Patricia Wentworth Popular Books

Patricia Wentworth Biography & Facts

Dora Amy Turnbull (formerly Dillon, née Elles; 15 October 1877 – 28 January 1961), known by pen name Patricia Wentworth, was a British crime fiction writer. Early life and education She was born in Mussoorie, British India, and was educated first privately, then at Blackheath High School for Girls in London. Her father was General Edmond Elles, and her mother was Clare, Lady Elles, nee Rothney. Personal life She and her first husband, Lt. Col. George Frederick Horace Dillon, had one daughter. She also became stepmother to Dillon's three sons, two of whom died during World War I. After Dillon's death, in 1906, she settled in Camberley, Surrey. In 1920, she married Lt. Col. George Oliver Turnbull. One of her stepsons who died in World War I had Wentworth as a middle name, after Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, and she adopted Wentworth as her pen name. Dora Amy Turnbull died on 28 January 1961, aged 83. Her estate was valued at £24 561. Career Wentworth wrote a series of 32 crime novels in the classic whodunit style, featuring Miss Maud Silver, a retired governess and teacher who becomes a professional private detective, in London, England. Miss Silver works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott, and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson. Miss Silver is sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. "Miss Silver is well known in the better circles of society, and she finds entree to the troubled households of the upper classes with little difficulty. In most of Miss Silver's cases there is a young couple whose romance seems ill fated because of the murder to be solved, but in Miss Silver's competent hands the case is solved, the young couple are exonerated, and all is right in this very traditional world." Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside that series. She won the Melrose prize in 1910 for her first novel A Marriage Under The Terror, set in the French Revolution. Works Miss Silver series Grey Mask, 1928 The Case Is Closed, 1937 Lonesome Road, 1939 Danger Point (USA: In the Balance), 1941 The Chinese Shawl, 1943 Miss Silver Intervenes (USA: Miss Silver Deals with Death), 1943 The Clock Strikes Twelve, 1944 The Key, 1944 The Traveller Returns (USA: She Came Back), 1945 Pilgrim's Rest (or: Dark Threat), 1946 Latter End, 1947 Spotlight (USA: Wicked Uncle), 1947 The Case of William Smith, 1948 Eternity Ring, 1948 The Catherine Wheel, 1949 Miss Silver Comes to Stay, 1949 The Brading Collection (or: Mr Brading's Collection), 1950 The Ivory Dagger, 1951 Through the Wall, 1950 Anna, Where Are You? (or: Death At Deep End), 1951 The Watersplash, 1951 Ladies' Bane, 1952 Out of the Past, 1953 The Silent Pool, 1954 Vanishing Point, 1953 The Benevent Treasure, 1953 The Gazebo (or: The Summerhouse), 1955 The Listening Eye, 1955 Poison in the Pen, 1955 The Fingerprint, 1956 The Alington Inheritance, 1958 The Girl in the Cellar, 1961 Frank Garrett series Dead or Alive, 1936 Rolling Stone, 1940 Ernest Lamb series The Blind Side, 1939 Who Pays the Piper? (USA: Account Rendered), 1940 Pursuit of a Parcel, 1942 Benbow Smith Fool Errant, 1929 Danger Calling, 1931 Walk with Care, 1933 Down Under, 1937 Standalone A Marriage under the Terror, 1910 A Child's Rhyme Book, 1910 A Little More Than Kin (or: More Than Kin), 1911 The Devil's Wind, 1912 The Fire Within, 1913 Simon Heriot, 1914 Queen Anne Is Dead, 1915 Earl or Chieftain?, 1919 The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith, 1923. Serialised, Baltimore Evening Sun, 1925 The Red Lacquer Case, 1924. Serialised, Leicester Mail, 1926 The Annam Jewel, 1924 The Black Cabinet, 1925 The Dower House Mystery, 1925 The Amazing Chance, 1926. Serialised, Dundee Evening Telegraph, 1927 Hue and Cry, 1927 Anne Belinda, 1927 Will-o'-the-Wisp, 1928 Beggar's Choice, 1930 The Coldstone, 1930 Kingdom Lost, 1931 Nothing Venture, 1932. Serialised, Dundee Courier, 1932 What Became of Anne, 1926. Serialised, Dundee Courier, 1932 Red Danger (USA: Red Shadow), 1932 Seven Green Stones (USA: Outrageous Fortune), 1933 Devil-in-the-Dark (USA: Touch And Go), 1934 Fear by Night, 1934 Red Stefan, 1935 Blindfold, 1935 Hole and Corner, 1936 Mr Zero, 1938 Afraid to Love, 1938. Serialised, Dundee Courier, 1932 Run!, 1938 Unlawful Occasions (USA: Weekend with Death), 1941 Beneath the Hunter's Moon, Poems, 1945 Silence in Court, 1947 The Pool of Dreams: Poems, 1953 References External links Works by or about Patricia Wentworth at Internet Archive Works by Patricia Wentworth at Project Gutenberg Works by Dora Amy Elles at Faded Page (Canada) "Patricia Wentworth". Fantastic Fiction. Books by Wentworth. "Stories, Listed by Author: WENTWORTH, PATRICIA; pseudonym of Dora Amy Dillon Turnbull, (1878-1961) (chron.)". The FictionMags Index. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Three published magazine stories by Wentworth. Patricia Wentworth: An Introduction and Series Guide at Early Bird Books. Discover the Patricia Wentworth popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Patricia Wentworth books.

Best Seller Patricia Wentworth Books of 2024

  • One Monday We Killed Them All synopsis, comments

    One Monday We Killed Them All

    John D. MacDonald

    Step by step, Dwight McAran built a wall of vicious hate around himself. It was easy. He was a man who could slap one woman to death because she loved him, and hum a love song to a...

  • One More Sunday synopsis, comments

    One More Sunday

    John D. MacDonald

    Welcome to the Eternal Church of the Believer, where devout workers operate stateoftheart computer equipment to process the thousands of dollars that pour in daily and where hundre...

  • The Sacred Scroll synopsis, comments

    The Sacred Scroll

    Anton Gill

    Constantinople 1204: the holy city is razed to the ground by Crusaders the streets awash with blood. Modern day Istanbul: an elite group of archaeologists uncover the grave of Enr...

  • On the Run synopsis, comments

    On the Run

    John D. MacDonald

    Sid Shanley couldn't stay in one place very long. He had to keep on the run, changing towns, changing jobs, changing women. He worked out the perfect setup no attachments, no trai...

  • A Flash of Green synopsis, comments

    A Flash of Green

    John D. MacDonald

    James Wing was only trying to help his friend's widow. At least that's what he told himself after he warned Kat Hubble that the beautiful bay that she and her neighbours had strugg...

  • Slam the Big Door synopsis, comments

    Slam the Big Door

    John D. MacDonald

    When Mike Rodenska, a former journalist and recent widower, visits his old friend Troy Jamison in Florida, he's shocked at what he finds. For despite the parties, the shapely women...

  • A Secret Place synopsis, comments

    A Secret Place

    Patricia Rainsford

    Gina Brennan is on the run from a lot of things ... Especially prison. She and two cellmates have escaped and it looks like they're nearly home free. That's until wealthy solicitor...

  • Clouds of Witness synopsis, comments

    Clouds of Witness

    Dorothy L. Sayers

    The second book in Dorothy L Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey series introduced by crime novelist Ruth Dudley Edwards a mustread for fans of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Margery Allingham...

  • Murder for the Bride synopsis, comments

    Murder for the Bride

    John D. MacDonald

    Dillon Bryant, a successful engineer, is off on assignment after finishing his honeymoon. But news from home comes that his new bride, Laura, a beautiful woman whom he had met only...

  • More Good Old Stuff synopsis, comments

    More Good Old Stuff

    John D. MacDonald

    Offering indisputable evidence of the early talent that was to lead him to the top of the bestseller lists everywhere, these fourteen tales of crime and corruption, of sleuthing an...

  • Death Trap synopsis, comments

    Death Trap

    John D. MacDonald

    In life, Jane Ann never had much use for a halo, but in her violent death she finally earned one. When they found a suspect, everyone relaxed except Hugh MacReedy.Maybe he should h...

  • Soft Touch synopsis, comments

    Soft Touch

    John D. MacDonald

    Jerry Jamison wants out: out of a sloppy marriage, a dull job and the empty suburban rat race. Once Jerry had a beautiful bride and a good salary at her old man's successful busine...

  • Contrary Pleasure synopsis, comments

    Contrary Pleasure

    John D. MacDonald

    For years the Delevan family image reflected only the best of everything wealth, position, influence, and the kind of expensive good looks that take generations to cultivate. No o...

  • Border Town Girl synopsis, comments

    Border Town Girl

    John D. MacDonald

    Contains the two novellas Border Town Girl and Linda. Border Town GirlOnce, Lane Sanson had been a Somebody war correspondent and a bestselling author. Now he was a ...

  • The Last One Left synopsis, comments

    The Last One Left

    John D. MacDonald

    When a yacht explodes in the Bahamas, apparently killing six people, Sam Boyleston, an attorney from Texas and the brother of one of the victims, is compelled to investigate the ci...

  • The Drowner synopsis, comments

    The Drowner

    John D. MacDonald

    Lucille Hanson had rid herself of the wrong man her rich husband who lived casually and loved carelessly. Then she found another man she hoped would be right. She was putting toge...

  • In the Shadow of Agatha Christie synopsis, comments

    In the Shadow of Agatha Christie

    Leslie S. Klinger

    Before Agatha Christie became the world’s Queen of Crime, she stood on the talented shoulders of the female crime authors who came before her. This splendid new anthology by Leslie...

  • The Crossroads synopsis, comments

    The Crossroads

    John D. MacDonald

    More than half a century ago, Papa Drovek opened his small grocery store at the junction of two country roads. As he bought more and more land, the roads became highways, and now t...

  • The Deceivers synopsis, comments

    The Deceivers

    John D. MacDonald

    Her name was Cindy, and she was his neighbour's wife the woman next door in the kind of suburbia that didn't make headlines. These were real people, nice people like Cindy and Car...

  • Please Write for Details synopsis, comments

    Please Write for Details

    John D. MacDonald

    American bachelor Miles Drummond, living in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and running out of money, halfheartedly places an ad in a few US newspapers announcing a summer art workshop. Much t...

  • No Deadly Drug synopsis, comments

    No Deadly Drug

    John D. MacDonald

    Indicted by the state of New Jersey for the murder of retired Colonel William Farber. Dr Carl Coppolino had been having an affair with Farber's wife, Marjorie.Did he kill Marjorie'...

  • Unnatural Death synopsis, comments

    Unnatural Death

    Dorothy L. Sayers

    The third book in Dorothy L Sayers' classic Lord Peter Wimsey series, introduced by crime writer Minette Walters a mustread for fans of Agatha Christie's Poirot and Margery Alling...

  • Dead on Cue synopsis, comments

    Dead on Cue

    Guy Compton & D.G. Compton

    A deadly role becomes murder in the theatre...When writer Ben Anderson goes to Downshead Repertory Theatre company to see the rehearsals for his first play, he is not prepared for ...

  • April Evil synopsis, comments

    April Evil

    John D. MacDonald

    The stage was set. Harry Mullin had hit town first. But he had just made the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, and he was a little nervous about being seen. With him at the rented house ...

  • Barrier Island synopsis, comments

    Barrier Island

    John D. MacDonald

    Tucker Loomis is a hard and dangerous man with a ruthlessness all West Bay fears and respects, and an improbable amount of money. Wade Rowley is a common man who aspires to honour ...

  • Hurricane synopsis, comments

    Hurricane

    John D. MacDonald

    A hurricane of terrifying intensity is looming over Florida. Along a state highway, a handful of foolhardy souls trying to outrun the storm are forced to seek shelter in an abandon...

  • The End of the Night synopsis, comments

    The End of the Night

    John D. MacDonald

    Three men and a beautiful girl on a crosscountry terror spree a coast to coast rampage of stealing, kidnapping, rape and killing.Who were they? Where did they come from? Why did t...

  • Cry Hard, Cry Fast synopsis, comments

    Cry Hard, Cry Fast

    John D. MacDonald

    A gunman on the run, a seventeenyearold girl on a family vacation, a jaded working girl, a guiltstricken widower, an abandoned mistress. All heading fast down a route to sudden dea...

  • Cancel All Our Vows synopsis, comments

    Cancel All Our Vows

    John D. MacDonald

    Fletcher Wyant and his wife Jane had been married for fifteen years. They had built the perfect marriage two wonderful kids, a warm beautiful home, and their own private neverendi...

  • The Good Old Stuff synopsis, comments

    The Good Old Stuff

    John D. MacDonald

    From the author of the worldfamous Travis McGee thrillers, thirteen of John D. MacDonald's earliest and best crime and mystery stories brought together in one volume.Written at the...

  • Area of Suspicion synopsis, comments

    Area of Suspicion

    John D. MacDonald

    Four years ago Gevan Dean found his fiancée Niki Webb in his brother Ken's arms and fled his hometown for a peaceful life in the Florida sun. But now Ken is dead murdered by a thi...

  • And Murder Came Too synopsis, comments

    And Murder Came Too

    Guy Compton & D.G. Compton

    It's murder in a sleepy French fishing village . . .Crime writer Ben Anderson was hoping for a peaceful honeymoon sailing in Europe. He's solved four murders in the last three year...

  • The Dan Brown Companion synopsis, comments

    The Dan Brown Companion

    Simon Cox

    With its indepth look at some of the themes and reallife stories behind the fiction, The Dan Brown Companion gives a unique insight into the world of one of the most successful bes...

  • Disguise for a Dead Gentleman synopsis, comments

    Disguise for a Dead Gentleman

    Guy Compton & D.G. Compton

    A school reunion goes horribly wrong...A superb classic crime novel from a master of the genre.'Compton has been one of Britain's most original and consistent novelists since the l...

  • The Price of Murder synopsis, comments

    The Price of Murder

    John D. MacDonald

    On the surface, they seem like three very different people: Danny Bronson, a cunning excon struggling to go straight; his brother, Lee, a former Gridiron star turned college profes...

  • The Beach Girls synopsis, comments

    The Beach Girls

    John D. MacDonald

    Leo Rice seems like a nice enough guy, but why does he have to choose their beach? He could head ten miles up the Florida strip and everyone could just live happily ever after no ...

  • A Key to the Suite synopsis, comments

    A Key to the Suite

    John D. MacDonald

    Corporate hatchetman Hubbard is on his way to an industry convention to carry out a termination a fancy way of saying he's about to toss a man and his family out in the street. Bu...

  • High Tide for Hanging synopsis, comments

    High Tide for Hanging

    Guy Compton & D.G. Compton

    At sea, the danger can't be escaped...Classic crime fiction from the 1960s set around a Thames mooring.'Compton has been one of Britain's most original and consistent novelists sin...

  • The Neon Jungle synopsis, comments

    The Neon Jungle

    John D. MacDonald

    The Varaki family run the local grocery store, but tragedy hits the family hard. The sudden death of the matriarch of the clan is followed by the favourite son's death in Korea. Th...

  • You Live Once synopsis, comments

    You Live Once

    John D. MacDonald

    Clint Sewell knew there wasn't a wife within fifty miles who didn't have reason to murder Mary Olan because there wasn't a husband around who didn't think the grass was greener in...

  • A Man of Affairs synopsis, comments

    A Man of Affairs

    John D. MacDonald

    Sam Glidden owed all his success to the opportunities he'd received from Thomas McGann, president of the Harrison Corporation. But now McGann was dead, and Mike Dean, a wildly flam...

  • The Only Girl in the Game synopsis, comments

    The Only Girl in the Game

    John D. MacDonald

    Her employers are the high priests of Las Vegas and she is their handmaiden. Her job is to lead the lambs to the sacrifice, to keep them happy at the tables, where her partners sla...

  • A Bullet for Cinderella synopsis, comments

    A Bullet for Cinderella

    John D. MacDonald

    Her veneer was big city ... But one look and you knew that Toni Raselle's instincts were straight out of the river shack she came from. I watched her as she toyed with the man, lau...

  • The Brass Cupcake synopsis, comments

    The Brass Cupcake

    John D. MacDonald

    In Flower City, a sleepy resort town on Florida's Gulf Coast, wealthy Elizabeth Stegman is murdered in a jewel heist gone bad her missing jewels insured for £750,000.It falls to h...

  • The Mystery of Edwin Drood synopsis, comments

    The Mystery of Edwin Drood

    Charles Dickens

    Charles Dickens's final, unfinished novel has inspired generations of speculation ...Choirmaster John Jasper is a man of deep hypocrisy. His public reputation is flawless yet priva...

  • Seven synopsis, comments

    Seven

    John D. MacDonald

    A choice collection of seven short stories by one of America's foremost storytellers and the author of the bestselling Travis McGee series.Featuring 'Dear Old Friend', 'The Annex',...