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Gwendoline Butler
Gwendoline Williams Butler (née Williams; 19 August 1922 – 5 January 2013) was a British writer of mystery fiction and romance novels. She also wrote under the pseudonym Jennie Melville. Credited with inventing the "woman's police procedural," Butler is known for the Inspector John Coffin series and the Charmian Daniels series (published under the pseudonym Jennie Melville). Her works include modern detective stories, Victorian mysteries, Gothic tales, and romantic novels.
Gwendoline Williams was born on 19 August 1922 in South London, England, the daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams. She attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she studied History and later became a lecturer.
On 16 October 1949, she married Lionel Harry Butler (1923–1981), a professor of medieval history at the University of St Andrews, and a historian who held fellowships at All Souls and was principal of Royal Holloway College. They had one daughter.
In 1956, she began publishing her John Coffin series of novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. Later, in 1962, she adopted her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville, as a pseudonym for her Charmian Daniels novels. Besides her mystery series, she also authored romantic novels. In 1981, her book "The Red Staircase" earned her the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association. In 1973, the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) awarded her the Silver Dagger for her novel "A Coffin for Pandora."
Butler was a former member of the Committee of the CWA and a member of the Detection Club.
She died on 5 January 2013.
Source:
Inspector Winter was the primary detective in the first three stories. He also appeared in the fourth story, "The Dull Dead" (1958). In subsequent works, the young John Coffin, described as "mercurial," made his debut and became the main protagonist in subsequent works. The book "Coffin in the Black Museum" (1989) relocated him from South London to an imaginary district in East London based on Docklands.
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Gwendoline Butler
Gwendoline Williams Butler (née Williams; 19 August 1922 – 5 January 2013) was a British writer of mystery fiction and romance novels. She also wrote under the pseudonym Jennie Melville. Credited with inventing the "woman's police procedural," Butler is known for the Inspector John Coffin series and the Charmian Daniels series (published under the pseudonym Jennie Melville). Her works include modern detective stories, Victorian mysteries, Gothic tales, and romantic novels.
Gwendoline Williams was born on 19 August 1922 in South London, England, the daughter of Alice (Lee) and Alfred Edward Williams. She attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where she studied History and later became a lecturer.
On 16 October 1949, she married Lionel Harry Butler (1923–1981), a professor of medieval history at the University of St Andrews, and a historian who held fellowships at All Souls and was principal of Royal Holloway College. They had one daughter.
In 1956, she began publishing her John Coffin series of novels under her married name, Gwendoline Butler. Later, in 1962, she adopted her grandmother's name, Jennie Melville, as a pseudonym for her Charmian Daniels novels. Besides her mystery series, she also authored romantic novels. In 1981, her book "The Red Staircase" earned her the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association. In 1973, the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) awarded her the Silver Dagger for her novel "A Coffin for Pandora."
Butler was a former member of the Committee of the CWA and a member of the Detection Club.
She died on 5 January 2013.
Source:
Inspector Winter was the primary detective in the first three stories. He also appeared in the fourth story, "The Dull Dead" (1958). In subsequent works, the young John Coffin, described as "mercurial," made his debut and became the main protagonist in subsequent works. The book "Coffin in the Black Museum" (1989) relocated him from South London to an imaginary district in East London based on Docklands.