Nigel Fitzgerald

Irish crime writer Nigel Fitzgerald (1906-1981) was born at Charleville, County Cork and read for the bar at Trinity College, Dublin, but left school to become a stage actor. He starred in detective films and served as president of the Irish Actor’s Equity Association for a time. During the Second World War he served in the British army as an artillery officer in Africa and Italy.

He published his first novel in 1953, a mystery, when he was 47. He continued writing until 1967, eventually releasing a dozen mysteries, all published by Collins. Only half of them were also released in the United States. His series characters were Inspector (later Superintendent) Duffy and Alan Russell, an actor-manager. Sometimes both appeared in the same book.