THE LIVES AND WORKS OF NOTABLE WOMEN CRIME NOVELISTS esse Martha Hailey DaBose WITH ADDITIONAL ESSAYS BY Margaret Caldwell Thomas THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS ST. MARTIN'S MINOTAUR NEW YORK THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS. An imprint of St. Martin's Press. WOMEN OF MYSTERY. Copyright © 2000 by Martha Hailey DuBose. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. www.minotaurbooks.com Production Editor: David Stanford Burr Book design by Casey Hampton Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dubose, Martha Hailey. Women of mystery : the lives and works of notable women crime novelists/ Martha Hailey DuBose ; with additional essays by Margaret C. Thomas.—1st ed. p. cm. "Thomas Dunne books." Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-312-20942-8 1. Detective and mystery stories, English—History and criticism. 2. Women novelists, English—Biography. 3. Detective and mystery stories, English—Bio-bibliography. 4. Detective and mystery stories, American—History and criticism. 5. English fiction—Women authors—History and criticism. 6. American fiction—Women authors—History and criticism. 7. Women novelists, American—Biography. 8. Detective and mystery stories, American—Bio-bibliography. 9. Women and literature—Great Britain—History—20th century. 10. Women and literature—United States—History—20th century. I. Thomas, Margaret C. PR830.D4 D83 2000 823V0872099287—dc21 00-040240 First Edition: December 2000 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Kate and Polly, David and Kate