Hillary Waugh

Hillary Baldwin Waugh, a pioneering American mystery novelist, was born in 1920 in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1989, Waugh was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Waugh graduated in 1942 from Yale, majoring in art with a music minor. During his senior year at Yale, Waugh enlisted in the United States Navy Air Corps and, after graduation, received his aviator's wings. He served in Panama for two years, flying various types of aircraft. While in military service, Waugh turned his hand to creative writing, completing and publishing his first novel "Madam Will Not Dine Tonight" in 1947. He quickly published two more novels, but they were not very well received.

In 1949, as the result of reading a case book on true crime, Waugh decided to explore a realistic crime novel. With the cooperation of his fiancée, who was a student at Smith College, Waugh set his police procedural "Last Seen Wearing ..." in a fictional women's college. Published in 1952, the book was a significant success and is now considered a pioneering effort exploring relentless police work and attention to detail.

After "Last Seen Wearing...", Waugh went on to publish more than thirty-five additional detective novels, many aptly described as "hard boiled". Pseudonyms include "Elissa Grandower," "Harry Walker" and "H. Baldwin Taylor."

Waugh married Diana Taylor, and the couple has three children.

Publications