Frances Louise Lockridge

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Frances Louise Lockridge (January 10, 1896 – February 17, 1963) was an American journalist and writer of detective fiction. With her husband, Richard Lockridge, she created one of the most famous American mystery series, Mr. and Mrs. North. Over her lifetime, the pair wrote 50 novels together.[1]

Early life[edit]

Frances Louise Davis was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1896.[2][3][4]

She attended the University of Kansas, though she did not graduate, and worked as a reporter and music critic at various publications including the Kansas City Journal-Post, Kansas City Kansan, and Kansas City Star.[1][2][4][5] She met fellow reporter Richard Lockridge, whom she married in 1922, after which the couple moved to New York.[2][6]

Mr. and Mrs. North series[edit]

In 1937, Frances Lockridge conceived the plot for a detective novel, but she had problems with her characters.[2][6] She sought the collaboration of her husband, Richard, and they merged her plot with the characters he had created earlier for a series of comic sketches in The New Yorker, Mr. and Mrs. North.[1][2] The book was published in 1940 as The Norths Meet Murder, launching a series of twenty-six novels, which was adapted for the stage, film, radio, and television.[1][2]

Lt. Heimrich series[edit]

In the second Mr. and Mrs. North novel, Murder Out of Turn (1941), the couple and their New York City homicide detective friend, Lt. Bill Weigand, encounter murder out of town, near Brewster, New York. There they meet an officer of the New York State Bureau of Criminal Identification (referred to in some later books as the Bureau of Criminal Investigation), Lt. Heimrich (in later books given the first name Merton, and achieving promotion to captain).[1][2] Heimrich also guest-starred in a 1946 Mr. and Mrs. North book, Death of a Tall Man, before becoming the star of his own series of twenty-two novels, beginning with Think of Death (1947). Richard continued the series after Frances' death in 1963, but she co-wrote the following novels:

Nathan Shapiro series[edit]

Frances and Richard Lockridge began a third detective series with The Faceless Adversary (1956), featuring New York City Police detective, Nathan Shapiro. Shapiro was a sad-sack of a detective, who always assumed some other detective would be more skillful or more insightful. He always thinks that the promotions he receives are undeserved. People he encounters wonder what makes him appear to be so depressed. Eventually, the Shapiro series ran to ten books, with Richard continuing the series after Frances' death in 1963, but the couple worked together on:

Paul Lane series[edit]

Frances and Richard Lockridge began a fourth detective series with Night of the Shadows (1962), a police procedural featuring a New York City Police detective, Paul Lane.[2] Lane was the main character in Quest for the Bogeyman (1964), the last book that Frances contributed to, and then he and partner Sgt., then later Lt., John Stein, were prominently featured in the six novels focused on New York County assistant district attorney Bernard Simmons that followed that character's first appearance, in And Left for Dead (1961).

Other writing[edit]

In their collaborations, Frances would generally produce the plot of the novels, while Richard would flesh out the writing.[1] "We had story conferences, and wrote a summary. As we both insisted, the writing was entirely mine," Richard said in one interview.[2] In 1962, the Chicago Tribune's Harry Hansen wrote, "I asked the pair where they got their plots. Richard Lockridge pointed to his wife; she thinks up the complications, he puts them into prose."[7] The Lockridges' books were all jointly bylined: their Mr. and Mrs. North books as "Frances and Richard Lockridge"; the Lt. Heimrich books as "Richard and Frances Lockridge."

Outside of their series, Frances and Richard Lockridge co-wrote the novels Catch As Catch Can (1951), The Innocent House (1958), The Golden Man (1960), and The Ticking Clock (1961).[2] With her husband, Lockridge also wrote several short non-fiction books about cats, including Cats and People (1960).[1][2]

On her own, Frances Lockridge wrote the 1928 book How to Adopt a Child; from 1922 to 1942 she worked for the adoption and placement committee of the State Aid Charities Association.[4] She also for several years wrote the New York Times' "Hundred Neediest" column.[4]

Personal and professional life[edit]

In 1960, Frances and Richard Lockridge served as co-presidents of the Mystery Writers of America.[4] They received a special Edgar Award in 1962.[7]

Frances Lockridge died in 1963, in Connecticut, at age 67.[1][2][3][4] Richard continued to write Lt. Heimrich, Nathan Shapiro, and Paul Lane novels, as well as non-series mystery novels, but he wrote no Mr. and Mrs. North novels after Frances' death.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mrs. Lockridge, Author, 66 Dies". The Bridgeport Post. 1963-02-18.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m DeAndrea, William L. (1994). Encyclopedia mysteriosa: a comprehensive guide to the art of detection in print, film, radio, and television (1st ed.). New York: Prentice Hall General Reference. ISBN 978-0-671-85025-8.
  3. ^ a b "Frances Lockridge; Wrote Detective Tales". Newsday. 1963-02-18.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lockridge, Frances; Lockridge, Richard (2016-03-08). Death on the Aisle. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3114-1.
  5. ^ "Author Frances Lockridge Dies". Tampa Bay Times. 1963-02-18.
  6. ^ a b Holland, Isabelle (1962-08-12). "Mystery Novel No. 50 Out for Fans Of Frances and Richard Lockridge". The Bridgeport Post.
  7. ^ a b Hansen, Harry (1962-08-05). "The Bells Are Ringing for Lockridges, Weidman". Chicago Tribune.
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