Clark, Alfred Alexander Gordon 1900-1958 (Cyril Hare)

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CLARK, Alfred Alexander Gordon 1900-1958
(Cyril Hare)

PERSONAL: Born September 4, 1900, in Mickleham, Surrey, England; died, August 25, 1958, in Dorking, Surrey, England; son of Henry Herbert Gordon Clark; married Mary Barbara Lawrence, 1933; children: one son, two daughters. Education: New College, B.A.; admitted to the Inner Temple, 1924.

CAREER: Ronald Oliver Firm, civil and criminal lawyer; Southern Circuit, judge's marshal; Ministry of Economic Welfare, officer, 1940; Public Prosecutions Department, Surrey, England, legal assistant, 1940-45; County Court, Surrey, England, judge, 1950-58.

WRITINGS:

"INSPECTOR MALLETT" SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM CYRIL HARE

Tenant for Death, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1937.

Death Is No Sportsman, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1938.

Suicide Excepted, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1939.

UNDER PSEUDONYM CYRIL HARE

Tragedy at Law, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1942.

With a Bare Bodkin, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1946.

The Magic Bottle (for children), Faber & Faber (London, England), 1946.

When the Wind Blows, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1949, published as The Wind Blows Death, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1950.

An English Murder, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1951, published as The Christmas Murder, Spivak (New York, NY), 1953.

That Yew Tree's Shade, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1954, published as Death Walks the Woods, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1954.

The House of Warbeck (play), produced by Margate, Kent, 1955.

He Should Have Died Hereafter, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1958, published as Untimely Death, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1958.

Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare, edited by Michael Gilbert, Faber & Faber (London, England), 1959, published as Death among Friends and Other Detective Stories, Perennial (New York, NY), 1984.

OTHER

(Editor, with Alan Garfitt) Henry Roscoe, Roscoe'sCriminal Evidence, 16th edition, Stevens (London, England), 1952.

(Editor) Leith Hill Musical Festival 1905-1955: ARecord of Fifty Years of Music-Making in Surrey, Pullingers (Surrey, England), 1955.

Also author of "The Boldest Course," Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November, 1960, "The Homing Wasp," Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March, 1961, "Blenkinsop's Biggest Boner," Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September, 1961. Contributor to Punch.

SIDELIGHTS: Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark wrote many books under the pseudonym Cyril Hare. The pseudonym came from a combination of his home address at Cyril Mansions, Battersea, and his office address at Hare Court. Many of the ideas for his novels came from his work as a lawyer and judge.

Clark's idea for his novel Tragedy at Law came from his work as a judge's marshal. In Tragedy at Law Justice Barber accidentally hits a pedestrian while driving drunk. His wife also believes that someone is trying to kill him. Detective Francis Pettigrew and Inspector Mallett investigate the case. St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers contributor Charles Shibuk noted, "[Clark's] own favorite novel, Tragedy at Law, is completely unorthodox, brilliantly characterized, and a masterpiece."

Clark took his idea for With a Bare Bodkin from his work at the Ministry of Economic Welfare. In With a Bare Bodkin an investigation is in progress on the case of a murder committed in a government office with a paper holder. Inspector Mallett and Detective Petti-grew return to solve the case.

In An English Murder guests at a Christmas party become stranded due to a blizzard. Murders have been committed during the party and every guest and servant becomes a suspect. A guest, Dr. Bottwink, solves the mystery of the murders. "This is a completely unexpected and absolutely delightful work," wrote St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers contributor Charles Shibuk.