Mollie Greenhalgh Hardwick (7 March 1916 in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

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 ...

– 13 December 2003), also known as Mary Atkinson, was an English

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

who was best known for writing books that accompanied the TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Hardwick began her career as a radio announcer at the BBC in the 1940s, and following the Second World War worked in the corporation's drama department until 1962. As well as writing ''Upstairs, Downstairs'', ''

Thomas & Sarah ''Thomas & Sarah'' is a British drama series that aired on ITV in 1979. A spin-off from the BAFTA Award-winning series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', it stars John Alderton and Pauline Collins reprising their ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' roles. Backg ...

'' and ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth (producer), John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV (TV network), ITV period drama ''Upstairs, ...

'', she was also the creator of the ''Doran Fairweather'' novels and wrote three ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...

'' books. Hardwick also wrote many books and plays based on the

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, and a couple of biographies of Lady Emma Hamilton and

Mary Anne Disraeli Mary Anne Disraeli, 1st Viscountess Beaconsfield (; 11 November 1792 – 15 December 1872) was a British peeress and society figure who was the wife of the British statesman Benjamin Disraeli. Biography Born in Brampford Speke, near Exeter ...

. She married fellow author

Michael Hardwick John Michael Drinkrow Hardwick (10 September 1924 − 4 March 1991), known as Michael Hardwick, was an English author who was best known for writing books and radio plays which featured Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes. He adapte ...

in 1961 and together they co-wrote numerous books, mostly relating to Sherlock Holmes but also a number on

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

. The couple lived in a medieval house in a village in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. She died after a fire broke out at her flat in

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2003.

References

''The Times''

External links

Mollie Hardwick
at Fantastic Fiction
Obituary in ''The Stage''
1916 births 2003 deaths English women novelists English women dramatists and playwrights People from Prestwich 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights {{England-writer-stub