George Bellairs was the pseudonym of Harold Blundell, a Manchester bank manager with close connections to the University of Manchester. Bellairs was a prolific writer who published over 50 crime and mystery novels in his life, most of them featuring the Detective Inspector Littlejohn. Bellairs is often referred to as the 'English Simenon', as his detective stories combine wicked crimes and classic police procedurals, set in small British communities.
In 1941, Bellairs wrote his first mystery story during spare moments at his air raid warden’s post. Littlejohn on Leave (1941) introduced his series detective, who later became Superintendent Thomas Littlejohn. The Littlejohn stories are injected with humour, intelligence and compassion. Bellairs’ stories offer straightforward police investigations of dastardly crimes and appeal to fans of classic British detective novels. His books are strong in characters and small communities—set in the 1940s to 1970s—and are full of scandal and intrigue.
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