Gladys Mitchell (1901-83) was the most mischievously inventive of the detective novelists who emerged during the so-called Golden Age (approximately 1920-39) of the genre in England. A member of the famous Detection Club, she enjoyed a long career, publishing more than seventy crime novels between 1929 and her two posthumous books of 1984. Sixty-six of these novels feature her most remarkable creation, the series detective Mrs Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley (in post-1955 works honoured as Dame Beatrice), a consultant psychiatrist to the Home Office, noted for her reptilian appearance, her unnerving cackle, and her infallible insight into criminal motives. Mitchell’s works are distinguished principally by their stylishly rendered sense of humour, often marked by parodic exaggeration,…

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Citation: Baldick, Chris. "Gladys Mitchell". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 September 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14622, accessed 29 March 2024.]

14622 Gladys Mitchell 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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