Samuel G. Benady MBEQueen's Birth Honours
'' Panorama'', 16 June 2007. MB, FRCP, DCH (born 11 September 1937 in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

) is a Gibraltarian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and retired

paediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

of Sephardic

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. He has been a regular contributor to the

Gibraltar Heritage Trust The Gibraltar Heritage Trust is a non-profit charity established by statute on 1 May 1989 to preserve and promote the cultural natural heritage of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Funding and responsibilities The Trust collaborates wit ...

's Journal, and lecturer in the Gibraltar Museum, and author of several works related to the

history of Gibraltar The history of Gibraltar, a small peninsula on the southern Iberian coast near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, spans over 2,900 years. The peninsula has evolved from a place of reverence in ancient times into "one of the most densely ...

and also works of fiction. According to the ''

Gibraltar Chronicle The ''Gibraltar Chronicle'' is a national newspaper published in Gibraltar since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second oldest English language newspaper to have been in pri ...

'', Benady is "Gibraltar’s well known and prolific author". Dr Benady was born in Gibraltar, where his family has lived since the 18th century, and received his Medicine degree in London. He worked as a paediatrician in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

, where he ran the Child Health service. Benady worked for the Gibraltar Health Authority from 1980 until his retirement in 2002. In 2007 he was appointed a MBE "for services to health care and voluntary work".

Work

In 1990, Benady published two short stories in '' Sherlock Holmes in Gibraltar''. These pastiches are set in the pre- Watson days. In the first one, ''The Abandoned Brigantine'', Sherlock Holmes reveals the solution to the mystery of the

Mary Celeste ''Mary Celeste'' (; often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) was an American-registered merchant brigantine, best known for being discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. The Cana ...

, while in the second, ''The Gibraltar Letter'', the detective solves the case of the abduction of the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

while he was posted to Gibraltar. In 1992, after reading ''La compra de Gibraltar por los conversos andaluces'', ("The purchase of Gibraltar by Andalusian ''conversos''"), a monograph by Diego Lamelas about the story of the Cordova '' conversos'' who purchased Gibraltar in the 15th century, Benady translated and published it in English as ''The Sale of Gibraltar in 1474''. Then, he approached the history of St. Bernard's Hospital, publishing ''Civil Hospital and Epidemics in Gibraltar''. ''Diary of an Epidemic'' and ''Passing through the Fever'' (both co-authored with Prof. L A Sawchuk) were published in 2003 and 2005. In 2005, Benady approached the biography

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, publishing a work on Sir

George Don George Don (29 April 1798 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector. Life and career George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1798 to Caroline Clementina Stuart and George Don (b.1756), p ...

, Lieutenant Governor of Gibraltar from 1814 to 1831.Newsletter no 81
Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society, October 2007, pp. 6''The Keys of the City: An Episode in the History of Gibraltar'', also published in 2005, is a historical novel based in his former translation of Lamelas' work. A Spanish translation by Cayetano Ramirez has been published in 2015 by Nagrela Editores of Madrid, with the title ''Las llaves de Gibraltar''. Next came a detective mystery series of seven novels set in 18th and 19th century Gibraltar featuring the amateur detective Giovanni Bresciano, co-authored with Mary Chiappe.Gib based Murder Mystery... introduces Bresciano
, ''

'', 9 August 2010The Murder in Whirligig Lane
Sam Benady's blog. His latest project is 'A Pictorial History of Gibraltar' with Sarah Devincenzi (illustrator), published in 2019.

Publications

*''Sherlock Holmes in Gibraltar'' ( Gibraltar Books) 1990 *''The Sale of Gibraltar in 1474: To the New Christians of Cordova'', translation into English of ''La compra de Gibraltar por los conversos andaluces'' by Diego Lamelas (Gibraltar Books) 1992 *''Civil Hospital and Epidemics in Gibraltar'' (Gibraltar Books) 1994 *''Diary of an epidemic: Yellow Fever in Gibraltar, 1828'' (co-author) (Gibraltar Government Heritage Division), 2003 * ''Passing Through the Fever ''(co-author) (Diva Media, Toronto) 2005 *''General Sir George Don and the Dawn of Gibraltarian Identity'' (Gibraltar Books) 2005 *''The Keys of the City: An Episode in the History of Gibraltar'' (Gibraltar Books) 2005. *''The Murder in Whirligig Lane'' (co-author) (Calpe Press) 2010.''The Murder in Whirligig Lane'''s catalogue entry in Calpe Press
/ref> *''Fall of a Sparrow.'' (HKB Press) (co-author) 2010.
Sam Benady's blog. *''The Pearls of Tangier'' (Rock Scorpion Books) (co-author) 2011. * ''The Prince's Lady ''(Two Pillars Press) (co-author) 2012. * ''The Devil's Tongue'' (Two Pillars Press) (co-author) 2013. * ''Death in Paradise Ramp'' (Two Pillars Press) (co-author) 2014. * ''The Dead can't Paint'' (Two Pillars Press) (co-author) 2015. * ''A Pictorial History of Gibraltar'' (Two Pillars Press) (co-author) 2019.

References

External links

The Keys of the City: Sam Benady's writing blog
*http://brescianogibraltarmysteries.blogspot.com/

in Calpe Press web site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Benady, Sam British short story writers Gibraltarian historians Gibraltarian Sephardi Jews Jewish historians British paediatricians Living people Gibraltarian writers 1937 births

Work

Publications

See also

References

External links