Francis Duncan (writer)

Francis Duncan was the pen name of William Underhill (1918–1988), a British writer who published over twenty works of detective fiction between 1938 and 1959.[1] Later in his career he also wrote five historical romances (as Hilary West) and children's fiction (as Robert Preston).[2] Underhill's detective works follow the conventions of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and mostly feature one of two detective characters – Peter Justice or Mordecai Tremaine.[3] Largely neglected after his death in 1988, the success of a reprint of his 1949 novel Murder for Christmas in 2015 has led to further works being brought back into print.[1]

  1. ^ a b Thorpe, Vanessa (3 January 2016). "Solved: mystery of Christmas whodunnit that was a hit 66 years after publication". The Observer.
  2. ^ "Letter: How I killed off mystery writer". The Observer. 10 January 2016.
  3. ^ Cowdrey, Katherine (20 May 2016). "Vintage to publish Francis Duncan murder mystery series". The Bookseller.