L. R. Wright
L. R. Wright, born Bunny Appleby on June 5, 1939, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was a notable Canadian author recognized primarily for her contributions to detective fiction. Before becoming an author, Wright had a diverse career, working as a journalist and editor for several Canadian newspapers, as well as briefly acting in her early years. She initially focused on themes related to women's experiences and relationships in her novels, with works like "Neighbours" garnering critical acclaim. Transitioning to mystery writing, her first detective novel, "The Suspect," made history by earning her the Edgar Award, making her the first Canadian to receive this honor.
Wright's detective series often features Royal Canadian Mounted Police staff sergeant Karl Alberg, whose personal life intertwines with the investigations he undertakes. Set against the backdrop of Sechelt, British Columbia, these novels explore not only crime but also complex interpersonal relationships. She later introduced a spinoff series with policewoman Edwina "Eddie" Henderson as a detective. Throughout her career, Wright received multiple awards for her writing, including the Arthur Ellis Award and a posthumous Derrick Murdoch Award for Lifetime Achievement. L. R. Wright passed away from cancer in 2001, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneering figure in Canadian mystery literature.
On this Page
Subject Terms
L. R. Wright
Writer
- Born: June 5, 1939
- Birthplace: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Died: February 25, 2001
- Place of death: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Biography
Laurali Rose Wright was born Bunny Appleby on June 5, 1939, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Her parents, Sidney Victor and Evelyn Jane Barber Appleby, were both teachers. Wright attended Carleton University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Calgary, and Banff School of Fine Arts. She briefly worked as an actress and, from 1968 to 1977, as a journalist and editor for the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Calgary Albertan, and Calgary Herald. In 1962, she married television producer and director John Wright. They had two children and were later separated.
Before turning to detective fiction, Wright focused on the relationships and problems of women. These novels included Neighbours (1979), published under the name Laurali Wright, for which she won the annual New Alberta Novelist competition; The Favourite (1982), Among Friends (1984), and Love in the Temperate Zone (1988). Wright’s interest in psychology, basic to her mainstream novels, continued when she began her detective fiction. The Suspect, her first mystery novel, appeared in 1985; with it, Wright became the first Canadian to be given the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel. The protagonist of her first detective series is Karl Alberg, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police staff sergeant in his forties, whose personal problems play a role in each novel. The novels, set in the small town of Sechelt, north of Vancouver, while they focus on crimes, also trace the changing relationships between Alberg and the women in his life—his wife Maura, from whom he is later divorced, his daughters Diana and Jane, and a local librarian, Cassandra Mitchell. With Kidnap (1999) and Menace (2001), Wright began a spinoff series with policewoman Edwina “Eddie” Henderson as detective. Henderson first appeared in an Alberg novel, Acts of Murder (1997).
Wright was a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. She died of cancer in 2001. Besides winning an Edgar, Wright won the Arthur Ellis Award for A Chill Rain in January (1990) and Mother Love (1995) and was posthumously awarded the Crime Writers of Canada Derrick Murdoch Award for Lifetime Achievement (2001).