Sir John Appleby is a fictional detective created by

Michael Innes John Innes Mackintosh Stewart (30 September 1906 – 12 November 1994) was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the cr ...

in the 1930s who appeared in many novels and short stories.

Character overview

Appleby had perhaps the longest career of any of the great detectives. In ''Silence Observed'' he states that his age is fifty-three, which, if the action of the book takes place in the year of publication, would mean that he was born in 1907 or 1908. This is contradicted in ''The Gay Phoenix'' where he says that he was 29 when he married. He becomes engaged in ''

Appleby's End ''Appleby's End'' is a 1945 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes.Reilly p.845 It is the tenth in his series featuring John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police. The plot has some similarities to a countr ...

'', published 1945, which would mean that he was born in 1916. Appleby's background remains enigmatic although certain clues emerge in several novels. He was born in Kirkby Overblow (as mentioned in ''

Hare Sitting Up ''Hare Sitting Up'' is a 1959 mystery thriller novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the sixteenth entry in his series featuring John Appleby, a detective with the Metropolitan Police. It is set against the backdrop of the Cold War.S ...

'') and brought up in a back street in a

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...

town (''Appleby's Other Story''). His grandfather had been a baker and he himself had won a scholarship to university (''

There Came Both Mist and Snow ''There Came Both Mist and Snow'' is a 1940 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the sixth in his series featuring John Appleby, a Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police.Scheper p.209 The title is a reference to a ...

''). He first appeared as a youthful Detective Inspector from Scotland Yard in '' Death at the President's Lodging'' (''Seven Suspects'' in the United States) in 1936. He retired from Scotland Yard at a very early age just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, on marrying Judith Raven, a sculptor first encountered in ''

''. He had two younger sisters, Patricia (''Stop Press'') and Jane (''

Operation Pax ''Operation Pax'' is a 1951 mystery novel, mystery thriller novel by the British writer Michael Innes.Reilly p.845 It is the twelfth entry in his series featuring Sir John Appleby, John Appleby, a detective in the Metropolitan Police. The novel is ...

''), both of whom figure prominently in one novel each and then are never mentioned again. He then reappeared as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, a position rewarded by a knighthood. Although he later retired to Long Dream Manor, his wife's family home in the countryside, he continued to solve crimes well into the 1980s, his last appearance being in ''Appleby and the Ospreys'' in 1986, 50 years after his fictional debut. For a couple of the later tales his son Bobby serves as the chief protagonist. In 2010, eighteen previously uncollected short stories appeared in ''Appleby Talks About Crime''. Appleby is mentioned in the

Edmund Crispin Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery (usually credited as Bruce Montgomery) (2 October 1921 – 15 September 1978), an English crime writer and composer known for his Gervase Fen novels and for his musical scores f ...

novel ''

Holy Disorders ''Holy Disorders'' is a 1945 detective novel by the British writer Edmund Crispin. It the second in his series featuring the Oxford University, Oxford professor and amateur detective Gervase Fen. The novel is set in 1940 during the early stages of ...

'' and the

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...

Union Club short story "The Three Goblets."

Appleby stories

Novels

*'' Death at the President's Lodging'' (1936) (also known as ''Seven Suspects'') *''

Hamlet, Revenge! ''Hamlet, Revenge!'' is a 1937 detective novel by Michael Innes (the pen name of J.I.M. Stewart), his second novel. It centres on the investigation into the murder of the Lord Chancellor of England during an amateur production of Shakespeare's ...

'' (1937) *'' Lament for a Maker'' (1938) *''Stop Press'' (1939) (also known as ''The Spider Strikes'') *''

The Secret Vanguard ''The Secret Vanguard'' is a 1940 thriller novel by the British writer Michael Innes.Reilly p.845 It is the fifth in his series featuring John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police. The novel takes place in the early ...

'' (1940) *''

'' (1940) (also known as ''A Comedy of Terrors'') *'' Appleby on Ararat'' (1941) *''

The Daffodil Affair ''The Daffodil Affair'' is a 1942 mystery thriller novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the eighth in his series featuring John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police. It takes place during the early years of t ...

'' (1942) *'' The Weight of the Evidence'' (1943) *''

'' (1945) *''

A Night of Errors ''A Night of Errors'' is a 1947 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the eleventh in his series featuring John Appleby, recently a Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police but currently living in an early retirement in ...

'' (1947) *''

'' (1951) (also known as ''The Paper Thunderbolt'') *'' A Private View'' (1952) (also known as ''One-Man Show'' and ''Murder Is an Art'') *'' Appleby Plays Chicken'' (1957) (also known as ''Death on a Quiet Day'') *'' The Long Farewell'' (1958) *''

'' (1959) *'' Silence Observed'' (1961) *'' A Connoisseur's Case'' (1962) (also known as ''The Crabtree Affair'') *''

The Bloody Wood ''The Bloody Wood'' is a 1966 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the nineteenth in his long-running series featuring Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters ...

'' (1966) *''

Appleby at Allington ''Appleby at Allington'' is a 1968 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the twentieth in his long-running series featuring Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard, now retired. It takes the form of a Golden Age country house myst ...

'' (1968) (also known as ''Death by Water'') *''A Family Affair'' (1969) (also known as ''Picture of Guilt'') *''Death at the Chase'' (1970) *''An Awkward Lie'' (1971), *''The Open House'' (1972), *''Appleby's Answer'' (1973), *''Appleby's Other Story'' (1974), *''The Gay Phoenix'' (1976), *''The Ampersand Papers'' (1978), *''Sheiks and Adders'' (1982), *''Appleby and Honeybath'' (1983), *''Carson's Conspiracy'' (1984), *''Appleby and the Ospreys'' (1986),

Short story collections

*'' Appleby Talking'' (1954) (also known as ''Dead Man's Shoes'') *''Appleby Talks Again'' (1956) *''Appleby Intervenes'' (1965) *''The Appleby File'' (1975), *''Appleby Talks About Crime'' (2010),

Adaptations

Television

''A Connoisseur's Case'' and ''Lesson in Anatomy'' were adapted for the 1960s BBC anthology series ''

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads t ...

'', with Appleby being played by

Dennis Price Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeev ...

and Ian Ogilvy, respectively.

Radio

In 1982, ''Appleby's End'' Two of the Appleby stories were adapted for BBC Radio's Saturday Night Theatre: ''Appleby's End'' in 1982, with

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...

, and ''Lament for a Maker'' in 1988, with Michael MacKenzie.

References

{{Authority control Appleby, John Appleby, John Series of books Literary characters introduced in 1936