Francis M. Nevins

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Francis M. Nevins
BornFrancis Michael Nevins, Jr.
(1943-01-06) January 6, 1943 (age 81)
Bayonne, New Jersey
Pen nameFrances M. Nevins Jr.
OccupationAuthor, law professor
EducationSt. Peter's College, Bachelor of Arts
Alma materNYU School of Law, Juris Doctor
Notable awardsEdgar Awards
1975 Royal Bloodline: Ellery Queen, Author and Detective
1989 Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die

Francis Michael Nevins Jr.[1] (born January 6, 1943)[2] is an American mystery writer, attorney, and professor of law at Saint Louis University School of Law. He has also written a number of non-fiction works, including book-length studies of the life and works of Ellery Queen and of Cornell Woolrich, each of which earned the author an Edgar Award.

Early life and career[edit]

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and raised in Roselle Park,[3] Nevins earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1964 from Saint Peter's College (since renamed as Saint Peter's University) and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 1967. He passed the bar in New Jersey that same year,[2] and, as of 1970, was a staff attorney for Middlesex County Legal Services.[4] The following year, Nevins joined the faculty of the St. Louis University School of Law.[5]

1971 also saw the publication of Nevins' first book, Nightwebs: A Collection of Short Stories by Cornell Woolrich, a book "not to be missed," according to Chicago Tribune critic Alice Cromie, who also notes that "the appended comprehensive checklist of Woolrich works, compiled by Woolrich, with Harold Knott and William Thailing, is by itself worth the price of the book to suspense collectors."[6] Also featured is an introductory biographical essay by Nevins.[7]

In 1975, Nevins received a special Edgar Award for Royal Bloodline; Ellery Queen, Author and Detective, a study dealing with both the authors—Fred Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee—and the protagonist of the Ellery Queen novels.[8] In 1989, he was awarded the Edgar for best biographical or critical study for his book, Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die.[9]

Nevins' short story "After the Twelfth Chapter"—initially published in the September 1972 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine—was included in Allen Hubin's Best Detective Stories of the Year, 1973.[10] Hubin also included Nevins stories in the anthology's 1975 and 1979 editions.[11][12]

Partial bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

  • Publish and Perish (1975)
  • Corupt and Ensnare (1978)
  • The 120-Hour Clock (1986)
  • The Ninety Million Dollar Mouse (1987)
  • Into the Same River Twice (1996)
  • Beneficiaries' Requiem (2000)

Short stories[edit]

  • Night of Silken Snow and Other Stories (2001)
  • Leap Day and Other Stories (2003)
  • Night Forms 2010

Non-Fiction[edit]

  • Royal Bloodline; Ellery Queen, Author and Detective (1973)
  • Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die (1988)
  • The Films of Hopalong Cassidy (1988)
  • The Films of The Cisco Kid
  • Joseph H. Lewis (1998)
  • Paul Landres : A Director's Stories (2000)
  • The Anthony Boucher Chronicles: Reviews and Commentary 1942-47 (2009)
  • Cornucopia of Crime: Memories and Summations (2010)
  • Ellery Queen: The Art of Detection: The story of how two fractious cousins reshaped the modern detective novel (2013)
  • Judges & Justice and Lawyers & Law: Exploring the Legal Dimensions of Fiction and Film (2014)
  • They Called the Shots : Action Directors from Late Silents to the Late Sixties (2016)

Edited by[edit]

  • Nightwebs: A Collection of Short Stories by Cornell Woolrich (1971)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Crinklaw, Don (January 3, 1978). "Professor Plots Murders". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 2G.
  2. ^ a b Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Vol. 97. New Providence, NJ: Martindale-Hubbell. 1997. p. LS160B. ISBN 1561602671.
  3. ^ Morgan, Babette (October 22, 1989). "Man of Mystery". St Louis Post-Dispatch Magazine. p. 14.
  4. ^ "Young Mother Wins Right to Return Home". The Central New Jersey Home News. July 22, 1970. p. 11.
  5. ^ "St. Louis University Professor Wins Mystery Award". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 14, 1989. 5C. "The Mystery Writers of America has awarded one of its annual 'Edgar Awards' to Francis M. Nevins, a law professor at St. Louis University, for his book titled 'Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die.' [...] Nevins teaches courses at St. Louis University on law and the media, copyrights and estates. He has taught at the University since 1971."
  6. ^ Cromie, Alice (July 7, 1971). "Crime on My Hands". Chicago Tribune. p. 14.
  7. ^ Frazier, Jean (July 17, 1971). "The Book Scene". Lansing State Journal. p. 46.
  8. ^ White, Jean (April 26, 1975). "Amid Edgars and Ravens". The Washington Post. p. D7. ProQuest 146429578. Other special awards went to Howard Haycroft for his contribution to mystery criticism and scholarship and to Francis M. Nevins Jr. for 'Royal Bloodline,' a study of both the authors and the detective of the Ellery Queen novels.
  9. ^ Champlin, Charles (May 13, 1989). "Murder, They Write-A Gathering of the Genres". The Los Angeles Times. p. 1. ProQuest 280765905. The Edgar for best biographical or critical study went to Francis M. Nevins Jr. for his exhaustive book, 'Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die.'
  10. ^ Hubin, Allen J. (1973). Best Detective Stories of the Year, 1973: 27th Annual Collection. New York: Dutton. p. 243. ISBN 9780525064329.
  11. ^ Brown, Doris E. (August 10, 1975). "Books: A Welcome Summer Trio for the Whodunit Fan". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. B14.
  12. ^ Thomas, Phil (October 22, 1979). "Books: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Cats". The Magazine of the Sunday Register. p. 14.

External links[edit]

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