C. W. Grafton
Encyclopedia
Cornelius Warren Grafton (1909 – 1982) was an American
crime novelist. He was born and raised in China
, where his parents were working as missionaries. He was educated in Clinton, South Carolina
, studying law and journalism, and became a municipal bond attorney in Louisville, Kentucky
.
The hero of his first two mystery novels (The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope and The Rope Began to Hang the Butcher) was a lawyer named Gilmore Henry. Using the first two lines of a nursery rhyme as the titles of his first two novels suggested that other Gilmore Henry novels would follow, but none did. (A partial manuscript of a third novel, The Butcher Began to Kill the Ox, is known to exist.) Henry did not appear in Grafton's two subsequent novels.
(b. 1940) is also a writer and is famous for her "Alphabet Series" of crime novels. C. W. Grafton died four months before the publication of "A" Is for Alibi.
C.W. Grafton's law partner, Spencer Harper Jr., named his younger son Grafton Sharpe Harper after him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crime novelist. He was born and raised in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where his parents were working as missionaries. He was educated in Clinton, South Carolina
Clinton, South Carolina
Clinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,091 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton was first settled by Scots-Irish immigrants two decades before the American Revolutionary...
, studying law and journalism, and became a municipal bond attorney in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
The hero of his first two mystery novels (The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope and The Rope Began to Hang the Butcher) was a lawyer named Gilmore Henry. Using the first two lines of a nursery rhyme as the titles of his first two novels suggested that other Gilmore Henry novels would follow, but none did. (A partial manuscript of a third novel, The Butcher Began to Kill the Ox, is known to exist.) Henry did not appear in Grafton's two subsequent novels.
Personal life
In World War II, Grafton served with distinction as a military deception officer in the India-Burma theater. Grafton was married to Vivian Harnsberger, and they had two daughters, Sue and Ann. Sue GraftonSue Grafton
Sue Taylor Grafton is a contemporary American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the 'alphabet series' featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W...
(b. 1940) is also a writer and is famous for her "Alphabet Series" of crime novels. C. W. Grafton died four months before the publication of "A" Is for Alibi.
C.W. Grafton's law partner, Spencer Harper Jr., named his younger son Grafton Sharpe Harper after him.