James H. McClure
Encyclopedia
James Howe McClure was a British
author
and journalist
best known for his Kramer and Zondi
mysteries set in South Africa.
James McClure was born and raised in South Africa and educated in Pietermaritzburg
, Natal
at Scottsville School (1947–51), Cowan House (1952–54), and Maritzburg College
(1955–58). He worked first as a commercial photographer with Tom Sharpe
, who later wrote a series of celebrated comic novels, and then as a teacher of English and art at Cowan House in 1959-63, before becoming a crime reporter and photographer for the Natal Witness
in his hometown of Pietermaritzburg.
His journalistic career saw him headhunted first by the Natal Mercury
and then by the Natal Daily News. After the birth of his first son, he moved to Britain with his family in 1965, where he joined the Scottish Daily Mail as a sub-editor. From there, he moved to the Oxford Mail
and then to The Oxford Times.
His first crime novel
, The Steam Pig, won the CWA
Gold Dagger
in 1971.
He resigned as deputy editor in 1974 to write full time. He added to his series of police procedurals based on his experiences in South Africa, featuring the detective partnership of Afrikaner
Lieutenant
Tromp Kramer and Bantu Detective
Sergeant
Mickey Zondi.
McClure also wrote a spy novel set in Southern Africa - Rogue Eagle - which won the 1976 CWA Silver Dagger, a number of short stories, and two large non-fiction works that won wide acclaim: Spike Island: Portrait of a Police Division (Liverpool) and Copworld: Inside an American Police Force (San Diego).
After publishing 14 books, he returned to the bottom rung of "The Oxford Times" in 1986, as his police books had made him aware of how much he had missed working with others - his intention being to write in his spare time. What proved his most popular Kramer and Zondi novel then followed, The Song Dog, but journalism soon became all consuming. He became editor
in 1994 and three years later The Oxford Times won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year award, beating all comers from across the United Kingdom.
He was promoted to editor of the Oxford Mail in 2000, and spent the next three years on a variety of objectives to enhance the quality and revenue of the county's daily paper. That done, he decided it was time to again step down, and retired to return to writing. He was working on a novel set in Oxford
and had just started his own blog when he came down with a respiratory illness and died on 17 June 2006. He lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
best known for his Kramer and Zondi
Kramer and Zondi
The Kramer and Zondi novels are a series of Police procedurals by James H. McClure set in apartheid era South Africa. The action largely takes place in the fictional city of Trekkersberg...
mysteries set in South Africa.
James McClure was born and raised in South Africa and educated in Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
, Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
at Scottsville School (1947–51), Cowan House (1952–54), and Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College, known locally as College, is a public school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
(1955–58). He worked first as a commercial photographer with Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
, who later wrote a series of celebrated comic novels, and then as a teacher of English and art at Cowan House in 1959-63, before becoming a crime reporter and photographer for the Natal Witness
The Witness (South African newspaper)
The Witness is a daily newspaper published in Pietermaritzburg. It mainly serves readers in Pietermaritzburg and the inland areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the oldest continuously-published newspaper in South Africa, having first been published on 27 February 1846. Until 2000,...
in his hometown of Pietermaritzburg.
His journalistic career saw him headhunted first by the Natal Mercury
The Mercury (South Africa)
The Mercury is an upmarket English language newspaper owned by Independent News & Media and published in Durban, South Africa.As the most popular English morning newspaper in the region, The Mercury has 269 000 readers .-Content:...
and then by the Natal Daily News. After the birth of his first son, he moved to Britain with his family in 1965, where he joined the Scottish Daily Mail as a sub-editor. From there, he moved to the Oxford Mail
Oxford Mail
Oxford Mail is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid The Oxford Times.-History:...
and then to The Oxford Times.
His first crime novel
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
, The Steam Pig, won the CWA
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
Gold Dagger
Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger Award was an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association for the best crime novel of the year.For its first five years, the organization's top honor was known as the Crossed Red Herring Award....
in 1971.
He resigned as deputy editor in 1974 to write full time. He added to his series of police procedurals based on his experiences in South Africa, featuring the detective partnership of Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Tromp Kramer and Bantu Detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Mickey Zondi.
McClure also wrote a spy novel set in Southern Africa - Rogue Eagle - which won the 1976 CWA Silver Dagger, a number of short stories, and two large non-fiction works that won wide acclaim: Spike Island: Portrait of a Police Division (Liverpool) and Copworld: Inside an American Police Force (San Diego).
After publishing 14 books, he returned to the bottom rung of "The Oxford Times" in 1986, as his police books had made him aware of how much he had missed working with others - his intention being to write in his spare time. What proved his most popular Kramer and Zondi novel then followed, The Song Dog, but journalism soon became all consuming. He became editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
in 1994 and three years later The Oxford Times won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year award, beating all comers from across the United Kingdom.
He was promoted to editor of the Oxford Mail in 2000, and spent the next three years on a variety of objectives to enhance the quality and revenue of the county's daily paper. That done, he decided it was time to again step down, and retired to return to writing. He was working on a novel set in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and had just started his own blog when he came down with a respiratory illness and died on 17 June 2006. He lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
Kramer and Zondi novels
- The Steam Pig (1971)
- The Caterpillar Cop (1972)
- The Gooseberry Fool (1974)
- Snake (1975)
- The Sunday Hangman (1977)
- The Blood of an Englishman (1980)
- The Artful Egg (1984)
- The Song Dog (1991)
Other novels
- Four and Twenty Virgins (1973)
- Rogue Eagle (1976)
- Imago: A Modern Comedy of Manners (1988)
Non-fiction books
- Killers: A Companion to the Thames Television Series By Clive Exton (1976)
- Spike Island: Portrait of a British Police Division (1980)
- Cop World: Inside an American Police Force (1984)