Joanna Cannan
Joanna Cannan was an English author born in 1898 in Oxford, known for her contributions to literature through both her novels and short stories. Coming from a literary family, her father was a professor and dean at Trinity College, fostering an environment rich in literary connections. Cannan began her writing career in the 1920s, publishing in prominent periodicals and exploring themes influenced by the aftermath of World War I and the societal challenges of the Great Depression. She gained particular recognition for her young adult "pony books," starting with *A Pony for Jean* in 1936, which emphasized the joys of pony care and riding, and inspired her daughters to continue writing in that genre.
In addition to her work for younger audiences, Cannan ventured into mystery writing, introducing notable characters such as Scotland Yard Inspector Guy Northeast and Inspector Ronald Price. Her novel *Murder Included* marked a successful return to the mystery genre in 1950. Throughout her career, Cannan published a total of thirty-eight books, blending juvenile and adult fiction with elements of crime and mystery. She passed away on April 22, 1961, after a prolonged illness, leaving behind a diverse literary legacy.
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Subject Terms
Joanna Cannan
Writer
- Born: May 27, 1896
- Birthplace: Oxford, England
- Died: April 22, 1961
- Place of death: Dorset, England
Biography
Joanna Maxwell Cannan was born 1898 in Oxford, England. She had many connections to authors: Her father Charles was a professor at Oxford and dean of Trinity College who became a secretary at Oxford University Press, in which capacity he invited poets and publishers to his home. Joanna’s sister was also married to a printer at Oxford University Press, and another sister, May Wederburn Cannan, was a World War I poet. Additionally, all four of Joanna’s children—Josephine, Diana, Christine and Denis—became writers. Additionally, fellow mystery writer Georgette Heyer (1902-1974) was a childhood friend (and dedicated her 1923 novel, Instead of the Thorn, to Joanna).
In the early 1920’s, Cannan married, becoming Joanna Maxwell Cannan Pullein-Thompson, and shortly thereafter gave birth to the first of her children. She began writing as Joanna Cannan in the same decade, and published short stories in such periodicals as The Red Magazine and Good Housekeeping. Her early novels dealt with the effects of World War I and living conditions in England during the Great Depression, focusing upon social customs of the times and upon how people behave in the midst of difficulties; these books often contained elements of crime. In 1936, she wrote A Pony for Jean, the first and best of nine “pony books” published through 1957—works primarily for young girls about learning to ride, owning, or caring for ponies (not horses). Her three daughters later carried on the tradition of writing for this specialized genre, individually and collectively producing dozens of pony books; Josephine Pullein-Thompson has also published several crime novels.
At the outbreak of World War II, Cannan added mystery writing to her repertoire with the publication in 1939 of They Rang Up the Police, which featured her best-known creation, Scotland Yard Inspector Guy Northeast. He reappeared the following year in Death at the Dog. After the second mystery, Joanna Cannan returned to juvenile and fiction in other genres exclusively for the next decade.
In 1950, Joanna Cannan revisited the mystery genre with the introduction of the somewhat vulgar, unlikable Inspector Ronald Price in her well-received novel Murder Included. Price would subsequently appear in three other series entries, one of which, The Body in the Beck (1952), was selected by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their A Catalogue of Crime, 1900-1975 as a classic. After publishing a total of thirty-eight books—including twelve mystery/detective novels featuring series characters Guy Northeast or Inspector Ronald Price, seventeen other adult novels, and nine juvenile works—Joanna Cannan Pullein-Thompson succumbed on April 22, 1961, after a long bout with tuberculosis.