George Bellairs Books In Order

Publication Order of Thomas Littlejohn Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of British Library Crime Classics Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

George Bellairs is the pen name of the famous 20th century English novelist Harold Blundell. He was popular for writing mystery and suspense books. Author Bellairs was particularly well known for writing crime fiction books featuring his highly famous character Chief Inspector Littlejohn. This character features in over 50 books that Bellairs wrote in his literary career. Author Bellairs was born on April 19, 1902 in Heywood, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. His first career choice was working as a bank manager in Lancashire. Later, Bellairs moved to the Isle of Man following his retirement. He lived there for the rest of his life and earned his living by writing mystery books. In addition to writing under the pseudonym and his original name, Bellairs used to make use of an alternative pen name Hilary Landon for writing some of his books. In fact, he wrote a total of 4 books under this name. Author Bellairs’ death occurred on April 18, 1982. While working as a manager in a Manchester bank, Bellairs was closely connected to the Manchester University. Because of the fact that his stories are set in tiny British communities, and combine the elements of classic police procedural and wicked crimes, author Bellairs was often referred to as the ‘English Simenon’. Author Bellairs got married in 1930 to a woman named Gladys Mabel Roberts. He was believed to be a Francophile, explaining why many of his books were set in France. Author Bellairs used to travel to Frane very often. He was involved in writing articles for the English magazines and newspapers, with views and news from France. Author Bellairs was a notable philanthropist. He was quite popular in the public life of Manchester as he was the member of the Board of United Manchester Hospitals. Bellairs was even Private Patient’s Home’s Chairman.

Author Bellairs was awarded with an honorary master’s degree by the Manchester University in the year 1959 in recognition to his literary and charitable works. When Bellairs retired from business, he and his wife Gladys moved to Colby. There, they made many new friends. The surviving notebooks of author Bellairs attest to the fact that he had keen interests in geography, folklore, and history of the Isle of Man island. It was in 1941 that he penned his first mystery book during the spare time at his post of air warden. And after ten years of writing the story, Bellairs penned a comedy series for radio, called The Legacy. This series was broadcast in 1951. During the whole of the 1950s, author Bellairs contributed a column to the newspaper Manchester Guardian. He even worked on the freelance basis for various other newspapers both locally and nationally. The first mystery novel of author Bellairs, Littlejohn On Leave, introduced the character of Thomas Littlejohn as a detective inspector. All his books have strong characters, small communities, and are set during the 1940s to 1970s. They consist of strong plots, full of intrigue and scandal. His lead character, Thomas Littlejohn, starts off as an inspector and rises to the rank of a Superintendent. Littlejohn, appears to the reminiscent of Detective Inspector Maigret as in he is injected with humor, compassion, and humor. Author Bellairs was considered an amusing talker. He used to describe to his listeners how to carry out a killing in books. Despite his initial success in the United States and Britain, the novels of author Bellairs were less popular. And even though he was considered a prolific author over many decades, he went on to fade from the public eye. Some of his initial works are quite sought after by many collectors. Author Bellairs suffered from an illness for a long time and eventually died a day before his 80th birthday at his home in Colby.

The Chief Inspector Littlejohn series written by author George Bellairs is comprised of 57 books in total, which were released between the years 1941 and 1980. An initial book of this series is entitled ‘Calamity At Harwood’. It was released by the MacMillan publication in the year 1945. The central characters of this book as described by author Bellairs include Solomon Burt and Inspector Littlejohn. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that Solomon Burt is included among the premier East End slumlords all across London. He falls in love with Harwood unlike any other property he had fallen in love with in the past. The property is a faded manor located halfway between the sea and London. When Solomon learns that the owner of the manor house is not ready to sell his property, he uses all the tricks known to him to purchase the house for converting it into numerous apartments. And when Solomon is finally able to own the property, he begins to do what he intended to. But, he did not have any idea that he will have to deal with ghosts. Later, when Solomon is discovered murdered, the tenants in his apartments start fearing that a ghost a living among them. At this point, Inspector Littlejohn is called in to investigate and establish the reason behind Solomon’s murder. Littlejohn goes on to discover something even more dangerous lurking in the Harwood corners.

Another intriguing book of the mystery series is called ‘Death in the Night Watches’. This novel was also released by MacMillan in 1946. The primary characters of this novel include Inspector Littlejohn and Henry Worth. At the beginning of the story of this book, it is depicted that Henry Worth is the owner of a factory, which was once filled with textile workers and looms. But, due to the onset of the Second World War, all his factory space has been handed over to the military production. Once, when Henry is taking a walk in the night, he smells a gas leak. And when he enters inside to find out, the door behind slams shut and he dies in a few minutes. After a short while, Detective Inspector Littlejohn arrives from London to investigate Henry Worth’s death. He discovers that the whole town is upended by the inheritance of Worth. What shocks him even more is that his wife and 3 children are feuding over Worth’s fortune. They do not even fear to go to the extent of killing each other for getting their share. On one hand, the British troops fighting and dying overseas, and on the other hand Inspector Littlejohn feels that the fiercest battle is the one which is being fought close to home. But, he is not the one who would bow down in front of the difficult challenges easily. Littlejohn makes up his mind to get to the bottom of the mystery before another innocent victim loses his life.