Grimes, Martha
Born: May 2, 1931, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Vocations: Novelist, Poet, Professor
Geographic Connection to Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County

Keywords: Mysteries; Nero Wolfe Award; Richard Jury series; University of Maryland

Abstract: Mystery writer Martha Grimes was born in Pittsburgh in 1931. After taking degrees at the University of Maryland, Grimes began teaching but gave that up in 1970 to write mystery novels. She is well known for her novels featuring English pubs and the Scotland Yard detective Richard Jury. Grimes splits her time between Washington, DC and Santa Fe, NM.

Biography:

Martha Grimes was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 1931. Her father, D.W., was a city solicitor, and her mother, June, owned a hotel in western Maryland at which Martha and her brother spent most of their childhood. Grimes is divorced and has one son, Kent.

Grimes earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Maryland at College Park. She was an instructor of English at the University of Iowa, as well as an assistant professor of English at Frostburg State College (now University) in Frostburg, Maryland. Her last teaching position was professor of English at Montgomery College in Tacoma Park, Maryland. It was Grimes’ first poem, “Send Bygraves,” that inspired her to write mystery novels instead of poetry. Her first novel, The Man with a Load of Mischief, was published in 1981.

Grimes receives much acclaim for her ability, as an American writer, to capture British life in her novels. Grimes gets her inspiration from British pubs. The titles of her novels are the names of pubs, such as The Man with a Load of Mischief. She now says that she cannot begin a novel until she has found a suitable pub name. Grimes may be best-known for her Richard Jury series, which includes the majority of her novels. They feature a handsome, witty Scotland Yard detective, his aristocratic assistant Melrose Plant, and her obnoxious American Aunt Agatha. When it comes to figuring out “who dunnit,” Grimes professes not to know until the end of the novel.

In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace, which is part of the Richard Jury series. In the early 1990s, the Alfred A. Knopf publishing conglomerate (owners of many publishing imprints) decided to part company with Grimes. She has published with Viking since that time. She records some of the machinations of the publishing industry in her 2003 book, Foul Matter. Though she told New York Times reporter Dinitia Smith that she was not targeting anyone specifically with the book, mystery writer Andrew Vachss called it “all out war.”

She now spends her time between the Washington, DC area and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Works:

Novels

• The Man With the Load of Mischief. Boston: Little, Brown, 1981.
• The Old Fox Deceiv’d. Boston: Little, Brown, 1982.
• The Anodyne Necklace. Boston: Little, Brown, 1983.
• The Dirty Duck. Boston: Little, Brown, 1984.
• The Jerusalem Inn. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985.
• The Deer Leap. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985.
• I am the Only Running Footman. Boston: Little, Brown 1986.
• The Five Bells and Bladebone. Boston: Little, Brown, 1987.
• The Old Silent. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989.
• The Old Contemptibles. Boston: Little, Brown, 1991.

Poetry

• Send Bygraves. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989.

Sources:

• “Martha Grimes.” Bastulli Mystery Library. 1999. 24 Apr. 2002. <http://www.bastulli.com>.
• “Martha Grimes.” Bookreporter.com. 2001. 1 Apr. 2002. <http://www.bookreporter.com>.
• “Martha Grimes.” The Gale Literary Databases: Contemporary Authors Online. 2001. 12 Mar. 2002. <http://www.galenet.galegroup.com>.
• “Martha Grimes.” Martha Grimes.com. 2002. 1 Apr. 2002. <http://www.marthagrimes.com>.
• Marie. “Martha Grimes.” Martha Grimes: Mystery Maven. 2002. 24 Apr. 2002. <http://www.webheights.net/MarthaGrimes>.
• “Martha Grimes.” Mystery/Thriller Adventure & War Division. 2002. 24 Apr. 2002. <http://www.allreaders.com>.
• Smith, Dinitia. “An Author Gets Back at Knopf.” New York Times 20 Aug. 2003: E1-2.

This biography was prepared by Laura Campbell and Elizabeth Benedek.