Margaret Yorke, born Margaret Beda Larminie, was a highly respected British author in the mystery genre. She adopted the pseudonym Margaret Yorke to distinguish herself from a family member who was also an author. Yorke was born in Surrey, England, but spent a significant portion of her childhood in Dublin, Ireland before returning to England in 1937. During World War II, she served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service as a driver. After the war, she made history by becoming the first woman to work in the Christ Church library in Oxford.
Yorke was a prolific writer, publishing her first novel in 1957. However, it wasn’t until 1970 that she began writing crime fiction. She is best known for her series featuring Dr. Patrick Grant, an Oxford Don and amateur sleuth. Yorke wrote over forty books in her career, but she limited the Grant novels to five, stating that authors using a series detective are trapped by their series and it stops some of them from expanding as writers. Yorke’s writing focused on ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations, which resonated with readers who could identify with the characters and the conflicts they faced. Her use of language was frequently praised, and she was often cited as an equal to P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. Yorke served as Chairman of the Crime Writer’s Association between 1979 and 1980 and won numerous awards for her writing, including the 1993 Golden Handcuffs award and the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 1999. She passed away in 2012, leaving behind a legacy as a successful and influential crime fiction author.