tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post9000936760782730170..comments2023-10-26T02:33:08.049-07:00Comments on Book Scribbles: Leslie Ford's Fall from GraceRalph E. Vaughanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06326668196800976578noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-25403342624978660422020-08-29T19:25:26.397-07:002020-08-29T19:25:26.397-07:00I just discovered Leslie Ford. With the corona ke...I just discovered Leslie Ford. With the corona keeping me more indoors, I've been rummaging through my large library discovering books I purchased second hand years ago. I find her mystery stories charming and am sorry that I may be limited to the three that I now have. I'm fascinated with the pre and post war period in Washington, DC that she recreates.I find her books psychologically sound; she understood people and what motivated them to act or to refrain from acting.The three books I read never left me dissatisfied and incredulous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-22021262137364695812019-04-25T00:49:08.589-07:002019-04-25T00:49:08.589-07:00You'll find The Philadelphia Murder Story on l...You'll find The Philadelphia Murder Story on line.. in the newspapers digitized for the Australian National Library. Here's the direct link. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145703933/12480662<br />I haven't had a chance to see if there are others there, too. Just4tattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14352611377323305720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-70121322607992808272017-11-19T10:29:06.634-08:002017-11-19T10:29:06.634-08:00I forgot to say that the book adapted was Washingt...I forgot to say that the book adapted was Washington Whispers Murder. Lynn Bari and Donald Woods also appeared in the film City of Chance in 1940, for us movie buffs./Bob GarvinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-84703427979137830172017-11-19T10:22:03.318-08:002017-11-19T10:22:03.318-08:00I have been a Leslie Ford fan since the 1960 when ...I have been a Leslie Ford fan since the 1960 when I was in the Army at Fort Knox. One of the libraries on post had both All for the Love of A Lady and Siren in the Night and I was hooked on Leslie Ford from then on. Have all her books except Sound of Footsteps which last time I looked is on sale on Amazon for over a hundred dollars. The only tv adaptation of one of her books took place in April 1958 on NBC Matinee Theatre with Lynn Bari as Grace Latham and Donald Woods as Colonel Primrose. I was at work and missed it(would someone had already invented VCR's) but I cant imagine better casting. Re-read these books all the time. All for the Love of a Lady my favorite. /Robert GarvinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-9218824202287273992017-10-08T16:32:18.695-07:002017-10-08T16:32:18.695-07:00As far as I know it was -- 1952. Here's a link...As far as I know it was -- 1952. Here's a link to Fantastic Fiction's Leslie Ford page:<br /><br />https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/leslie-ford/<br /><br />It's a good resource for tracking down series and pseudonyms. Thanks for stopping by the blog.Ralph E. Vaughanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06326668196800976578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-63963830763089631582017-10-08T15:50:47.230-07:002017-10-08T15:50:47.230-07:00Was "Washington Whispers Murder" the fin...Was "Washington Whispers Murder" the final book in the Grace Latham/Colonel Primrose adventures?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-2982540919232980492015-03-23T15:44:13.272-07:002015-03-23T15:44:13.272-07:00Difficult to find, and when you do, they tend to b...Difficult to find, and when you do, they tend to be pricey and/or in bad shape. I wish the copyright holder would either find some small publisher not afraid to publish such lovely stories, or make them available in Kindle.Ralph E. Vaughanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06326668196800976578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-50768867818976210052015-03-23T11:47:57.608-07:002015-03-23T11:47:57.608-07:00I am re reading again The Simple Way of Poison, an...I am re reading again The Simple Way of Poison, and wish I could locate more of these books. Anne Newlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14235652579723198911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-89327726136733248832015-03-05T09:19:49.489-08:002015-03-05T09:19:49.489-08:00According to Mary Gallagher who was Jackie Kennedy...According to Mary Gallagher who was Jackie Kennedy's White House secretary, Mrs. Kennedy's post-WH Georgetown house was in "The Simple Way of Poison." Trivia for those it interests.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03926160565295786357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-43872554562618479202015-03-05T09:17:04.858-08:002015-03-05T09:17:04.858-08:00I am another Leslie Ford fan and have collected th...I am another Leslie Ford fan and have collected them all--including her first book (The Death of an Old Man) which was published only in the UK and as far as I know is only in the library at Harvard in the US. Ratty paperbacks. Old book club editions. Yes, she was a product of her time and writes as she would not if she were alive today. So what? It was another world and another time. Note that times change, and read on. I really dislike self-righteousness.<br /><br />I am rereading "Gone with the Wind" and Leslie Ford wrote nothing that Margaret Mitchell didn't. GWTW has never been out of print. (Copyright now held half by a family member and half by the Roman Catholic Church.)<br /><br />I have had fun wandering around the Washington/Annapolis area where I live looking for her sites which are based on reality, but then changed. I have a candidate for Mrs. Latham's house on P Street. She lived in an 18th century house in Annapolis, Maryland. Also in London and the UK--last year I went looking for the imagined site of the Old Angel in Rye, England. Also found the house she and her husband lived in when she wrote her first book and where the landlady's husband was the inspiration for Mr. Pinkerton.<br /><br />Please note that she was Zenith Jones Brown, nee Jones not Brown which was her married name and the one she used. She also published a few books as Brenda Conrad and some non-mystery magazine stories as Zenith Brown.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03926160565295786357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-11036696838347503022013-09-27T11:13:00.022-07:002013-09-27T11:13:00.022-07:00I just bought The Honlulu Story first edition for ...I just bought The Honlulu Story first edition for $1 at a local estate sale. Can hardly wait to read it; dust cover gone but oh well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-65013097235858369332013-06-11T07:50:06.838-07:002013-06-11T07:50:06.838-07:00I never had any problem with her depiction of Blac...I never had any problem with her depiction of Blacks, or in the separate society they dwelt in at the time (a gentler society than Blacks have artificially constructed around themselves now), neither deprecating nor romanticizing, just showing them as good folk. Ironically, the only negative commentary I have ever read about her Black characters were written by guilt-ridden Whites. "Sic semper mundis."Ralph E. Vaughanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06326668196800976578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-36316903201140396372013-06-11T07:43:42.146-07:002013-06-11T07:43:42.146-07:00The book you're looking for is "The Town ...The book you're looking for is "The Town Cried Murder," which was one of Miss Ford's standalone mysteries. It was published in hardcover in 1939 by Charles Scribners Sons, then in paperback by Pocket Books and later by Popular Library. The story is narrated by Miss Lucy, a white woman living in one of the colonial houses restored by the "Restoration people." After a brief establishment of characters and place (Miss Ford excels at both), then we have a murder, and since this is at its heart an American Southern novel everyone has secrets, even Miss Lucy. Fortunately, as is often the case with once-popular authors now turned obscure by changing tastes (or, as in Miss Ford's case, a world gone wildly PC)copies abound in used book stores and on-line. If you do a Google search for the name of the book and author, you'll find several places carrying it at reasonable prices, as well as links to a few modern and period reviews. Hope this helps.Ralph E. Vaughanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06326668196800976578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-87128081248322801212013-06-10T20:28:28.983-07:002013-06-10T20:28:28.983-07:00I just acquired a modern mystery set in Williamsbu...I just acquired a modern mystery set in Williamsburg, Taffy Cannon's Guns and Roses, through paperbackswap.com. A review on the back mentions Ms Ford's work.<br /><br />By Margaret Maron: "Anyone who remembers Leslie Ford's mysteries set in Williamsburg just when Rockefeller money as beginning to buy up dilapidated Colonial properties will delight in ...."<br /><br />I checked stopyourekillingme and fantasticfiction, but did not see an indication of which these were. A Google search led to your site. I would assume the earlier ones with Grace Latham are the most likely. Do you have any info as to which these might be?<br /><br />I am a recent employee of Colonial Williamsburg, and am trying to read up on history and fiction in this area.<br /><br />Can anyone comment on this, here? Thank you.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-55766820943097016862013-05-15T13:12:01.100-07:002013-05-15T13:12:01.100-07:00All of Zenith Brown's novels -- whether writte...All of Zenith Brown's novels -- whether written as Leslie Ford, David Frome or Brenda Conrad -- had their copyrights properly renewed. They are protected by copyright until 95 years after their pub dates.Marcia Talleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02844552747312848730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-30892017077152120692013-02-03T13:17:25.524-08:002013-02-03T13:17:25.524-08:00I loved the Leslie Ford mysteries. I have a box of...I loved the Leslie Ford mysteries. I have a box of them in storage and will undoubtedly reread them again at some point. I always found her characterization of Blacks in her stories were fairly honest and sympathetic for the time, and as the mother of a biracial son I might have winced from time to time, but I was never offended. I've always enjoyed her books and I'm sure I will again, though my copies, too, are falling apart!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-13816721423542770162012-12-02T22:03:54.958-08:002012-12-02T22:03:54.958-08:00Some of her early books, those written before the ...Some of her early books, those written before the 1950s, might be in the public domain of no extension was filed. The publisher or her estate would know for sure. Here's a flowchart, though that might help you...<br /><br />http://www.sunsteinlaw.com/practices/copyright-portfolio-development/flowchart.htmRalph E. Vaughanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06326668196800976578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692638741373905099.post-36775039659003869142012-12-02T19:17:18.790-08:002012-12-02T19:17:18.790-08:00I love these books. I have a few in hardback but ...I love these books. I have a few in hardback but most are paperback and are falling apart. I'd like to volunteer to get them in the Gutenburg Project, but I don't know whether they are still covered by copyright. Do you know?Dorothy Smocknoreply@blogger.com