Joan Margaret Fleming (27 March 1908 – 15 November 1980) was a British writer of
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
and
thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
novels. Her novel ''The Deeds of Dr Deadcert'' was made into the film ''
Rx Murder
''Rx Murder'' is a 1958 American crime film directed by Derek Twist and written by John W. Gossage and Derek Twist. It is based on the 1955 novel ''The Deeds of Dr. Deadcert'' by Joan Fleming. The film stars Rick Jason, Lisa Gastoni, Marius Gor ...
'' (1958), and she won the
Gold Dagger
The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...
award twice, for ''When I Grow Rich'' (1962) and ''Young Man I Think You're Dying'' (1970).
Family background and early life
She was born at
Horwich
Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
to Elizabeth and David Gibson, her father being then managing director of the Horwich Locomotive Works. She attended the Brighthelmstone School for Girls, but left without qualifications and moved to London at the age of 18 when her father was promoted as a marine engineer, although he died a year later. She was later educated at the
City Literary Institute
City Lit is an adult education college in Holborn, central London, founded by the London County Council in 1919, which has charitable status. It offers part-time courses across four schools and five "centres of expertise", covering humanities an ...
and the
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...
.
She married Norman Bell Beattie Fleming, a
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.David Fleming survived her. Her death in 1980 was registered in the Barnet district of North London.
Writing career
Her writing originally grew out of telling bed-time stories to her children, and she wrote five children's books before her first adult crime novel, ''Two Lovers Too Many'' (1949). She went on to write over thirty crime novels, earning a significant readership and winning the
Gold Dagger
The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...
award twice, as well as penning a guide book, ''Shakespeare's Country'' (1962) and her later Gothic novels, such as ''Dirty Butter for Servants'' (1972).''The Annual Obituary'', 1980 edition, Joan Fleming /ref>
Perhaps her best-loved character, the Turkish philosopher detective Nuri Bey Izkirlak, features in two of her books, ''When I Grow Rich'' (1962) and ''Nothing is the Number When You Die'' (1965).
Bibliography
*''Two Lovers Too Many'' (1949)
*''A Daisy Chain for Satan'' (1950)
*''The Gallows in My Garden'' (1951)
*''The Man Who Looked Back'' (1951); also published as ''A Cup of Cold Poison''
*''Polly Put the Kettle On'' (1952)
*''The Good and the Bad'' (1953)
*''He Ought To Be Shot'' (1955)
*''The Deeds of Dr Deadcert'' (1955); also published as ''The Merry Widower''
*''You Can't Believe Your Eyes'' (1957)
*''Maiden's Prayer'' (1957)
*''Malice Matrimonial'' (1959)
*''Miss Bones'' (1959)
*''The Man from Nowhere'' (1960)
*''In the Red'' (1961)
*''Shakespeare's Country'' (1962)
*''When I Grow Rich'' (1962);
Gold Dagger
The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...
Award
*''Death of a Sardine'' (1963)
*''The Chill and the Kill'' (1964)
*''Nothing is the Number When You Die'' (1965)
*''Midnight Hag'' (1966)
*''No Bones About It'' (1967)
*''Kill or Cure'' (1968)
*''Hell's Belle'' (1968)
*''Young Man I Think You're Dying'' (1970);
Gold Dagger
The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...
Award
*''Screams From a Penny Dreadful'' (1971)
*''Grim Death and the Barrow Boys'' (1971)
*''Dirty Butter for Servants'' (1972)
*''Alas, Poor Father'' (1973)
*''You Won't Let Me Finish'' (1973)
*''How to Live Dangerously'' (1974)
*''Too Late! Too Late! the Maiden Cried'' (1975)
*''...To Make an Underworld'' (1976)
*''Every Inch a Lady'' (1977)
*''The Day of the Donkey Derby'' (1978)