Margot Bennett (19 January 1912 – 6 December 1980), born Margot Mitchell, was a Scottish-born screenwriter and author of crime and thriller novels.
Early life Margot Mitchell (sometimes called Margot Miller) was born in Lenzie, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. She was educated in Scotland and in Australia.
Career Before publishing fiction, Bennett worked as an advertising copywriter in Sydney and London. During the Spanish Civil War, she worked as a nurse, translator, and broadcaster for the Spanish Medical Aid. During her war nursing work, she broke her arm when a truck overturned, and she was shot in both legs.
Bennett was a regular writer for Lilliput magazine between 1943 and 1950. She is best remembered for her crime fiction from the 1940s and 1950s, though she also wrote contemporary literature, thrillers and a science guide, The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Atomic Radiation (1964). She wrote two science fiction novels, one of which was The Long Way Back, about African colonization of Britain following a nuclear holocaust. Her novel The Man Who Didn't Fly was nominated for a Gold Dagger Award. In a 1962 review essay in The New York Times, Anthony Boucher counted Bennett among "the best Englishwomen in the suspense field," alongside Charity Blackstock, Nina Bawden, and Joan Fleming.
Bennett wrote scripts for television, including contributions to Maigret, Emergency-Ward 10, Market in Honey Lane and Quick Before They Catch Us. In early 1964, she was the second female writer to be associated with Doctor Who, though the historical story she was scheduled to contribute never went ahead. Bennett also wrote the screenplays for her books which were adapted for the screen.
Personal life During the Spanish Civil War, Margot Miller met Richard Lawrence Bennett (1912–1999), an English journalist and writer who had served in the Spanish Republican Army since 1936. During the conflict, he had written broadcasts for Radio Catalan. They were married in 1937 in Barcelona, the ceremony being conducted by a Republican soldier. They had three sons and a daughter. One of her sons, Rob, died from muscular dystrophy.
Bennett was a supporter of left-wing politics, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Bennett lived in London in her later life. She died there in 1980, aged 68 years.
Bibliography Novels
TitleDateGenrePublisherISBNNotesTime to Change Hats1945CrimeNicholsonFeatures John DaviesAway Went the Little Fish1946CrimeNicholsonFeatures John DaviesThe Golden Pebble1948ThrillerNicholsonNot published in the USAThe Widow of Bath1952CrimeEyre & SpottiswoodeAdapted into a TV serial in 19592021 British Library PublishingReissued.Farewell Crown and Goodbye King1952ThrillerEyre & SpottiswoodeThe Long Way Back1955Science FictionThe Bodley HeadThe Man Who Didn't Fly1955ThrillerEyre & SpottiswoodeShortlisted for Gold Dagger Award. Adapted into a TV episode by Kraft Theatre in 1958.2020 British Library PublishingReissued.Someone from the Past1958CrimeEyre & SpottiswoodeWon Gold Dagger AwardThat Summer's Earthquake1964Literary FictionEyre & SpottiswoodeNot published in the USThe Intelligent Woman's Guide to Atomic Radiation1964SciencePenguinThe Furious Masters1968Science FictionEyre & SpottiswoodePublished in Dutch in 1970
Short stories TitleDateGenrePublishedNotesAn Old Fashioned Poker for my Uncle's Head1946Science FictionLilliput, issue #110Reprinted 1954 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, issue #36)No Bath for the Browns1945ThrillerLilliput, issue #101Reprinted 1965 in Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories Not for the Nervous
Television Projects Contributed To SeriesNo. of episodesBroadcast Date(s)NotesLondon Playhouse1 (anthology)1956Episode: The Sun Divorce. Believed to be lostThe Man who Didn't Fly1 (anthology)1958Episode of Kraft Theatre. Based on her own novelEmergency-Ward 10151958–1959The Widow of Bath61959Based on her own novel. All episodes lostThe Third Man21959They Met in a City1 (anthology)1961Episode: The Spanish WaiterSuspense1 (anthology)1962Episode: Killer in the BandMaigret71960–1962The Flying Swan11965The Big Spender51966All episodes lostQuick Before They Catch Us41966Serial: The Tungsten Ring. All episodes lostMarket in Honey Lane71968
Screenplays The Man Who Liked Funerals (1959) The Crowning Touch (1959)
References
External links Obituary, The Times, 6 December 1980