Joseph Hansen (writer)

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Joseph Hansen
Born(1923-07-19)July 19, 1923
Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S.
DiedNovember 24, 2004(2004-11-24) (aged 81)
Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Pen name
  • James Colton
  • Rose Brock
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime fiction
Years active1952-2004
Notable worksFadeout (1970)
Notable awardsLambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction
Spouse
Jane Bancroft
​
​
(m. 1943; died 1994)​
Children1

Joseph Hansen (July 19, 1923 – November 24, 2004) was an American

crime writer and poet
, best known for a series of novels featuring private eye Dave Brandstetter.

Life and works

Hansen was born on July 19, 1923, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota; later, the family moved to Altadena, California, where a sister lived.[2]

Hansen had begun writing at the age of nine; his first published work, a poem, appeared in

Gay Pride Parade in Hollywood.[2]

In 1970, Hansen published

ISBN 0670849421). In 1993, Hansen won another Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction
for Living Upstairs (1993).

In addition to crime novels, Hansen wrote the more mainstream novel A Smile In His Lifetime (1981), a non-genre novel about a married gay man who achieves fame, divorces his wife, and heads into a string of homosexual relationships both good and bad. Another mainstream novel Job's Year, was published in 1983. He also wrote two suspense novels in the early 1980s, and two

gothic novels in the 1970s under the pseudonym "Rose Brock".[2]

Personal life

Hansen was married to artist Jane Bancroft, a lesbian, from 1943 to her death in 1994. He said their relationship was that of "a gay man and a woman who happened to love each other." They were married for 51 years. Bancroft was an artist, scholar and teacher. She was born in Boston on February 4, 1917, and grew up in El Paso. She was an animal lover and rescued and sheltered strays. She died on September 9, 1994, following a stroke.[4] Following her death, Joseph Hansen wrote the poem The Dark/The Diary (In memoriam: J.B.H., 1917-1994).[5] The couple had one daughter, Barbara, who later transitioned and changed her name to Daniel James Hansen.[6][1] According to a friend quoted in an obituary, Hansen also had two long-term male lovers.

Hansen disliked the term "gay" and always described himself as "homosexual".[2]

Hansen died from heart failure in 2004 at his home in Laguna Beach, California.[1][2]

Bibliography

  • One Foot in the Boat (poetry) (1977) (Momentum Press)
  • The Dog and Other Stories (1979) (Momentum Press)
  • Backtrack (1982) (Foul Play Press)
  • Pretty Boy Dead (1984) (Gay Sunshine Press)
  • Brandstetter & Others: Five Fictions (1984) (Foul Play Press)
  • A Smile in his Lifetime (1985) (Plume)
  • Steps Going Down (1985) (Foul Play Press) (1986) (Arlington)
  • Bohannon's Book: Five Mysteries (1988) (Foul Play Press)
  • Bohannon's Country (1993) (Viking Penguin)
  • Living Upstairs (1994) (Plume)
  • Jack of Hearts (1995) (Dutton)
  • A Few Doors West of Hope : The Life and Times of Dauntless Don Slater (1998) (Homosexual Information Center)
  • Blood, Snow, & Classic Cars: Mystery Stories (2001) (Leyland Publications)
  • Bohannon's Women (2003) (Five Star)

Dave Brandstetter mysteries

  • Fadeout (1970) (Harper and Row)
  • Death Claims (1973) (Harper and Row) (1973) (Harrap)
  • Troublemaker (1975) (Harper and Row)
  • The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of (1978) (Holt, Rinehart) (1978) (Faber)
  • Skinflick (1979) (Holt, Rinehart)
  • Gravedigger (1982) (Holt, Rinehart)
  • Nightwork (1984) (Holt, Rinehart)
  • Brandstetter & Others: Five Fictions (1984) (Norton)
  • The Little Dog Laughed (1986) (Holt, Rinehart)
  • Early Graves (1987) (Mysterious Press)
  • Obedience (1988) (Mysterious Press)
  • The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning (1990) (Viking Penguin)
  • A Country of Old Men (1991) (Viking Penguin)
  • The Complete Brandstetter: Twelve Novels (No Exit Press, 2007)
    ISBN 978-1-84243-168-9

As Rose Brock

  • Longleaf (1974) (Harrap)
  • Tarn House (1975) (Harrap)

As James Colton

  • Strange Marriage (1965) (Argyle) (1966) (Paperback Library)
  • Lost on Twilight Road (1966) (National Library Books)
  • The Corrupter and other stories (1968) (Greenleaf)
  • Known Homosexual (1968) (Brandon House)
  • Cocksure (1969) (Greenleaf Classics)
  • Hang-up (1969) (Brandon House)
  • Gard (1969) (Award Books)
  • The Outward Side (1971) (Traveller's Companion) (1995) (Hard Candy, Masquerade Books)
  • Todd (1995) (Hard Candy, Masquerade Books)

References

  1. ^ a b c Bernstein, Adam (December 7, 2004). "Joseph Hansen; Created Gay Detective (obituary)". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e Reed, Christopher (December 9, 2004). "Joseph Hansen". The Guardian. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Newton Baird, "Hansen, Joseph" in Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers, edited by James Vinson and D.L. Kirkpatrick. St. James Press, 1985.
    ISBN 0-312-82418-1
    (pp. 419-421).
  4. ^ "16 Sep 1994, Fri • Other Editions • Page 160". The Los Angeles Times: 160. 1994. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Joseph Hansen Papers: Finding Aid". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  6. ISBN 9781476710365
    . Retrieved 24 January 2018.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Hansen_(writer)&oldid=1216394550"