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Lillian de la Torre

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Lillian de la Torre
BornLillian de la Torre Bueno
March 15, 1902[1]
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 13, 1993 (aged 91)
Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Pen nameLillian de la Torre
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew Rochelle College, Columbia, Harvard-Radcliffe
GenreHistorical mystery
SpouseGeorge McCue (d. 1984)

Lillian de la Torre Bueno McCue (née Bueno; pen name, Lillian de la Torre; March 15, 1902 – September 13, 1993) was an American novelist and a prolific writer of historical mysteries. She served as President of the Mystery Writers of America.

Biography

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Born in Manhattan in 1902, de la Torre received master's degrees from Columbia University and Harvard. Her first novel was Elizabeth Is Missing, or Truth Triumphant, published by Knopf in 1945.

Her most popular works were the Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector series of 33 detective stories that cast 18th century literary figures Samuel Johnson and James Boswell into Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson roles. This series, which de la Torre began in 1943 with The Great Seal of England, is one of the earliest examples of the historical mystery, a literary genre which combines historical fiction and the whodunit/detective story.

She also wrote numerous books, short stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, reviews for The New York Times Book Review, poetry and plays. Her play Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden was adapted as the episode "The Older Sister" for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She was a President of the Mystery Writers of America, and was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime for The Truth about Belle Gunness (1955).[2][3][4]

She died in 1993 at the age of 91. She was predeceased by her husband George McCue.[2]

Selected works

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Novels

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  • 'Elizabeth is Missing', Or, Truth Triumphant: An Eighteenth Century Mystery (1945)
  • The Heir of Douglas (1953)
  • The Truth about Belle Gunness (1955)
  • The Actress (1957)

Short story collections

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  • Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector (1948)
  • The Detections of Dr. Sam: Johnson (1960)
  • The Return of Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector (1985)
  • The Exploits of Dr. Sam: Johnson, Detector (1987)

Plays

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  • Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden

Non Fiction

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  • Villainy Detected. Being a collection of the most sensational, true crimes of Britain in the Years 1660–1800 (1947)

References

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  1. ^ Biography, encyclopedia.com. Accessed January 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Lambert, Bruce (September 19, 1993). "Obituary: Lillian de la Torre, 91, an Author of Mysteries From British History". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013.
  3. ^ "Lillian de la Torre Biography (Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction, Revised Edition)". Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  4. ^ Donsbach, Margaret. "The Bride of Newgate by John Dickson Carr". HistoricalNovels.info. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
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