Gladys Mitchell was an English writer best known for her detective novels featuring Mrs Bradley. She wrote 66 books in this genre during her career, using the pen names Stephen Hockaby and Malcolm Torrie.
Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell was born on 19 April 1901 in Cowley, Oxford, the daughter of James and Annie Mitchell. She attended Rothschild School, Brentford, and The Green School. From 1919 to 1921, she attended Goldsmiths College and University College London, where she obtained an external degree in European history in 1926.
After graduating, Mitchell became a history, English and physical education teacher. She taught at several schools, including St Paul's School, Brentford, and Brentford School for Girls. Her teaching career continued until 1961, when she retired to Corfe Mullen, Dorset.
Mitchell's first novel, Speedy Death (1929), introduced Mrs Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, a sharp-witted psychoanalyst and amateur sleuth. This character, described as both intellectual and unconventional, became the protagonist of her subsequent novels. Speedy Death attracted attention for its surprising plot twist and established Mitchell's reputation in detective fiction.
Throughout the 1930s, Mitchell was hailed as one of the "Big Three" female detective writers, along with Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Her works often subverted traditional genre conventions, as in The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop (1929) and The Saltmarsh Murders (1932). The themes of witchcraft, Freudian psychology and the supernatural are prominent in novels such as The Devil at Saxon Wall (1935) and The Worsted Viper (1943).
In addition to her Mrs Bradley series, Mitchell wrote historical novels under the name Stephen Hockaby and detective stories featuring Timothy Herring under the pseudonym Malcolm Torrie. She also wrote ten children's books.
Gladys Mitchell remained prolific until her death on 27 July 1983. Her work was neglected for a time, but a revival began in the 2000s with reprints of When Last I Died (1941) and The Rising of the Moon (1945).