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 Hol ...

. 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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, 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. 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

Dorothy Greenhough-Smith Dorothy Greenhough-Smith (27 September 1882 – 9 May 1965) was a British figure skater. She won the bronze medal in women's singles at the 1908 Olympics and was the 1912 World silver medalist, as well as a two-time (1908, 1911) British ...

. Another daughter, Evangeline Hope Muddock (1883-1953), changed her name to Eva Mudocci. 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 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

. 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 an Islamic scholar. He is perhaps best known for his 1985 book, ''Islam and the Destiny of M ...

. 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 is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Detective, named for one of the 18th Century

Bow Street Runners The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in 1 ...

. 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 Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

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 withi ...

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 Flonat ...

'', 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 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English journalists English horror writers English mystery writers English detective fiction writers 19th-century English short story writers Victorian novelists Writers from Hampshire English travel writers 19th-century English historians English male novelists English male short story writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers English male journalists 19th-century English male writers Victorian short story writers