Anthony Berkeley

Anthony Berkeley Cox was a renowned English crime writer, known for his innovative approach to the mystery genre. He was born in Watford and received his education at Sherborne School and University College London. After serving in the Army during World War I, he worked as a journalist and contributed to the magazine 'Punch.' Berkeley's early writing career was marked by the publication of several humorous sketches and minor comic novels under the pseudonym Anthony Berkeley.

Berkeley's first foray into detective fiction came in 1925 with the publication of 'The Layton Court Mystery' under a pseudonym. The book was initially released anonymously, but later editions credited Berkeley as the author. This marked the beginning of Berkeley's successful career as a mystery writer, during which he wrote over twenty stories under various pseudonyms, including Francis Iles and A. Monmouth Platts. He is perhaps best known for his Roger Sheringham series, which includes ten novels and two posthumous collections of short stories.

In addition to his writing, Berkeley was one of the founders of the prestigious Detection Club in London and served as its first honorary secretary in 1928. He also began reviewing novels, both mystery and non-mystery, for 'The Daily Telegraph' under the Francis Isles pseudonym in the mid-1930s. Despite his success in the genre, Berkeley gave up writing detective fiction in 1939 and instead turned his attention to reviewing books for various publications and producing a study of social conditions and politics in 1934 titled 'O England!'. Berkeley died on 9 March 1971, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneer of psychological crime stories and a master of the mystery genre.