James McLevy
James McLevy (1796–1873) was a prominent detective in Edinburgh during the mid-19th century, and later an author of popular crime mysteries.
Biography
The son of a farmer, he was born in Ballymacnab in County Armagh, Ireland. McLevy later moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and became a builder's labourer before joining the police force in 1830.
In 1833 he became Edinburgh's first detective and handled 2,220 cases during his 30-year career, almost always securing a conviction. His fame was such that the UK Parliament asked for his advice on dealing with criminals and Mary Carpenter, the great social reformer, quoted him in her paper on dealing with convicts.
McLevy published a series of extremely popular books in the 1860s, including Curiosities of Crime in Edinburgh, Sliding Scale of Life and The Disclosures of a Detective. It is sometimes suggested that his writings helped to inspire Arthur Conan Doyle. McLevy sought
McLevy died in Edinburgh on 6 December 1873.[1]
In the late 1990s, the James McLevy Trophy, named after him, was donated by former Detective Superintendent John McGowan to recognise outstanding achievement in crime detection in Scotland.
In popular culture
Radio
As part of its
All episodes of each series are currently available on both CD and audio download.[2]
Books
David Ashton has continued McLevy's story in his 2006 book Shadow of the Serpent (
McLevy also appears in “The Way of All Flesh” by Ambrose Parry
Short stories
Two short stories, "No Rest for the Wicked"[5] and "A Child is Born",[6] were published in The Scotsman. Two more short stories, "End of the Line" and "The Painted Lady", are available for purchase in Amazon Kindle e-book format. All of these are also by David Ashton.
References
- ^ Entry for James McLevy in Statutory Register of Deaths for the District of Newington, City of Edinburgh (National Records of Scotland, ref. 685/6 765. See [1]; accessed 22 September 2017.
- ^ "David Ashton - Audiobooks / Mystery / Crime, Thrillers & Mystery: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ Mistress of the Just Land: A Jean Brash Mystery 1: David Ashton: Amazon.co.uk: Books. ASIN 1473632277.
- ^ The Lost Daughter: A Jean Brash Mystery 2: David Ashton: Amazon.co.uk: Books. ASIN 1473632293.
- ^ Hello (1 January 2010). "No rest for the wicked". The Scotsman. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "A child is born". www.scotsman.com.