MARY DURHAM, Mystery Writer: A Bio-Bibliographical Essay by Jamie Sturgeon.

MARY DURHAM, Mystery Writer: A Bio-Bibliographical Essay by Jamie Sturgeon. If you look in Hubin, the indispensable Crime Fiction Bibliography, amongst the authors, you will see the name Mary Durham, for eleven murder mysteries she had published in the United Kingdom between 1945 (Hate Is My Livery) and 1952 (The Devil Was Sick). No biographical details are given in Hubin or in any of her books. Until now, nothing was known about the author, not even even whether Mary Durham was a pseudonym. Recently however I have discovered details about Mary Durham and her life, but before I reveal what I have unearthed, here is a summary of her books and publishing history. She had three different publishers: starting and ending with John Gifford (four books in total), with John Crowther (four books) and Skeffington (three books) issuing her other books. Her first book, Hate Is My Livery was published in June 1945 by John Gifford, with a Thriller Book Club edition as well. It is an excellent…