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Mignon G. Eberhart

ミグノン・ジー・エバーハート

Mignon G. Eberhart

Pen Names: Mignonette Good（Birth name / used in youth）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1899-07-06 （Lincoln, Nebraska）
Died
1996-10-08 （Greenwich, Connecticut） age 97
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
Author, Mystery novelist
Active Years
1920-1988
Affiliations
Mystery Writers of America
Memberships
Mystery Writers of America
Influenced By
Mary Roberts Rinehart, Anna Katharine Green, Agatha Christie

Education

Nebraska Wesleyan University
Period: 1917-1920
Country: United States
Attended 1917–1920; did not complete degree

Awards

Scotland Yard Prize ($5,000)
1931
Work: While the Patient Slept
Organization: Scotland Yard Prize organizers (details unclear)
Result: 受賞
Grand Master Award
1971
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Agatha Award: Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement
1994
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Organization: Malice Domestic / Agatha Awards
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Patient in Room 18

1929 Mystery / Romantic suspense

An early detective novel featuring nurse Sarah Keate; a hospital-based mystery with closed-room elements.

female protagonisthospital settingromantic suspense
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Patient in Room 18 (film) (1938)

While the Patient Slept

1930 Mystery / Romantic suspense

One of the Sarah Keate novels; combines intricate plotting with romantic elements. Winner of the Scotland Yard Prize.

closed-room mystery elementsfemale detectiveromance
Adaptations
  • [Film] While the Patient Slept (film) (1935)

The White Cockatoo

1933 Mystery

A suspense novel set in an exotic mansion; wealthy characters and secrets drive the plot.

exotic localeupper-class intriguessuspense
Adaptations
  • [Film] The White Cockatoo (film) (1935)

The Dark Garden

1933 Mystery

Also known as 'Death in the Fog'; a moody romantic suspense novel.

foggy/ominous settingssecrets of the pastromance and danger

Hasty Wedding

1938 Mystery

A novel about marriage-related intrigue and murder; adapted into the film Three's a Crowd.

marriage and secretsinterpersonal intriguesuspense
Adaptations
  • [Film] Three's a Crowd (film) (1945)

Bibliography

  • The Patient in Room 18 (1929)
  • While the Patient Slept (1930)
  • The Mystery of Hunting's End (1930)
  • From This Dark Stairway (1931)
  • Murder by an Aristocrat (1932)
  • Wolf in Man's Clothing (1942)
  • Man Missing (1954)
  • The White Cockatoo (1933)
  • The Dark Garden (1933)
  • The Cases of Susan Dare (1934)
  • The House on the Roof (1935)
  • Fair Warning (1936)
  • Danger in the Dark (1937)
  • The Glass Slipper (1938)
  • Hasty Wedding (1938)
  • The Hangman's Whip (1940)
  • Speak No Evil (1941)
  • With This Ring (1941)
  • The Man Next Door (1943)
  • Escape the Night (1944)
  • Five Passengers from Lisbon (1946)
  • The White Dress (1946)
  • Hunt With the Hounds (1950)
  • Never Look Back (1951)
  • Unknown Quantity (1953)
  • Postmark Murder (1955)
  • Another Man's Murder (1957)
  • Melora (1959)
  • Jury of One (1960)
  • The Cup, the Blade or the Gun (1961)
  • Enemy in the House (1962)
  • Run Scared (1963)
  • Call After Midnight (1964)
  • R.S.V.P. Murder (1965)
  • Witness at Large (1966)
  • Woman on the Roof (1967)
  • Message from Hong Kong (1969)
  • El Rancho Rio (1970)
  • Two Little Rich Girls (1971)
  • Murder in Waiting (1973)
  • Danger Money (1974)
  • Nine O'Clock Tide (1975)
  • Family Fortune (1976)
  • Bayou Road (1979)
  • Casa Madrone (1980)
  • Family Affair (1981)
  • Next of Kin (1982)
  • The Patient in Cabin C (1983)
  • Alpine Condo Crossfire (1984)
  • A Fighting Chance (1986)
  • Three Days for Emeralds (1988)

Adaptations

  • While the Patient Slept (film, 1935)
  • The White Cockatoo (film, 1935)
  • The Patient in Room 18 (film, 1938)
  • Mystery House (film, based on The Mystery of Hunting's End, 1938)
  • Three's a Crowd (film, based on Hasty Wedding, 1945)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Romantic-suspense oriented, spare but almost lyrical proseFocus on female protagonistsCharacter-driven plots with believable motivations
Recurring Motifs
female sleuths (often nurses)wealthy houses and exotic settingssecrets of the past and romance

Legacy

One of the leading American female mystery writers of the 20th century. Praised for a long career spanning the 1920s–1980s and for shaping the romantic-suspense subgenre. A Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and an influence on subsequent women writers.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of America (MWA)

In Popular Culture

  • Multiple film adaptations in the 1930s–1940s, contributing to popular culture

Quotes

  • Her writing is spare but almost lyrical, and her characters always have genuine and believable motives.
    Source: Critical commentary (secondary source)

Trivia

  • Published 59 novels in her lifetime (last published 1988).
  • Introduced Sarah Keate in The Patient in Room 18 (1929).
  • Won the Scotland Yard Prize ($5,000) in 1931 for While the Patient Slept.
  • Received the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award in 1971 and a Malice Domestic lifetime achievement (Agatha) award in 1994.
  • Died in Greenwich in 1996 and is buried at Long Island National Cemetery beside her husband Alanson Eberhart.