Victor Canning
From Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
- born: 16/Jun/1911 (Plymouth, Devon, England, UK)
- died: 21/Feb/1986 (Cirencester, England, UK)
Biography
Victor Canning was a prolific British author of spy thrillers and adventure novels, plus several children's books and historical novels. He is best known for four novels about a fictional private eye named Rex Carver whose adventures tended to become mixed up with secret agents and undercover departments.
He began writing comic novels in 1934, basing three of them on the character of Mr Finchley, a middle-aged clerk. He served with the Artillery in North Africa and Italy from 1940 to 1946, and resumed his writing career in 1947 with "The Chasm". He had written many books over a 25-year period before his 1972 novel "The Rainbird Pattern" won nominations in both England and the United States as one of the best mystery novels of the year and went on to be filmed by Alfred Hitchcock under the title "Family Plot". It was a far darker and more ironic book than any of his previous efforts and it earned him a high critical reputation that stayed with him for the rest of his career.
Filmography
Adaptations by Hitchcock...
- Family Plot (1976) - original novel ("The Rainbird Pattern")
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Disappearing Trick (06/Apr/1958) - original story
Other adaptations of note...
- Golden Salamander (1950) - original novel
- Masquerade (1965) - original novel ("Castle Minerva")