Evelyn Berckman

Evelyn Domenica Berckman (October 18, 1900 – September 18, 1978 ) was an American writer noted for her detective and Gothic horror novels. In addition to her novels and screenplays, she also wrote four non-fiction titles about British naval history.

Personal life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before this career was curtailed by paralysis brought on by arduous sessions of piano practice. Her compositions were performed by the Pro Arte Quartet and the Philadelphia Orchestra among others.

Her first novel, The Evil of Time, was published in 1954. Berckman made several visits to London, staying for extended periods in various Mayfair hotels while she wrote, building up a second career "to avoid the threat of poverty". In 1960 she moved to the city permanently, settling in the Kensington area and living at various addresses until her death from heart disease in 1978.

Research for her books brought her in contact with art historian Rupert Gunnis, to whom she dedicated her 1967 novel The Heir of Starvelings, an apparently true story which she based on anecdotal information from Gunnis.

Fiction The Evil of Time, Dodd 1954 The Beckoning Dream, Dodd 1955 (filmed for television as Worse Than Murder, 1960, with Boris Karloff and Constance Ford) The Strange Bedfellow, Dodd 1956 The Blind Villain / House of Terror Dodd 1957 The Hovering Darkness, Dodd 1957 No Known Grave, Dodd 1958 Lament for Four Brides, Dodd 1959 Do You Know This Voice?, Dodd 1960 Blind Girl's Buff, Dodd 1962 A Thing That Happens to You, Dodd 1964 Keys From a Window, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1965 A Simple Case of Ill-Will, Dodd 1965 Stalemate, Doubleday 1966 The Heir of Starvelings, ('A Novel of Innocence and Evil'), Doubleday 1967 A Case in Nullity, Doubleday 1968 (also published as A Hidden Malice) The Long Arm of the Prince, Hale 1968 She Asked for It, Doubleday 1969 The Voice of Air, Doubleday 1970 A Finger to Her Lips, Doubleday 1971 The Fourth Man on the Rope, Doubleday 1972 The Stake in the Game, Doubleday 1973 The Hidden Island. Hamish Hamilton 1973 The Victorian Album, ('A Novel of Possession'), Doubleday 1973 Wait, Just You Wait, Doubleday 1974. (Published as Wait, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1973) The Nightmare Chase, Doubleday 1975. (Published as Indecent Exposure, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1975) The Crown Estate, Doubleday 1976. (Published as The Blessed Plot, Hamish Hamilton. London, 1976) Journey's End, Doubleday 1977. (Published as Be All and End All, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1976)

Non-fiction Nelson's Dear Lord: A Portrait of St. Vincent, Macmillan, London, 1962 Hidden Navy, Hamish Hamilton, 1973 Creators and Destroyers of the English Navy, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1974 Victims of Piracy: Admiralty Court, 1575–1678, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1979

Reception