Laurence Meynell
(Laurence Walter Meynell)
(1899 - 1989)aka Valerie Baxter, Sidney Bedford, Robert Eton, Geoffrey Ludlow
Born in 1899, in Wolverhampton, Laurence Walter Meynell was the son of Herbert Meynell, chairman of Meynell and Sons Ltd., and his wife Agnes. He was educated at St. Edmund's College in Ware, Hertfordshire, and served in the artillery in WWI. He worked for an estate agency, and as a teacher, before his first novel, Mockbeggar, won a competition run by the publishers Harrap in 1924, and he turned to writing as a career. Meynell also worked as an editor, beginning in the 1950s, for the Bodley Head, and for Time and Tide. He was married twice, to novelist Shirley Darbyshire, and to Joan Belfrage, and had one daughter. He died in 1989.
Meynell is primarily remembered for his crime fiction, much of it published under his own name, but he also published children's fiction under the pseudonyms A. Stephen Tring and Valerie Baxter. He also used the pseudonyms Robert Eton and Geoffrey Ludlow.
Meynell is primarily remembered for his crime fiction, much of it published under his own name, but he also published children's fiction under the pseudonyms A. Stephen Tring and Valerie Baxter. He also used the pseudonyms Robert Eton and Geoffrey Ludlow.
Genres: Romance
Series
Hooky Hefferman
Danger Round the Corner (1952)
The Frightened Man (1952)
Too Clever By Half (1953)
Death by Arrangement (1972)
The Thirteen Trumpeters (1973)
The Fairly Innocent Little Man (1974)
Don't Stop for Hooky Hefferman (1975)
Hooky and the Crock of Gold (1975)
The Lost Half Hour (1976)
Hooky Gets the Wooden Spoon (1977)
Papersnake (1978)
Hooky and the Villainous Chauffeur (1979)
Hooky and the Prancing Horse (1980)
Hooky Goes to Blazes (1981)
Silver Guilt (1983)
The Open Door (1984)
The Affair at Barwold (1985)
Hooky Catches a Tartar (1986)
Hooky on Loan (1987)
Hooky Hooked (1988)
Danger Round the Corner (1952)
The Frightened Man (1952)
Too Clever By Half (1953)
Death by Arrangement (1972)
The Thirteen Trumpeters (1973)
The Fairly Innocent Little Man (1974)
Don't Stop for Hooky Hefferman (1975)
Hooky and the Crock of Gold (1975)
The Lost Half Hour (1976)
Hooky Gets the Wooden Spoon (1977)
Papersnake (1978)
Hooky and the Villainous Chauffeur (1979)
Hooky and the Prancing Horse (1980)
Hooky Goes to Blazes (1981)
Silver Guilt (1983)
The Open Door (1984)
The Affair at Barwold (1985)
Hooky Catches a Tartar (1986)
Hooky on Loan (1987)
Hooky Hooked (1988)
Novels
Bluefeather (1928)
Death's Eye (1929)
aka The Shadow and the Stone
Camouflage (1930)
aka The Mystery At Newton Ferry
Consummate Rose (1931)
Storm Against the Wall (1931)
Paid in Full (1933)
aka So Many Doors
Watch the Wall (1933)
aka The Gentlemen Go By
Inside Out! (1934) (as by Geoffrey Ludlow)
The Dividing Air (1935) (as by Robert Eton)
Odds On Bluefeather (1935)
Third Time Unlucky (1935)
On the Night of the 18th (1936)
Women Had to Do It (1936) (as by Geoffrey Ludlow)
The Door in the Wall (1937)
The Dandy (1938)
The House in the Hills (1938)
The Man in the Hut (1938)
And Be a Villain (1939)
His Aunt Came Late (1939)
The Man Who Escaped (1940) (as by Sidney Bedford)
The Creaking Chair (1941)
The Dark Square (1941)
The Journey (1944) (as by Robert Eton)
The Echo in the Cave (1946)
Strange Landing (1946)
The Evil Hour (1947)
The Legacy (1947) (as by Robert Eton)
St. Lynn's Advertiser (1947) (as by Robert Eton)
The Bright Face Of Danger (1948)
The Lady On Platform One (1950)
Party of Eight (1950)
The Man No One Knew (1951)
Young Master Carver (1952)
Policeman in the Family (1953)
Bridge Under the Water (1954)
Give Me the Knife (1954)
Under the Hollies (1954)
Elizabeth: Young Policewoman (1955) (as by Valerie Baxter)
Where Is She Now? (1955)
Saturday Out (1956)
The Breaking Point (1957)
aka The Great Armored Car Swindle
Sonia Back Stage (1957)
District Nurse Carter (1958)
Farm Animals (1958)
Jane: Young Author (1958) (as by Valerie Baxter)
The Young Architect (1958)
Monica Anson (1959)
Abandoned Doll (1960)
Bandaberry (1960)
The House in Marsh Road (1960)
The Pit in the Garden (1961)
Moon over Ebury Square (1962)
The Dancers in the Reeds (1963)
Good Luck, Nurse Ross (1963)
Sleep of the Unjust (1963)
Virgin Luck (1963)
More Deadly Than the Male (1964)
Scoop (1964)
Break for Summer (1965)
Double Fault (1965)
The Empty Saddle (1965)
Die By the Book (1966)
The Imperfect Aunt (1966)
Shadow in the Sun (1966)
The Suspect Scientist (1966)
The Mauve Front Door (1967)
Week-End in the Scampi Belt (1967)
Bessie Scudd (1968)
Death of a Philanderer (1968)
Of Malicious Intent (1969)
Peter and the Picture Thief (1969)
Beginning of Words (1970)
Curious Crime of Miss Julia Blossom (1970)
Jimmy and the Election (1970)
The Shelter (1970)
Troy Trotter and the Kitten (1971)
End of the Long Hot Summer (1972)
A Little Matter of Arson (1972)
View from the Terrace (1972)
The Fatal Flaw (1973)
The Fortunate Miss East (1973)
One Step from Murder (1974)
The Great Cup-tie (1974)
Woman in Number Five (1974)
Burlington Square (1975)
Footpath (1975)
The Folly of Henrietta Dale (1976)
The Vision Splendid (1976)
Folly to be Wise (1977)
Little Kingdom (1977)
Dangerous Year (1978)
The Sisters (1979)
Lady Who Wasn't (1980)
Parasol in the Park (1981)
The Blue Door (1982)
The Secret of the Pit (1982)
The Visitor (1983)
False Gods (1984)
Quenell's (1985)
Abiding Thing (1986)
The Rivals (1987)
The Witness for the Defence (2002)
Death's Eye (1929)
aka The Shadow and the Stone
Camouflage (1930)
aka The Mystery At Newton Ferry
Consummate Rose (1931)
Storm Against the Wall (1931)
Paid in Full (1933)
aka So Many Doors
Watch the Wall (1933)
aka The Gentlemen Go By
Inside Out! (1934) (as by Geoffrey Ludlow)
The Dividing Air (1935) (as by Robert Eton)
Odds On Bluefeather (1935)
Third Time Unlucky (1935)
On the Night of the 18th (1936)
Women Had to Do It (1936) (as by Geoffrey Ludlow)
The Door in the Wall (1937)
The Dandy (1938)
The House in the Hills (1938)
The Man in the Hut (1938)
And Be a Villain (1939)
His Aunt Came Late (1939)
The Man Who Escaped (1940) (as by Sidney Bedford)
The Creaking Chair (1941)
The Dark Square (1941)
The Journey (1944) (as by Robert Eton)
The Echo in the Cave (1946)
Strange Landing (1946)
The Evil Hour (1947)
The Legacy (1947) (as by Robert Eton)
St. Lynn's Advertiser (1947) (as by Robert Eton)
The Bright Face Of Danger (1948)
The Lady On Platform One (1950)
Party of Eight (1950)
The Man No One Knew (1951)
Young Master Carver (1952)
Policeman in the Family (1953)
Bridge Under the Water (1954)
Give Me the Knife (1954)
Under the Hollies (1954)
Elizabeth: Young Policewoman (1955) (as by Valerie Baxter)
Where Is She Now? (1955)
Saturday Out (1956)
The Breaking Point (1957)
aka The Great Armored Car Swindle
Sonia Back Stage (1957)
District Nurse Carter (1958)
Farm Animals (1958)
Jane: Young Author (1958) (as by Valerie Baxter)
The Young Architect (1958)
Monica Anson (1959)
Abandoned Doll (1960)
Bandaberry (1960)
The House in Marsh Road (1960)
The Pit in the Garden (1961)
Moon over Ebury Square (1962)
The Dancers in the Reeds (1963)
Good Luck, Nurse Ross (1963)
Sleep of the Unjust (1963)
Virgin Luck (1963)
More Deadly Than the Male (1964)
Scoop (1964)
Break for Summer (1965)
Double Fault (1965)
The Empty Saddle (1965)
Die By the Book (1966)
The Imperfect Aunt (1966)
Shadow in the Sun (1966)
The Suspect Scientist (1966)
The Mauve Front Door (1967)
Week-End in the Scampi Belt (1967)
Bessie Scudd (1968)
Death of a Philanderer (1968)
Of Malicious Intent (1969)
Peter and the Picture Thief (1969)
Beginning of Words (1970)
Curious Crime of Miss Julia Blossom (1970)
Jimmy and the Election (1970)
The Shelter (1970)
Troy Trotter and the Kitten (1971)
End of the Long Hot Summer (1972)
A Little Matter of Arson (1972)
View from the Terrace (1972)
The Fatal Flaw (1973)
The Fortunate Miss East (1973)
One Step from Murder (1974)
The Great Cup-tie (1974)
Woman in Number Five (1974)
Burlington Square (1975)
Footpath (1975)
The Folly of Henrietta Dale (1976)
The Vision Splendid (1976)
Folly to be Wise (1977)
Little Kingdom (1977)
Dangerous Year (1978)
The Sisters (1979)
Lady Who Wasn't (1980)
Parasol in the Park (1981)
The Blue Door (1982)
The Secret of the Pit (1982)
The Visitor (1983)
False Gods (1984)
Quenell's (1985)
Abiding Thing (1986)
The Rivals (1987)
The Witness for the Defence (2002)
Collections
Non fiction show
Books containing stories by Laurence Meynell
The Long Arm of the Law (2017)
Classic Police Stories
(British Library Crime Classics)
edited by
Martin Edwards
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