Francis Durbridge

Francis Durbridge was a British playwright and novelist who created Paul Temple, one of the most popular fictional detectives in British broadcasting history. Born in Hull in 1912, he wrote the first Paul Temple serial for BBC radio in 1938, and the character appeared across radio, television, film, and novels for decades. A Case for Paul Temple is one of the classic adventures of the gentleman detective and his wife Steve, solving crimes with urbane sophistication and sharp wit. The Paul Temple radio serials were among the most popular programmes in BBC history. Durbridge died in 1998. His audiobooks and books offer listeners and readers classic British detective fiction from the golden age of radio — suave, witty mysteries that defined a genre.