Gwendoline Butler, née Williams (19 August 1922 – 5 January 2013), was a British writer known for her

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

and

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

s. She began her writing career in 1956 and also wrote under the pseudonym Jennie Melville. Credited with inventing the "woman's

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

," Butler gained recognition for her works, especially the Inspector John Coffin series penned under her own name, and the Charmian Daniels series published under the Jennie Melville pseudonym.

Biography

Gwendoline Williams was born on 19 August 1922 in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams. She pursued her education at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

, where she studied History and later became a lecturer. On 16 October 1949, she married Lionel Harry Butler (1923–1981), a professor of

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, and a historian who held fellowships at All Souls and was principal of

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departmen ...

. They had one daughter. In 1956, she began publishing her John Coffin series of novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. Later, in 1962, she adopted her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville, as a pseudonym for her Charmian Daniels novels. Besides her mystery series, she also authored romantic novels. Notably, in 1981, her book "''The Red Staircase''" earned her the

Romantic Novel of the Year Award The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). Winners Romantic Novel of th ...

from the

Romantic Novelists' Association The Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) is the professional body representing authors of romantic fiction in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1960 by Denise Robins (first president), Barbara Cartland (first vice-president), Vivian Stua ...

. Gwendoline Butler is regarded as one of the most versatile female crime novelists. Her works encompass a wide range of genres, including modern detective stories, Victorian mysteries, Gothic tales, and romantic novels. In 1973, the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) honored her with the Silver Dagger for her novel "''A Coffin for Pandora''." A former member of the CWA's Committee and a member of 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 Louisa Rickard, Baroness Orczy, ...

, her background in historical research ensured the utmost accuracy in every book she wrote. She died on 5 January 2013.

Bibliography

As Gwendoline Butler

John Coffin Series

Source: The series originally featured Inspector Winter as the main detective in the first three stories. He also appeared in the fourth story, "The Dull Dead" (1958). However, the young John Coffin, described as "mercurial," made his debut, becoming the ongoing protagonist in Gwendoline Butler's subsequent works. In 1989, there was a significant shift for John Coffin. The book "''Coffin in the Black Museum''" marked a change as his creator relocated him from South London to East London, specifically an imaginary district with similarities to Docklands. The books in the series include: # ''Receipt for Murder'' (1956) # ''Dead in a Row'' (1957) # ''The Murdering Kind'' (1958) # ''The Dull Dead'' (1958) # ''The Interloper'' (1959) # ''Death Lives Next Door'' (1960) also known as "''Dine and Be Dead''" # ''Make Me a Murderer'' (1961) # ''Coffin in Oxford'' (1962) # ''A Coffin for Baby'' (1963) # ''Coffin Waiting'' (1964) # ''Coffin in Malta'' (1964) # ''A Nameless Coffin'' (1966) # ''Coffin Following'' (1968) # ''Coffin's Dark Number'' (1969) # ''A Coffin from the Past'' (1970) # ''A Coffin for Pandora'' (1973) # ''A Coffin for the Canary'' (1974) # ''Coffin On the Water'' (1986) # ''Coffin in Fashion'' (1987) # ''Coffin Underground'' (1988) # ''Coffin in the Museum of Crime'' (1989) also known as "''Coffin in the Black Museum''" # ''Coffin and the Paper Man'' (1990) # ''Coffin on Murder Street'' (1991) # ''Cracking Open a Coffin'' (1992) # ''A Coffin For Charley'' (1993) # ''The Coffin Tree'' (1994) # ''A Dark Coffin'' (1995) # ''A Double Coffin'' (1996) # ''Coffin's Game'' (1997) # ''A Grave Coffin'' (1998) # ''Coffin's Ghost'' (1999) # ''A Cold Coffin'' (2000) # ''A Coffin for Christmas'' (2000) # ''Coffin Knows the Answer'' (2002)

Major Mearns and Sergeant Denny Series

# ''The King Cried Murder'' (1999) # ''Dread Murder'' (2006)

Single novels

* ''Sarsen Place'' (1974) * ''Olivia'' (1975) * ''The Vesey Inheritance'' (1975) * ''The Brides of Friedberg'' (1977) also known as "''Meadowsweet''" * ''The Red Staircase'' (1979) * ''Albion Walk'' (1982) * ''Butterfly'' (1996) * ''Let There Be Love'' (1997)

As Jennie Melville

Charmian Daniels Series

Source: # ''Come Home and Be Killed'' (1962) # ''Burning Is a Substitute for Loving'' (1963) # ''Murderers' Houses'' (1964) # ''There Lies Your Love'' (1965) # ''Nell Alone'' (1966) # ''A Different Kind of Summer'' (1967) # ''A New Kind of Killer, an Old Kind of Death'' (1970) also known as "''A New Kind of Killer''" (US title) # ''Murder Has a Pretty Face'' (1981) # ''Death in the Garden'' (1987) also known as "''Murder in the Garden''" (US title) # ''Windsor Red'' (1988) # ''A Cure for Dying'' (1989) also known as "''Making Good Blood''" (US title) # ''Witching Murder'' (1990) # ''Footsteps in the Blood'' (1990) # ''Dead Set'' (1992) # ''Whoever Has the Heart'' (1993) # ''Baby Drop'' (1994) also known as "''A Death in the Family''" (US title) # ''The Morbid Kitchen'' (1995) # ''The Woman Who Was Not There'' (1996) # ''Revengeful Death'' (1998) # ''Stone Dead'' (1998) # ''Dead Again'' (2000) # ''Loving Murder'' (2001)

Single novels

* ''Hunter in the Shadows'' (1969) * ''The Summer Assassin'' (1971) * ''Ironwood'' (1972) * ''Nun's Castle'' (1973) * ''Raven's Forge'' (1975) * ''Dragon's Eye'' (1976) * ''Axwater'' (1978) a.k.a. ''Tarot's Tower'' (US title) * ''Painted Castle'' (1982) * ''Hand of Glass'' (1983) * ''Listen to the Children'' (1986) * ''Complicity'' (2000)

References

External links

Gwendoline Butler at Fantastic Fiction

Interview
by John Kennedy Melling at ''Crime Time''

(April 2011)

(February 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Gwendoline 1922 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford English crime fiction writers English romantic fiction writers RoNA Award winners Members of the Detection Club 20th-century English novelists 21st-century British novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers British women romantic fiction writers English women novelists British women mystery writers Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers

Biography

Bibliography

As Gwendoline Butler

John Coffin Series

Major Mearns and Sergeant Denny Series

Single novels

As Jennie Melville

Charmian Daniels Series

Single novels

References

Further reading

External links