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Dorothy B. Hughes

ドロシー・B・ヒューズ

Dorothy B. Hughes

Aliases: Dorothy Belle Flanagan
Pen Names: Dorothy Belle Flanagan（Birth name used on early poetry and writings）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1904-08-10 （Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.）
Died
1993-05-06 （Ashland, Oregon, U.S.） age 88
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Kansas City, Missouri (birthplace) → Santa Fe, New Mexico (longtime residence; setting for several novels) → Ashland, Oregon (place of death)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Literary critic, Historian
Active Years
1924-1979
Memberships
Mystery Writers of America
Influenced By
Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, William Faulkner

Education

University of Missouri
Journalism
Degree: B.J.
Period: 1920s
Year of Graduation: 1924
Country: United States
Earned a B.J. degree in journalism
University of New Mexico (graduate work)
Journalism (graduate study)
Period: 1930s（研究のみ、学位取得なし）
Country: United States
Did graduate work without receiving a degree
Columbia University (graduate work)
Journalism (graduate study)
Period: 1930s（研究のみ、学位取得なし）
Country: United States
Did graduate work without receiving a degree

Awards

Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition
1931
Work: Dark Certainty (poetry collection)
Category: Poetry
Organization: Yale University / Yale University Press
Result: Winner
Edgar Award (Outstanding Mystery Criticism)
1951
Category: Outstanding Mystery Criticism
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: Winner
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master
1978
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: Winner
Edgar Award (nomination)
Work: The Expendable Man
Category: Best Novel
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: Nominee
Edgar Award (nomination)
Work: Erle Stanley Gardner: The Case of the Real Perry Mason
Category: Best Critical/Biographical Work
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: Nominee

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

In a Lonely Place

1947 Hardboiled / Noir

A crime novel that explores urban unease, isolation, and suspicion; later adapted into a film directed by Nicholas Ray.

isolationsuspicionviolencemoral ambiguity
Adaptations
  • [Film] In a Lonely Place / Nicholas Ray (1950)

Ride the Pink Horse

1946 Hardboiled / Noir

A compact crime story set during a Mexican festival, revolving around revenge and deception; adapted into a film directed by and starring Robert Montgomery.

revengedeceptionlocal culture
Adaptations
  • [Film] Ride the Pink Horse / Robert Montgomery (1947)
  • [Television (remake)] The Hanged Man (1964)

The Fallen Sparrow

1942 Mystery / Spy elements

A suspense novel with wartime conspiracy elements; adapted into a film starring John Garfield.

conspiracytrustshadows of war
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Fallen Sparrow (1943)

The Expendable Man

1963 Mystery / Hardboiled

A novel addressing anxieties and dangers in urban society; later reissued and reevaluated by contemporary critics.

urban anxietyviolencesocial alienation

The So Blue Marble

1940 Mystery

Hughes's first mystery novel, later followed by a sequel.

crimeinvestigation

Bibliography

  • Pueblo on the Mesa: The First Fifty Years of the University of New Mexico (1939)
  • The So Blue Marble (1940)
  • The Cross-Eyed Bear (1940)
  • The Bamboo Blonde (1941)
  • The Fallen Sparrow (1942)
  • The Blackbirder (1943)
  • The Delicate Ape (1944)
  • Johnnie (1944)
  • Dread Journey (1945)
  • Ride the Pink Horse (1946)
  • The Scarlet Imperial / Kiss for a Killer (1946)
  • In a Lonely Place (1947)
  • The Big Barbecue (1949)
  • The Candy Kid (1950)
  • The Davidian Report / The Body on the Bench (1952)
  • The Expendable Man (1963)
  • Erle Stanley Gardner: The Case of the Real Perry Mason (1978)
  • Dark Certainty (poetry collection, 1931)

Adaptations

  • The Fallen Sparrow (film adaptation, 1943)
  • Ride the Pink Horse (film adaptation, 1947) / TV remake 'The Hanged Man' (1964)
  • In a Lonely Place (film adaptation, 1950)
  • The Candy Kid (TV episode adaptation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
HardboiledNoirSuspense-driven prosePsychological realism
Recurring Motifs
urban lonelinessmoral ambiguityfemale characters and vulnerabilitypresence of violence

Health

  • Stroke
    1993（死因に関連）
    Died in 1993 from complications following a stroke. Likely affected late-life activity.

Legacy

Dorothy B. Hughes was a pioneering female crime writer of the 1940s–50s, known for sharp portrayals of urban unease and moral ambiguity in hardboiled/noir prose. Several novels were adapted to film, and she is regarded as an important figure in mystery literature, receiving the MWA Grand Master award.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of America

Archives

  • Library of Congress — bibliographic records and holdings

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptations of 'The Fallen Sparrow', 'In a Lonely Place', and 'Ride the Pink Horse' contributed to her presence in popular culture.

Quotes

  • Her fiction "captures an unease under the skin of everyday life in a way that is all her own."
    Source: Walter Mosley — afterword to reissue of The Expendable Man (NYRB, 2012) (2012)

Trivia

  • Born Dorothy Belle Flanagan.
  • First published book was the 1931 poetry collection 'Dark Certainty', which won the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition.
  • Reviewed mysteries for newspapers from 1940 to 1979.
  • Three novels were adapted into feature films (The Fallen Sparrow, In a Lonely Place, Ride the Pink Horse).
  • Married Levi Allen Hughes Jr. in 1932; had three children.