Creasey, John (1908-1973), an English author, became one of the best-known writers of detective stories of the 1900’s. He published more detective fiction than any other writer of his time—almost 600 novels written under 28 names. Most critics consider Creasey’s stories uneven in quality but have praised his best ones for their fast-paced action and clever plots.
Creasey created several detectives. Under his own name, he wrote three separate series of novels about Inspector Roger West of Scotland Yard and two amateur detectives, Dr. Stanislaus Palfrey and Richard Rollison. Rollison is known as the Toff, an English slang word for a stylishly dressed man. Perhaps Creasey’s most popular detective is Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard. Under the name of J. J. Marric, Creasey wrote the Gideon series, the best example of the British police procedural novel. Creasey’s other pen names include Gordon Ashe, Norman Deane, Michael Halliday, Kyle Hunt, and Jeremy York. Creasey was born on Sept. 17, 1908, in the county of Surrey. He died on June 9, 1973.
