julie
"Martha Grimes, Woman of Mystery"
''Bethesda Magazine'', May 31, 2013


Personal life

Grimes lives in
Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...
. She is a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
. Grimes has donated two thirds of her
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
from ''Biting the Moon'' to animal-protection organizations.


Works

Richard Jury series (with Melrose Plant) # ''The Man With a Load of Mischief'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1981) # ''The Old Fox Deceiv'd'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1982) # ''The Anodyne Necklace'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1983) # ''The Dirty Duck'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1984) # ''Jerusalem Inn'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1984) # ''Help the Poor Struggler'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1985) # ''The Deer Leap'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1985) # ''I Am the Only Running Footman'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1986) # ''The Five Bells and Bladebone'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1987) # ''The Old Silent'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1989) # ''The Old Contemptibles'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1991) # ''The Horse You Came In On'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993) # ''Rainbow's End'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995) # ''The Case Has Altered'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997) # ''The Stargazey'' (New York: Holt, 1998) # ''The Lamorna Wink'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 1999) # ''The Blue Last'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2001) # ''The Grave Maurice'' (New York: Viking Penguin, 2002) # ''The Winds of Change'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2004) # ''The Old Wine Shades'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2006) # ''Dust'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2007) # ''The Black Cat'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2010) # ''Vertigo 42'' (New York: Scribner, 2014) # ''The Knowledge'' (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2018) # ''The Old Success'' (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019) ''The Man With a Load of Mischief'', ''Help the Poor Struggler'' and ''The Deer Leap'' were filmed on behalf of the German and Austrian broadcasters
ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
and ORF under the title ''Der Tote im Pub (The Dead Man in the Pub'') (2013), ''Mord im Nebel (Murder in the Fog'') (2015) and ''Inspektor Jury spielt Katz und Maus (Inspector Jury plays Cat-and-Mouse'') (2017). Fritz Karl as Jury, Götz Schubert as Plant and
Katharina Thalbach Katharina Thalbach (; actually ''Katharina Joachim genannt Thalbach''; born 19 January 1954) is a German actress and stage director. She played theater at the Berliner Ensemble and at the olksbühne Berlin and was an actress in the film ''Th ...
as "Lady" Agatha Ardry. Andi Oliver series # ''Biting the Moon'' (New York: Holt, 1999) # ''Dakota'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2008) featuring Maud Chadwick (who is also a character in the Emma Graham Series) # ''The End of the Pier'' (Ballantine Books, 1993) Emma Graham series # ''Hotel Paradise'' (Knopf, 1996) # ''Cold Flat Junction'' (2000) # ''Belle Ruin'' (2005) # ''Fadeaway Girl'' (2011) Novels, Short Stories & Poetry # ''Send Bygraves'' (Putnam, 1990) # ''The Train Now Departing'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2001) # ''Foul Matter'' (New York: Viking/Penguin, 2003) # ''The Way of All Fish'' (Simon and Schuster, 2014) Memoirs # ''Double Double: A Memoir of Alcoholism'' with Ken Grimes (Scribner, 2016)


References

Source: Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2006.


External links


Martha Grimes' official Web site
*Ryan, Ellen.

, ''Washingtonian'', August 1, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimes, Martha 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American mystery writers American women novelists Writers from Pittsburgh Living people 1931 births University of Maryland, College Park alumni Nero Award winners Edgar Award winners University of Iowa faculty Frostburg State University faculty American women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Pennsylvania Novelists from Iowa American women academics