Daly, Elizabeth

Elizabeth Daly was an American author and theatre director known for a series of mystery novels that are still being published in the United States where they are considered classics within the genre. Elizabeth Daly was born in New York to Joseph Francis Daly, a Supreme Court judge. She was the niece of the celebrated playwright and theatre director Augustin Daly. The latter introduced her to drama and she was fascinated by riddles, puzzles and mysteries as well as English literature even as a child. Jane Austen and Wilkie Collins were among her favourite authors. Not surprisingly, this developed into a love for English whodunits. She admired Agatha Christie, who inspired her own mystery novels written in the classical English style. Agatha Christie named her as her favourite American mystery writer.