Lynn Brock

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Lynn Brock
Born4 July 1877
Died6 April 1943
Dorchester, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
OccupationNovelist

Irish writer Alister McAllister [1877-1943] (birth name: Alexander Patrick McAllister) wrote several plays under the pseudonym Anthony Wharton and later, after moving to England, wrote a series of mystery novels using the pseudonym Lynn Brock.

Contents

He was educated at the National University of Ireland (NUI), where he served as librarian/clerk/chief clerk between 1903 and 1914. After his first success with the play 'Irene Wycherly' in London in 1906 he wrote a series of plays though remained based in Dublin.

During the First World War he served with the British Army in British Intelligence [1] and in the Machine Gun Corps being wounded twice in France. [2]

After retiring from the NUI he moved to London and later to Ferndown in Dorset. He continued writing and turned his hand to fiction, producing short stories, serious fiction and the series of Colonel Gore detective novels under the name Lynn Brock [3] , which enjoyed popularity in the 1920s and 1930s during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. His novels employ a complexity of style and are generally set in rural locations. [4]

He died aged 65 in Dorchester, Dorset and was buried in the Dorchester (Weymouth Road) Cemetery. [5]

Main works

Plays

Colonel Gore Novels

Other Novels

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<i>The Slip-Carriage Mystery</i> 1928 novel

The Slip-Carriage Mystery is a 1928 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the fourth novel in his series featuring the character of Colonel Wyckham Gore. The previous novels in the series established Gore a popular character during the early stages of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. A review in the Times Literary Supplement observed "The multiplication of false leads at the beginning is carried a little too far, and the story is at its best when the movement is greatest as it approaches and reaches its end".

<i>The Mendip Mystery</i> 1929 novel

The Mendip Mystery is a 1929 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the fifth of seven novels in his series featuring the character of Colonel Wyckham Gore, one of the most prominent investigators during the early stages of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in America with the alternative title of Murder at the Inn.

<i>The Deductions of Colonel Gore</i> 1924 novel

The Deductions of Colonel Gore is a 1924 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the first in his series of seven novels featuring the character of Colonel Wyckham Gore. Gore enjoyed popularity during the early stages of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was also published under the alternative title The Barrington Mystery.

<i>Colonel Gores Second Case</i> 1925 novel

Colonel Gore’s Second Case is a 1925 detective novel by the Irish writer Lynn Brock. It was the second in his series of seven novels featuring the character of Colonel Wyckham Gore. Gore enjoyed popularity during the early stages of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. After solving his first case Gore now establishes his own detective agency.

<i>The Kink</i> (novel) 1927 novel

The Kink is a 1927 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the third novel in his series featuring the character of Colonel Wyckham Gore, one of many investigators active during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It is sometimes referred to as Colonel Gore’s Third Case. The novel is noted for being comparatively sexually explicit for the era. Dashiell Hammett wrote a contemporary negative review of the book in The Saturday Review.

<i>The Stoat</i> 1940 novel

The Stoat is a 1940 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the seventh and last novel in his series featuring the character of the Golden Age detective Colonel Wyckham Gore. It was also his last published work before his death three years later. It marked a return for Gore, who hadn't appeared in a novel since 1930.

<i>The Dagwort Coombe Murder</i> 1929 novel by Lynn Brock

The Dagwort Coombe Murder is a 1929 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the first stand-alone novel by Brock following the success of his Golden age detective Colonel Gore. It was published in the United States with the alternative title The Stoke Silver Case.

<i>The Silver Sickle Case</i> 1938 novel

The Silver Sickle Case is a 1938 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. Best known for his Colonel Gore series of mysteries, the novel introduced an alternative detective character Sergeant Venn of Scotland Yard assisted by Detective Constable Kither. It was followed by two sequels.

<i>Fourfingers</i> 1939 novel

Fourfingers is a 1939 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the second in his trilogy featuring the characters of Scotland Yard detective Sergeant Venn and Constable Kither. Writing in the Times Literary Supplement, reviewer Maurice Percy Ashley observed "Mr. Lynn Brock’s new book, Fourfingers, good though it is, is so closely written and so full of incident that it is a little heavy going for the reader in search of intellectual relaxation."

<i>The Riddle of the Roost</i> 1939 novel

The Riddle of the Roost is a 1939 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the third and last in his trilogy featuring the characters of Scotland Yard detective Sergeant Venn and Constable Kither. It was Brock's penultimate novel, followed the next year by The Stoat a final entry into the series of his best-known character Colonel Gore.

<i>Q.E.D.</i> (novel) 1930 novel

Q.E.D. is a 1930 mystery detective novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It was the sixth of seven novels in his series featuring the character of Colonel Wyckham Gore, one of the most prominent investigators during the early stages of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in the Under States with the alternative title of Murder on the Bridge.

<i>Death on the Way</i> 1932 novel

Death on the Way is a 1932 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the ninth 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 Double Death.

<i>Nightmare</i> (Brock novel) 1932 novel

Nightmare is a 1932 thriller novel by the Irish-born writer Lynn Brock. It is an inverted detective story, and a stand alone work for an author best known for his series featuring the Golden Age detective Colonel Gore.

<i>Death at Swaythling Court</i> 1926 novel

Death at Swaythling Court is a 1926 mystery detective novel by the British writer Alfred Walter Stewart, published under his pseudonym J.J. Connington. It was Stewart's first attempt at a detective novel, having previously produced works including the 1923 science fiction novel Nordenholt's Million. It is a stand-alone novel, revolving around a country house mystery. The following year the author published Murder in the Maze, the first of seventeen novels featuring the Golden Age detective Sir Clinton Driffield, for which he is best-known.

<i>The Boathouse Riddle</i> 1931 novel

The Boathouse Riddle is a 1931 detective novel by the British author Alfred Walter Stewart, published under his pseudonym J.J. Connington. It is the sixth in his series of seventeen novels featuring the Golden Age Detective Chief Constable Sir Clinton Driffield. The title is also written as The Boat-House Riddle.

Sir Clinton Driffield is a fictional police detective created by the British author J.J. Connington. He was one of numerous detectives created during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, making his first appearance in Murder in the Maze in 1927. He appeared in four subsequent novels by 1929 when Connington apparently wished to write him out following Nemesis at Raynham Parva. However, his replacement Superintendent Ross failed to gain the same level of popularity over two novels and Sir Clinton returned in the 1931 mystery The Boathouse Riddle. He went on to appear in a further eleven novels. The last entry Common Sense Is All You Need was published the year of Connington's death in 1947 and is set in wartime Britain.

References

Bibliography