Lillian O'Donnell (March 15, 1926 – April 2, 2005) was an American crime novelist notable for being one of the first to introduce a female police officer as the lead character in a book series.[1][2][3][4]
She was born in Trieste, Italy but spent most of her life in New York City. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York and her first career was in the theatre - as an actress on stage and television and as first female stage manager on Broadway. Until 1954, she worked as a director and stage manager of summer stock packages for The Shubert Organization. In 1954, she married J. Leonard O'Donnell.
From 1960, she published ten stand-alone novels. They varied from fairly stock murder mysteries to novels of psychological suspense. Only one, The Face of the Crime, was a police procedural.[5] In 1972, her first book with Nora Mulcahaney The Phone Calls was published. It brought back characters from her earlier police novel, but with the addition of the female lead. In total, 17 books were published in this series, the last in 1998. Each book focused on a single major crime and Nora's concerns about her personal life were intertwined with her working life.
In 1977, 1979 and 1980, she tried an interesting idea in a separate series - a protagonist, Mici Anhalt, who is an investigator for a Crime Victims Compensation Board. In 1990, she moved with the times, following other women who had begun series centered on female private detectives. In total, she published four books with lead character Gwen Rammadge, a genteel woman turned private investigator to pay the bills.[6]
^"Lillian O'Donnell". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Gale Biography in Context. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^"Lillian O'Donnell". The Writers Directory. Detroit: St James Press, 2011. Gale Biography in Context. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^Panek, Leroy Lad (2003). The American Police Novel; A History. McFarland and Company. pp. 88–90.
^"Lillian O'Donnell". New York Times 4 April 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
^Neysa Chouteau and Martha Alderson 'Lillian O'Donnell' And Then There Were Nine...More Women of Mystery edited by Jane S. Bakerman. Bowling Green University Press, 1985. pp102-119
^"Lillian O'Donnell". St James Guide to Crime & Mystery Writers. Gale, 1996. Gale Biography in Context. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^'Prime Target (1989)' IMDb accessed 31 August 2012.
External linksedit
Sleeper – Lillian O'Donnell Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore March 20, 2012
Neglected authors: Lillian O'Donnell The Mysterious Bookshop, June 24, 2009
April 14, 2024
lillian, donnell, march, 1926, april, 2005, american, crime, novelist, notable, being, first, introduce, female, police, officer, lead, character, book, series, contents, biography, books, also, references, external, linksbiography, editshe, born, trieste, ita. Lillian O Donnell March 15 1926 April 2 2005 was an American crime novelist notable for being one of the first to introduce a female police officer as the lead character in a book series 1 2 3 4 Contents 1 Biography 2 Books 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBiography editShe was born in Trieste Italy but spent most of her life in New York City She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts New York and her first career was in the theatre as an actress on stage and television and as first female stage manager on Broadway Until 1954 she worked as a director and stage manager of summer stock packages for The Shubert Organization In 1954 she married J Leonard O Donnell From 1960 she published ten stand alone novels They varied from fairly stock murder mysteries to novels of psychological suspense Only one The Face of the Crime was a police procedural 5 In 1972 her first book with Nora Mulcahaney The Phone Calls was published It brought back characters from her earlier police novel but with the addition of the female lead In total 17 books were published in this series the last in 1998 Each book focused on a single major crime and Nora s concerns about her personal life were intertwined with her working life In 1977 1979 and 1980 she tried an interesting idea in a separate series a protagonist Mici Anhalt who is an investigator for a Crime Victims Compensation Board In 1990 she moved with the times following other women who had begun series centered on female private detectives In total she published four books with lead character Gwen Rammadge a genteel woman turned private investigator to pay the bills 6 One of the Norah Mulcahaney books No Business Being a Cop was filmed for TV as Prime Target starring Angie Dickinson Joseph Bologna and David Soul 7 Books editDeath on the Grass 1959 Death Blanks the Screen 1960 Death Schuss 1963 Murder under the Sun 1964 Death of a Player 1964 Babes in the Woods 1965 The Sleeping Beauty Murders 1967 The Tachi Tree 1968 The Face of the Crime 1968 Dive into Darkness 1971 Norah Mulcahaney series The Phone Calls 1972 Don t Wear Your Wedding Ring 1973 Dial 577 RAPE 1974 The Baby Merchants 1975 Leisure Dying 1976 No Business Being a Cop 1979 The Children s Zoo 1981 Cop without a Shield 1983 Lady Killer 1984 Casual Affairs 1985 The Other Side of the Door 1987 A Good Night to Kill 1989 A Private Crime 1991 Shadow in Red 1998 Pushover 1992 Lockout 1994 Blue Death 1998 Mici Anhalt series Aftershock 1977 Falling Star 1979 Wicked Designs 1980 Gwenn Ramadge series A Wreath for the Bride 1990 Used to Kill 1993 The Raggedy Man 1995 The Goddess Affair 1996 See also editLists of authors List of mystery writers List of thriller authors List of female detective charactersReferences edit Lillian O Donnell Contemporary Authors Online Detroit Gale 2009 Gale Biography in Context a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty url help Lillian O Donnell The Writers Directory Detroit St James Press 2011 Gale Biography in Context a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty url help Panek Leroy Lad 2003 The American Police Novel A History McFarland and Company pp 88 90 Lillian O Donnell New York Times 4 April 2005 Retrieved 31 August 2012 Neysa Chouteau and Martha Alderson Lillian O Donnell And Then There Were Nine More Women of Mystery edited by Jane S Bakerman Bowling Green University Press 1985 pp102 119 Lillian O Donnell St James Guide to Crime amp Mystery Writers Gale 1996 Gale Biography in Context a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty url help Prime Target 1989 IMDb accessed 31 August 2012 External links editSleeper Lillian O Donnell Whodunit Mystery Bookstore March 20 2012 Neglected authors Lillian O Donnell The Mysterious Bookshop June 24 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lillian O 27Donnell amp oldid 1217342952, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
