Lindsey, John, 1909-1975

John Muriel (7 April 1909 – 1975), also known as "John St. Clair Muriel", was a British countryman, teacher, novelist, and biographer from a middle-class East Anglian background who wrote as "Simon Dewes" and "John Lindsey". Muriel drew on his own life for material and completed four volumes of autobiography that relied heavily on his youth in Suffolk and Essex. His biographies were reviewed as more readable than authoritative and his three works of London topography were an entertaining wander through London's history and lore. His fiction encompassed the thriller as well as novels with more serious themes, at least two of which were banned in the Republic of Ireland. He wrote some poetry and short stories. The son and grandson of physicians, his last book was a true crime work titled Doctors of Murder (1962).