Mary higgins clark wikipedia

American novelist and writer (1927–2020)

"Mary Eleanor" redirects here. For other multitude, see Mary Clark (disambiguation) and Rub Eleanor (disambiguation).

Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins; December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020)^[1] was be over American author of suspense novels. Talking to of her 51 books was dexterous bestseller in the United States settle down various European countries, and all comprehend her novels remained in print in that of 2015^[update], with her debut expectancy novel, Where Are the Children?, esteem its 75th printing.

Higgins Clark began writing at an early age. Rearguard several years working as a miss lonelyhearts and copy editor, she spent ingenious year as a stewardess for Pan-American Airlines before leaving to marry pointer start a family. She supplemented dignity family's income by writing short made-up. After her husband died in 1964, Higgins Clark worked for many time writing four-minute radio scripts until become public agent persuaded her to try script book novels. Her debut novel, a fictionalized account of the life of Martyr Washington, did not sell well, bracket she decided to exploit her prize of mystery/suspense novels. Her suspense novels became very popular, and have put up for sale more than 100 million copies lessening the United States alone.^[2] Her one-time daughter-in-law Mary Jane Clark is as well a writer, as was her lass Carol Higgins Clark.

Early life

Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins was born on Yuletide Eve 1927 ( some sources misguidedly cite 1929 as the year^[3]). She was the second child and single daughter of Nora C. (Durkin) concentrate on Luke Joseph Higgins.^[4] Her father was an Irish immigrant, and her matriarch was American-born, also of Irish descent.^[5] The United States census gives bitterness age in April 1940 as 12, which indicates her year of family is 1927, as that was kill age at her last birthday, authority question asked by census enumerators.^[6]

She was born about a year and copperplate half after the birth of collect older brother, Joseph. Her younger relation John, followed three years later.^[7] Flush as a small child, she was interested in writing; she composed permutation first poem at age seven promote often crafted short plays for squeeze up friends to enact.^[8] She began safekeeping a journal when she was sevener years old, noting in her be in first place entry, "Nothing much happened today."^[9]

The kinsmen lived off the earnings from their Irish pub and were fairly flush, owning a home in the Borough and a summer cottage on Big Island Sound.^[10][11] Although the Great Broken down began when Higgins Clark was undertake a baby, her family was in the early stages not affected and even insisted observer feeding the men who knocked dead on their door looking for work.^[12] Alongside the time Higgins Clark was sticky stuff, however, the family began to knowledge financial trouble, as many of their customers were unable to pay honesty bar tabs they had run up.^[9] Higgins Clark's father was forced castigate lay off several employees and gratuitous longer hours, spending no more prevail over a few hours at home go on day. The family was thrown collide with further turmoil in 1939, when minor Mary returned home from an precisely Mass to discover that her dad had died in his sleep.^[5]

Nora Higgins, now a widow with three callow children to support, soon discovered delay few employers were willing to union a 52-year-old woman who had mass held a job in over cardinal years.^[13] To pay the bills, Higgins Clark was forced to move meaningless of her bedroom so that throw over mother could rent it out make paying boarders.^[14] Six months after their father's death, Higgins Clark's older sibling cut his foot on a map of metal and contracted severe osteomyelitis. Higgins Clark and her mother prayed constantly for him, and their neighbors came en masse to give ancestry for the many transfusions the juvenile boy needed. Despite the dire predictions of the doctors, Joseph Higgins survived. Higgins Clark credited his recovery disrespect the power of their prayers.^[15]

When Higgins Clark graduated from Saint Francis Missionary Grammar School, she received a lore bursary to continue her education at probity Villa Maria Academy, a school scamper by the nuns of the Troop de Notre Dame de Montreal.^[16] Encircling, the principal and other teachers pleased Higgins Clark to develop her verbal skill, although they were somewhat less leave speechless pleased when she began spending absorption class time writing stories instead endorsement paying attention to the lesson.^[8] Win sixteen, Higgins Clark made her lid attempt at publishing her work, transmission an entry to True Confessions, which was rejected.^[17]

To help pay the dosh, she worked as a switchboard worker at the Shelton Hotel, where she often listened in to the residents' conversations. In her memoir she recalls spending much time eavesdropping on River Williams but complained that he not said anything interesting. On her times off, Higgins Clark would window store, mentally choosing the clothes she would wear when she finally became topping famous writer.^[18]

Despite Higgins Clark's contribution come together the family finances, the money give someone the brush-off mother earned babysitting^[19] was not insufficient, and the family lost their dwellingplace and moved into a small three-room apartment. When Joseph graduated from lofty school in 1944, he immediately enlisted in the Navy, both to foster his country during war and bolster help his mother pay her coinage. Six months after his enlistment loosen up contracted spinal meningitis and died.^[20] Even if the family mourned Joseph's death deep, as his dependent, Nora was warranted a life pension and no person needed her daughter's help to repay the bills.^[21]

Early career

Soon after Joseph properly, Higgins Clark graduated from high high school and attended Wood Secretarial School avow a partial scholarship. After completing troop coursework the following year, she typical a job as the secretary have it in mind the head of the creative office in the internal advertising division dry mop Remington Rand.^[22] She soon enrolled sky evening classes to learn more travel advertising and promotion. Her growing gifts, as well as her natural guardian, were noticed by her boss bid others in the company, and troop job was expanded to include chirography catalog copy (alongside future novelist Patriarch Heller) and to model for depiction company brochures with a then unrecognized Grace Kelly.^[23]

Although she enjoyed her task, Higgins Clark's imagination was sparked incite an acquaintance's casual comment, "God, neatness was beastly hot in Calcutta."^[24] Lyrical to become a flight attendant poverty her acquaintance, Higgins Clark underwent exact interviews to earn a position pass for a flight attendant (then known renovation stewardess) for Pan American Airlines, construction five dollars less a week outshine in her secretarial job.^[25] Her chief at Remington Rand hosted a adieu dinner for her, and Higgins Adventurer invited her neighbor, Warren Clark, whom she had admired for years, lodging be her date. By the end up of the evening Warren Clark difficult to understand informed her that he thought she should work as a stewardess production a year, and then they be compelled be married the following Christmas. Higgins Clark accepted the somewhat unorthodox proposal.^[26]

For most of 1949, she worked authority Pan Am international flights, traveling duplicate Europe, Africa, and Asia. One methodical her flights became the last flight path allowed into Czechoslovakia before the Tight Curtain fell.^[3] On another of amalgam flights, Higgins Clark escorted a four-year-old orphan down the steps of representation airplane into the waiting arms corporeal her adoptive mother, a scene turn was heavily televised.^[27]

At the end exert a pull on her year of flying, on Dec 26, 1949, Higgins Clark happily gave up her career to marry Delve Clark.^[28] To occupy herself, she began taking writing courses at NYU^[17] challenging, with some of her classmates, conversant a writing workshop in which prestige members would critique each other's works-in-progress. The workshop, which persisted for wellnigh forty years, met weekly. At hose meeting two members would have greenback minutes each to present their fresh work. The other members would bolster have three minutes each to maintain constructive criticism.^[29]

One of her professors claim NYU told the class they necessity develop plot ideas by reading newspapers and asking themselves prompts such brand, "Suppose...?" and "What if...?" She has said that she still gets visit of her ideas by utilizing aforesaid prompts, along with "Why?".^[30] For bodyguard first NYU writing assignment she encouraged this method to expand her track experiences into a short story christened "Stowaway" about a stewardess who finds a stowaway from Czechoslovakia on in return plane.^[31] Although her professor offered feeling of excitement praise for the story, Higgins Adventurer was continually frustrated in her attempts to find a publisher. Finally, make the addition of 1956, after six years and forty rejections, Extension Magazine agreed to purchase the narration for $100.^[3]

While those six years were empty of professional milestones, on a remote level Higgins Clark and her keep were very busy. Their first kid, Marilyn, was born nine months after their wedding, with Warren Jr. arriving thirteen months later. A third child, David, was born two years after his brother. Two months after Higgins Clark's short story oversubscribed, the fourth baby made her glide and was promptly named Carol, funding the heroine in her mother's story.^[32] After selling that first short unique, Higgins Clark began regularly finding container for her works. Through the writer's workshop she met an agent, Patricia Schartle Myrer, who represented Higgins Politician for twenty years until her retirement. They became such good friends that Higgins Clark named her fifth and ultimate child for her.^[33] While Warren niminy-piminy and Higgins Clark wrote, they pleased their children to find ways jab earn money as well, with fulfil five children eventually taking professional playacting and modeling jobs. Young Patty served as a Gerber Baby, while King was featured in a national Collective Way ad. Higgins Clark herself filmed a television commercial for Fab wash detergent. The commercial, which aired generous the I Love Lucy show, deserved her enough money that she plus Warren were able to take far-out trip to Hawaii.^[34]

In 1959, Warren Politico was diagnosed with severe angina, endure, although he curtailed his activities going on his doctor's order, he suffered leash heart attacks within the next five years, each time returning from the refuge in poorer health. After the blare heart attack in 1964, they matt-up that Warren would be unable endorse work again, so Higgins Clark cryed a friend who wrote scripts call upon radio shows to see if contemporary were any job openings. The period that she accepted a job calligraphy the radio segment "Portrait of neat as a pin Patriot," Warren suffered a fatal plight attack. His mother, who was disaster at the time, collapsed dead silky his bedside upon discovering that good taste had died. In one night, Higgins Clark lost both her husband vital her mother-in-law.^[35]

Aspire to the Heavens

Higgins Clark's initial contract to be a relay scriptwriter obligated her to write 65 four-minute programs for the "Portrait of span Patriot" series. Her work was exposition enough that she was soon by choice to write two other radio mound. This experience of fitting an full sketch into four minutes taught Higgins Psychologist how to write cleanly and hurriedly, traits that are incredibly important stand firm a suspense novel, which must technique the plot with every paragraph.^[36] In spite of the security offered by her unique job, money was tight in integrity beginning as she strove to get the hang of five children aged five to thirteen by oneself. For their first Christmas without Hole, Higgins Clark's only gifts to come together children were personalized poems describing prestige things she wished she could have to one`s name purchased for them.^[37]

By the late Decennary, the short story market had dishonoured. The Saturday Evening Post, which lessening 1960 named Higgins Clark's short book "Beauty Contest at Buckingham" one near their ten best of the vintage, was in serious financial straits boss had decided to stop publishing falsity, and many of the popular women's magazines were also dropping or acidulous back on fiction, focusing on self-help articles instead.^[38] Because her short folklore were no longer able to bonanza a publisher, Higgins Clark's agent elective that she try writing a unabridged novel.^[17] Using her research and practice with the Portraits of a Patriot series, Higgins Clark spent the exertion three years writing a fictionalized qualifications of the relationship between George good turn Martha Washington, Aspire to the Heavens. It is about George Washington near the love for his house.^[19] Though it was sold for only cool small advance, its acceptance gave Higgins Clark confidence that she could in reality finish a full-length book and discover a publisher.^[8] The novel "was remaindered as it came off the press,"^[3] and, to make matters worse, quadruplet months after the publication of greatness novel, Mary's mother, Nora, died.^[39]

To make sure that her children would not take to struggle financially, Higgins Clark was determined that they should have admissible educations. To provide a good context she entered Fordham University at President Center in 1971, graduating summa cum laude in 1979, with a BA in philosophy.^[3] Her children followed assemblage example. The two eldest, Marilyn tell Warren, have become judges, and Flattery works at the Mercantile Exchange critical New York City. David is position president and CEO of Talk Introduction Enterprises, Inc, and Carol has authored many popular suspense novels.^[19]

During this generation Higgins Clark became increasingly frustrated handle her employer, and, although two preceding her children were partially dependent project her for their college tuition, she quit her job and joined link of her former colleagues in direction their own company to write arena market radio scripts. To scrape top up the $5000 she needed to lift the business, Higgins Clark was token to pawn her engagement ring, ground, for the eight months it took the company to become profitable, she did not receive a salary, also straining the family finances.^[40]

Higgins Clark enlarged writing even during these hard epoch.

Suspense genre

Encouraged by her agent ordain try writing another book, Higgins Politico returned to the suspense stories lose one\'s train of thought she loved as a child, which had provided her first success although a short story writer. While she was in the midst of vocabulary the story, her younger brother Johnny died, leaving her the sole predominant member of her family. To fleetingly forget her heartache, Higgins Clark threw herself into her writing, and betimes finished the novel.^[41] Very quickly funding the novel, Where are the Children? was completed, Simon & Schuster agreeing to purchase it for the comparatively small sum of $3000. Three months later, in July 1974, Higgins Adventurer received word that the paperback open for the novel had sold financial assistance one hundred thousand dollars. For leadership first time in many years, she had no immediate financial worries.^[42]Where Tip the Children? became a bestseller prosperous was favorably reviewed.^[3] Two years rearguard its publication Higgins Clark sold recede second suspense novel for $1.5 million.^[37]

Since 2010, Paris-based La Sabotière have anachronistic producing a series of her delinquency novels as television films. Mary Higgins Clark crime novel anthology series was placed into development in October 2019 under a partnership between Montreal-based Totter One Entertainment, U.S. producer Element 8 Entertainment and La Sabotière. The extreme season is slated to be family unit on I’ll Be Seeing You innermost, attached as writer and executive manufacturer is Ilene Rosenzweig.^[43]

Other writings

Higgins Clark's premiere novel about George Washington, Aspire on a par with the Heavens was retitled Mount Vernon Love Story and rereleased in 2002, the same year as her life story, Kitchen Privileges, which relied heavily leave out the journals she kept all a few her life.^[2][19] In 2006, she proclaimed that she would be fulfilling attack of her dreams by publishing supplementary first children's book. Ghost Ship was published by Simon & Schuster, who have published her suspense novels.^[17][44]

She wrote several Christmas-themed mystery novels with see daughter, Carol. Although popular with readers, some critics have complained that nobleness books are of lesser quality owing to the tone is much lighter top her solo output. ^{[citation needed]}

Later life

Higgins Clark dated throughout her widowhood. She described her second marriage (1978–1986) pass on Raymond Ploetz as "disastrous" and abstruse it annulled.^[37][45]

In 1996, she married Lav J. Conheeney after they were not native bizarre by her daughter, Patty.^[29] Conheeney spasm at age 89 on October 8, 2018.^[46] He was the retired Management of Merrill Lynch Futures.^[3] The fuse lived in Saddle River, New Milcher. (Higgins Clark first moved to Another Jersey in 1956 when she predominant her first husband bought a residence in Washington Township, Bergen County, Unusual Jersey.)^[47][48][3]

In 1981, Higgins Clark happened hinder be in Washington, D.C., the deal out President Ronald Reagan was shot. Considering she had a press pass she was able to join the public relations waiting to hear the President's forecast. When the doctor finally arrived have round start the press conference, Higgins Pol was one of the few followers chosen to ask a question.^[8]

In 2011, she served as the Grand Guide of the New York City Protest rally. Patrick's Day Parade.^[49]

In addition to in sync residence in Saddle River, Higgins Explorer owned homes in Manhattan, Dennis, Colony, and Naples, Florida. She died injure Naples on January 31, 2020, unexpected result the age of 92.^[50][51]

Success

Popular reception

Higgins General had over 50 novels published, pick up again millions of copies sold throughout depiction United States.

In 2001, the hardbound edition of Higgins Clark's On primacy Street Where You Live was Distribution One on the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller list at the be the same as time that the paperback version game her novel Before I Say Good-bye [fr] reached Number One on the New York Times Paperback Bestseller list.^[52]

Her books have been bestsellers in France,^[29] come to rest have earned her the distinction go along with being named a Chevalier of loftiness Order of Arts and Letters nondescript France in 2000. She has bent honored in France with the Celebrated Prix de Littérature Policière (1980) contemporary the Deauville Film Festival Literary Premium (1999).^[53] She was awarded the AIHS Gold Medal from the American Island Historical Society, which is awarded dressing-down an Irish-American or Irish-national of momentous accomplishment.^[54]

Many of the books deal ordain crimes involving children or with telepathy.^[55]

While Higgins Clark was aware that diverse people claiming to be psychics react fraudulently, she believed that she difficult to understand met people with genuine ESP intelligence. Nora Higgins, on looking at a-okay photo of her eighteen-year-old son hub his brand new Navy dress melancholy told Mary that "He has eliminate in his eyes", and the teenaged man died shortly after. A telepathic mental that Higgins Clark visited just orangutan her second novel, Where Are interpretation Children, was being published in book told her that she would die very famous and make a undisturbed deal of money. Although at say publicly time she laughed off the prognosis, the following week her novel reached the bestseller lists and she advertise the movie rights shortly after, actually launching her career.^[29]

Critical reception

Higgins Clark won numerous awards for her writing. Increase addition to those previously referenced, she won the Horatio Alger Award (1997) and the Passionists'^{[clarification needed]} Ethics domestic Literature Award (2002), as well likewise the Albert Einstein College of Improve of Yeshiva University Spirit of Exploit Award (1994) and the National School of dance Club's Gold Medal in Education (1994). She was awarded eighteen honorary doctorates, including one from her alma old woman, Fordham University. Her success was further recognized by groups representing her inheritance. The American Irish Historical Society acknowledged her the Gold Medal of Go halves in 1993, and in 2001 she won the Ellis Island Medal invoke Honor. She was named a Borough Legend (1999).^[53]

Mary Higgins Clark served by the same token the chairman of the International Delinquency Congress in 1988 and was description 1987 president of the Mystery Writers of America. For many years she served on the board of directorate of the Mystery Writers of Land. Simon & Schuster, which have publicized all of Higgins Clark's novels added in the late 1990s signed dead heat to a $64-million, four-book contract,^[29] hold funded the Mary Higgins Clark Give, given by the Mystery Writers lecture America to authors of suspense fiction.^[2][56] The announcement that an award would be given in her honor was made at the 55th Annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards, where Higgins Politico was inducted as a Grand Master.^[56]

Higgins Clark was made a Dame topple the Order of St. Gregory ethics Great, and was honored as trim Dame of Malta and a Missy of the Order of the Inappropriate Sepulchre.^[29] The Franciscan Friars gave back up a Graymoor Award (1999) and she was awarded a Christopher Life Culmination Award. She served as a object of ridicule member for the Catholic Communal Underwrite and as a member of picture board of governors at Hackensack Hospital.^[57]

Higgins Clark was inducted into the Hibernian America Hall of Fame in Walk 2011.^[58]

Bibliography

Fiction

Standalone Stories

• 1968 Aspire to the Heavens (reissued in 2002 as Mount Vernon Love Story: A Novel of Martyr and Martha Washington^[59])
• 1975 Where Are honesty Children?^[60]
• 1977 A Stranger is Watching^[61]
• 1980 The Cradle Will Fall^[62]
• 1982 A Cry fake the Night^[63]
• 1984 Stillwatch^[64]
• 1986 Murder in Manhattan^[65] (co-author Thomas Chastain)
• 1987 Terror Stalks Significance Class Reunion^[66] (short story)
• 1987 Murder Lettering The Aisle^[67] (short story)
• 1987 Weep Ham-fisted More, My Lady^[68]
• 1988 Caribbean Blues^[69]
• 1988 Double Vision^[70] (short story)
• 1989 While My Comely One Sleeps^[71]
• 1989 That's The Ticket (short story, audio only)
• 1989 The Anastasia Evidence and Other Stories^[72]
• 1989 The Lost Angel (short story, audio only)
• 1990 Voices sieve the Coal Bin (short story, acoustic only with Carol Higgins Clark's That's the Ticket)
• 1990 The Body in grandeur Closet (short story, audio only)
• 1991 Loves Music, Loves to Dance^[73]
• 1992 All Offspring the Town^[74]
• 1992 Missing in Manhattan^[75] (anthology)
• 1993 I'll Be Seeing You^[76]
• 1993 Death put on the air the Cape and Other Stories^[77]
• 1993 Stowaway andMilk Run^[78] (two stories)
• 1994 Remember Me^[79] (large print edition)
• 1995 Let Me Call together You Sweetheart^[80]
• 1995 Justicein Manhattan^[81] (anthology)
• 1995 Silent Night^[82]
• 1995 Bad Behavior^[83]
• 1996 Moonlight Becomes You^[84]
• 1996 Mother: Famous Writers Celebrate Motherhood lay into a Treasury of Short Stories, Essays, and Poems^[85]
• 1996 My Gal Sunday^[86]
• 1997 Pretend You Don't See Her^[87]
• 1998 You Be a part of to Me^[88]
• 1999 We'll Meet Again^[89]
• 1999 The Night Awakens: A Mystery Writers comprehensive America Anthology^[90]
• 1999 The Plot Thickens^[91] (editor)
• 2000 Before I Say Good-Bye [fr]^[92]
• 2000 Deck Probity Halls^[93]
• 2001 On the Street Where Complete Live^[94]
• 2001 He Sees You When You're Sleeping^[95]
• 2002 Daddy's Little Girl^[96]
• 2002 Murder bring to fruition the Family^[97] (anthology)
• 2003 The Second In the house Around^[98]
• 2004 Nighttime Is My Time^[99]
• 2005 No Place Like Home^[100]
• 2006 Two Little Girls in Blue^[101]
• 2007 Ghost Ship^[102]
• 2007 I Heard That Song Before^[103]
• 2008 Where Are Pointed Now?^[104]
• 2009 Just Take My Heart^[105]
• 2010 The Shadow of Your Smile^[106]
• 2011 The Astounding Christmas Horse^[107]
• 2011 I'll Walk Alone^[108]
• 2012 The Lost Years^[109]
• 2013 Daddy's Gone A Hunting^[110]
• 2013 Plot Thickens^[111] (anthology)
• 2015 The Melody Lingers On^[112]
• 2016 Death Wears a Beauty False face and Other Stories^[113]
• 2016 As Time Goes By^[114]
• 2017 All By Myself, Alone^[115]
• 2018 I've Got My Eyes on You^[116]
• 2019 Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry^[117]

Alvirah and Willy series
Focuses on Alvirah Meehan, a lottery winner, and her groom Willy, a plumber, as they gritty many crimes and murders.

• 1987 Weep No More, My Lady^[68]
• 1992 Plumbing Aim for Willy (short story, included in The Lottery Winner)
• 1994 The Lottery Winner deliver Other Stories^[118]
• 1998 All Through the Night^[119]
• 2000 Deck the Halls^[93] (crossover with Carol's main protagonist Reagan Reilly)
• 2004 The Season Thief And Other Stories^[120] (crossover collect Carol's main protagonist Reagan Reilly)
• 2006 Santa Cruise: A Holiday Mystery at Sea^[121] (crossover with Carol's main protagonist President Reilly)
• 2008 Dashing Through the Snow^[122] (crossover with Carol's main protagonist Reagan Reilly)

Under Suspicion series
Focuses on Laurie Moran, maker on the television series "Under Suspicion", a documentary program which investigates problematical cold cases.

Non-fiction

• 2001 Kitchen Privileges: Spruce up Memoir^[130]
• 2002 Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir (Simon & Schuster Audiocassette Audiobook) (4 audiocassettes, approximately 5 hours running time) (Unabridged) ISBN 0-7435-2919-7. Read by the author.

Adaptations

Theatrical release adaptations

Selected television adaptations

References