The Black Country’s most prolific author
Laurence was born into the wealthy elite of Wolverhampton and grew up at Eagle House in Penn Fields
THE Black Country does not a have a high reputation for literary merit, being better known for engineering and manufacturing rather than carefully crafted prose. This is grossly unfair as our region has raised several writers of note. Among the Black Country’s great authors are the humorist Jerome K. Jerome (18591927), winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Francis Brett Young (1884-1954), winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize for Children’s fiction, Susan Price (b.1955) and perhaps the best children’s author since the Second World War, Allan Ahlberg (b.1938).
A Black Country author who deserves wider recognition is Laurence Meynell (1899-1989), described by local historian Frank Sharman as “the most prolific writer Wolverhampton has ever produced.”
Meynell did indeed have a prodigious output, publishing two or three, or more, books a year. He covered a wide range of genres, writing both fiction and non-fiction and he used several pseudonyms as well.
Laurence was born into the wealthy elite of Wolverhampton. His father was Herbert Meynell, the chairman of Meynell and Sons, the Wolverhampton valve-makers. Lawrence grew up at the family home, Eagle House in Eagle Street, Penn Fields (Eagle Court now stands on the site) and he was educated at the Catholic boarding school St Edmund’s College in Ware.
In the First World War Laurence served in the Honourable Artillery Company and was fortunate to come through the conflict unscathed. His brothers were not so fortunate. The eldest, Edward Meynell, a captain in the 1/5th Battalion South Staffs, was killed on the Somme on October 4, 1918, and posthumously received the Military Cross. Cuthbert Meynell served in the Royal Horse Artillery but was invalided out after being gassed in 1917. He returned to the front line with the Royal Flying Corps, flying as an observer.
Laurence had no intention of joining the family firm but instead drifted through a series of jobs. He tried his hand at being an estate agent, teaching and advertising, before travelling through Britain and Europe. It was while he was in Paris in the late 1920s that he made his breakthrough as an author.
At that time the publishers Harrap had an annual competition to find new authors, the winner having their book published. In 1924 Laurence won with his semi-autobiographical Mockbeggar, which went on to be popular in the USA.
From there he became a professional writer. His early novels follow the style of Mockbeggar, gently making fun of the bohemian life, but in 1928 he produced Bluefeather, an action thriller in the style of John Buchan. Meynell would become celebrated for his crime novels and thrillers but he also wrote on sport, biography and children’s books. Perhaps his most successful work was the series of thrillers featuring his private detective character Hooky Hefferman.
In the Second World War Laurence served with the RAF and was mentioned in dispatches. In the ’50s he worked as an editor for Bodley Head, producing the Men of the Counties series, and was the literary editor of the magazine. Time and Tide.
Laurence Meynell was married twice. His first wife was the author Shirley Darbyshire and they had a daughter, Ann. Shirley died in 1955 and Laurence’s second wife was the actress Joan Henley, who had previously been married to the newsreader Bruce Belfrage. Joan passed away in 1986.
Laurence Meynell died shortly before his 90th birthday and he continued his output until his final year. Having written so many books, there is usually a good chance of finding at least one of his titles in a secondhand bookshop. We have tried to put together a list of his titles but it is by no means exhaustive and if you can name any books we have missed then please let us know. Mockbeggar (1924) Bluefeather (1928) Death’s Eye (1929) Camouflage (1930) Consummate Rose (1931) Storm Against the Wall (1931) Paid in Full (1933) Watch the Wall (1933) 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) Penny Dreadful (1949, as by A. Stephen Tring) The Lady on Platform One (1950) Party of Eight (1950) Bedfordshire (1950) The Man No One Knew (1951) Famous Cricket Grounds (1951) Barry’s Exciting Year (1951, as by A. Stephen Tring) Plum Warner (1951) Young Master Carver (1952) Danger Round the Corner (1952) Builder and Dreamer (1952) The Frightened Man (1952) Barry gets his Wish (1952, as by A. Stephen Tring) Smoky Joe (1952) Policeman in the Family (1953) Too Clever By Half (1953) Smoky Joe in Trouble (1953) Exmoor (1953) Rolls: Man of Speed (1953) Penny Triumphant (1953, as by A. Stephen Tring)
Penny Penitent (1953, as by A. Stephen Tring) Bridge Under the Water (1954) Give Me the Knife (1954) Barry’s Great Day (1954, as by A. Stephen Tring) Under the Hollies (1954) Elizabeth: Young Policewoman (1955, as by Valerie Baxter) Where is She Now? (1955) First Men to Fly (1955) Great Men of Staffordshire (1955) The Hon. C. S. Rolls (1955) Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1955) Penny Puzzled (1955, as by A. Stephen Tring) Saturday Out (1956) Smoky Joe Goes to School (1956) Animal Doctor (1956) Penny Dramatic (1956, as by A Stephen Tring)
James Brindley, the Pioneer of Canals (1956) The Breaking Point (1957) Thomas Telford, the Life Story of a Great Engineer (1957)
Penny in Italy (1957, as by A. Stephen Tring)
Sonia Back Stage (1957) District Nurse Carter (1958) Farm Animals (1958) Jane: Young Author (1958, as by Valerie Baxter) The Young Architect (1958) The Old Gang (1958, as by A. Stephen Tring with Eric Leyland) Monica Anson, Travel Agent (1959) Penny and the Pageant (1959, as by A. Stephen Tring) Abandoned Doll (1960) Bandaberry (1960) The House in Marsh Road (1960) Nurse Ross Saves the Day (1960) The Pit in the Garden (1961) Penny Says Goodbye (1961, as by A. Stephen Tring) Moon over Ebury Square (1962) Nurse Ross and the Doctor (1962) The Dancers in the Reeds (1963) Airmen On the Run (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)
Death by Arrangement (1972)
A Little Matter of Arson (1972) View from the Terrace (1972) The Fatal Flaw (1973) The Fortunate Miss East (1973) The Thirteen Trumpeters (1973) One Step from Murder (1974) The Great Cup-tie (1974) The Fairly Innocent Little Man (1974) Woman in Number Five (1974) Burlington Square (1975) Don’t Stop for Hooky Hefferman (1975) Footpath (1975) Stories for Boys (1975, as by A. Stephen Tring)
Hooky and the Crock of Gold (1975) The Folly of Henrietta Dale (1976) The Lost Half Hour (1976) The Vision Splendid (1976) Folly to be Wise (1977) Hooky Gets the Wooden Spoon (1977) Little Kingdom (1977) Dangerous Year (1978) Papersnake (1978) The Sisters (1979) Hooky and the Villainous Chauffeur (1979) Lady Who Wasn’t (1980) Hooky and the Prancing Horse (1980) Parasol in the Park (1981) Hooky Goes to Blazes (1981) The Blue Door (1982) The Secret of the Pit (1982) The Visitor (1983) Silver Guilt (1983) False Gods (1984) Quenell’s (1985) The Affair at Barwold (1985) Abiding Thing (1986) The Open Door (1986) Hooky Catches a Tartar (1986) The Rivals (1987) Hooky on Loan (1987) Hooky Hooked (1988)