Inspector French

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Joseph French
First appearance Inspector French's Greatest Case
Last appearance Anything to Declare?
Created by Freeman Wills Crofts
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationPolice inspector
NationalityBritish

Inspector Joseph French is a fictional British police detective created by Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. [1] French was a prominent detective from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, appearing in twenty-nine novels and a number of short stories between 1924 and 1957. The character was introduced in the 1924 novel Inspector French's Greatest Case , where he investigates a fatal diamond robbery in Hatton Garden. The series relied largely on puzzle mysteries. [2] [3]

Contents

Overview

French was a prominent detective from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, appearing in twenty nine novels and a number of short stories between 1924 and 1957. French is a Scotland Yard detective, whose methodical technique breaks down complex alibis. Over the course of the series, he is promoted to Chief Inspector and the later to Superintendent. His manner is courteous, he is happily married and has no major problems in his private life.

Novels

Adaptations

BBC Radio

Several adaptations of the French stories were produced for BBC Radio over the years:

Proposed television series

In July 2019, Brendan Foley was announced to adapt the Inspector French novels as a television series, with independent production company Free@LastTV on board to produce. [10] There has been no word on the series since then.

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The Hog's Back Mystery (1933), also known as The Strange Case of Dr. Earle, is a "Golden Age" mystery novel by the Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the tenth novel in his Inspector French series. The novel is an early example of the police procedural subgenre of detective fiction. It was the first of Croft's books published by Hodder & Stoughton. It was reissued in 2015 by British Library Publishing.

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<i>The Cask</i> 1920 novel

The Cask is a 1920 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. His debut novel, it is considered his masterpiece. Long after the author's reputation had declined, this book was still hailed by critics as a cornerstone of the genre Crofts had been working as a railway engineer before writing the novel, but its success launched him as one of the leading writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. He later went on to create the character of Inspector French of Scotland Yard who appeared in a long-running series of novels.

<i>The Pit-Prop Syndicate</i> 1922 novel

The Pit-Prop Syndicate is a 1922 thriller novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, one of the leading figures of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was one of several stand-alone novels Crofts wrote following his successful debut The Cask, before creating the character of Inspector French who debuted in Inspector French's Greatest Case (1924).

<i>Enemy Unseen</i> (Crofts novel) 1945 novel

Enemy Unseen is a 1945 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-fifth in his series of novels featuring Chief Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. A review by Anthony Boucher in the San Francisco Chronicle noted it was "For the patient only, but for them a rewarding treasure."

<i>The Cheyne Mystery</i> 1926 novel

The Cheyne Mystery is a 1926 mystery thriller novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the second in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It followed on from his debut in Inspector French's Greatest Case, in which Crofts introduced a character who was more methodical and less flamboyant than many of the other great detectives who followed in the wake of Sherlock Holmes.

<i>The Affair at Little Wokeham</i> 1943 novel

The Affair at Little Wokeham is a 1943 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-fourth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in the United States under the alternative title of Double Tragedy.

<i>Fear Comes to Chalfont</i> 1942 novel

Fear Comes to Chalfont is a 1942 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-third in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Like much of the author's work it combines a traditional mystery with a police procedural.

<i>Antidote to Venom</i> 1938 novel

Antidote to Venom is a 1938 detective novel by the Irish-born novelist Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the eighteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective known for his methodical technique. It was reissued in 2015 by the British Library Publishing as part of a group of crime novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

<i>The End of Andrew Harrison</i> 1938 novel

The End of Andrew Harrison is a 1938 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the seventeenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. The title character closely resembles Sigsbee Manderson, the murder victim of E.C. Bentley's celebrated 1913 novel Trent's Last Case.

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Found Floating is a 1937 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the sixteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique.

<i>Inspector Frenchs Greatest Case</i> 1924 novel

Inspector French's Greatest Case is a 1924 mystery detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the first in his series of novels featuring Inspector Joseph French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. Like much of the following series the plot mixes the traditional form of the puzzle mystery with that of a police procedural. French has to carefully study railway and shipping timetables and crack a cipher in order to solve his case.

<i>The Box Office Murders</i> 1929 novel

The Box Office Murders is a 1929 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the fifth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in the United States the same year by Harper under the alternative title The Purple Sickle Murders.

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<i>Anything to Declare?</i> (novel) 1957 novel

Anything to Declare? is a 1957 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty ninth and final entry in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The author had been in poor health for much of the decade, and struggled to finish this book which was published a few weeks before his death.

<i>French Strikes Oil</i> 1951 novel

French Strikes Oil is a 1951 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty eighth and penultimate entry in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. It was published in the United States by Dodd Mead under the alternative title of Dark Journey.

<i>Silence for the Murderer</i> 1949 novel

Silence for the Murderer is a 1949 detective novel by the writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-seventh entry in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. The book attempt to create more complex characterisation than was usual in the series.

References

  1. James p.101
  2. James p.101
  3. Herbert p.76
  4. "Freeman Wills Crofts". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  5. "MR. PEMBERTON'S COMMISSION'". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  6. "THE GREUZE". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  7. "' EAST WIND'". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  8. "Saturday-Night Theatre". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  9. "Crime at Christmas: Inspector French and the Starvel Tragedy". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  10. White, Peter (2 July 2019). "'Inspector French': 'Agatha Raisin' Producer Free@Last TV Adapting Classic Crime Novels With 'Cold Courage' Writer Brendan Foley". Deadline . Retrieved 14 July 2022.

Bibliography