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James Hadley Chase

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James Hadley Chase
Born	René Lodge Brabazon Raymond 24 December 1906 London, England
Died	6 February 1985 (aged 78) Switzerland
Pen name	James L. Docherty Raymond Marshall R. Raymond Ambrose Grant
Occupation	Novelist
Language	English
Nationality	British
Genre	Crime fiction, mystery, thriller, detective
Literary movement	Golden Age of Detective Fiction
Spouse	Sylvia Ray (1932–1985)
Children	1
Signature

James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985)^[1] was an English writer. While his birth name was René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, he was well known by his various pseudonyms, including James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Raymond Marshall, R. Raymond, and Ambrose Grant. He was one of the best known thriller writers of all time. The canon of Chase, comprising 90 titles, earned him a reputation as the king of thriller writers in Europe.^[2] He was also one of the internationally best-selling authors, and to date 50 of his books have been made into films.^[3]

Contents

• 
  1Personal background
  
• 
  2Professional background
  
  • 
    2.1Military service
    
  • 
    2.2Writing background
    
• 
  3Published works
  
  • 
    3.1James Hadley Chase
    
  • 
    3.2Raymond Marshall
    
  • 
    3.3Others
    
• 
  4See also
  
• 
  5References
  
• 
  6External links
  

Personal background[edit]

René Lodge Brabazon Raymond (James Hadley Chase) was born on 24 December 1906 in London, England. He was the son of Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon. His father intended his son to have a scientific career and had him educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent.

Chase left home at the age of 18. In 1932, Chase married Sylvia Ray, and they had a son. In 1956, they moved to France. In 1969, they moved to Switzerland, living a secluded life in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, on Lake Geneva. Chase eventually died there on 6 February 1985.

Professional background[edit]

Military service[edit]

During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. He edited the RAF journal with David Langdon and had several stories from it published after the war in the book Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology.^[4]