Roger Burford

Roger Verte d'Este Burford (1904–1981) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter. He also wrote crime fiction as Roger East.[2]

Roger Burford
Born31 January 1904
Blaby, Leicestershire, England
Died27 January 1981
Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England[1]
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1928 - 1965

Burford attended Cambridge University, being a friend of Christopher Isherwood. Both were members of the Cambridge University Kinema Club. He is fictionalised as "Roger East" in Isherwood's novel Lions and Shadows; On 28 April 1927 Burford married Stella Wilkinson, who appears as "Polly" in the same novel.[3] The two men corresponded throughout the 1930s and Burford's letters are preserved in Isherwood's papers.[4] After graduating he published the well-received "realist" novel Kay Walters, A Woman of the People in 1928. He remained active in British literary circles, publishing his poetry regularly in "little magazines" such as Seed and Booster and becoming a member of the editorial board of the poetry magazine Delta in April 1938. A collection of his verse was published in 1947.

In the late 1920s he also began a career as a writer of screen scenarios and scripts in the British film industry. He expanded into television in the 1950s, writing the BBC drama Three Steps in the Dark (1953). His abilities as both a crime novelist and screenwriter led to him specialising in TV crime drama for much of the 1960s. He was the principal scriptwriter for the BBC series Maigret (1960–64) and also wrote for the one-off series The Hidden Truth and The Sentimental Agent. He also wrote a single episode for the BBC series Dr. Finlay's Casebook in 1965.

Burford was a diplomat in Moscow during World War II.[5]

Publications

As Roger d'Este Burford

Kay Walters, A Woman of the People (London: Jonathan Cape, 1928)

As Roger Burford

Poems and Documents (Reading: White & White 1937)

Appointment with Seven (London: Fortune Press, 1947)(contribution)

Moscow Blues. A Romance (London: Constable, 1974)

As Roger East

The Mystery of the Monkey Gland Cocktail (New York: Putnam, 1932)

Murder Rehearsal (London: Collins, 1933)

A Candidate for Lilies (London: Collins, 1934)

The Bell is Answered (London: Collins, 1934)

Twenty Five Sanitary Inspectors (London: Collins, 1935)

Detectives in Gum Boots (London: Collins, 1936)

Meet Mr. Malcolm

The Pearl Choker (London: Collins, 1954)

Kingston Black (London: Collins, 1960)

The Pin Men (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1963)

As "Simon" in collaboration with Oswell Blakeston

Death on the Swim

Murder Among Friends (1933)

The Cat with the Moustache (1935)

Selected Scripts and Scenarios

Film Adaptations

Meet Mr. Malcolm (Dan Birt, 1954)

Notes
  1. http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/england-and-wales-deaths-1837-2007?firstname=roger%20d&lastname=burford&eventyear=1981&eventyear_offset=0
  2. Library of Congress. Copyright Office (1935). Catalog of Copyright Entries. New Series: 1934. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. p. 178.
  3. Peter Parker, Isherwood McMillan, 2005, p. 141
  4. David Garrett Izzo, Christopher Isherwood Encyclopedia (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2005, 28
  5. Carbray, Paul (13 July 1985). "Good detectives who age gracefully". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 21 April 2015 – via Google Search.

Bibliography
  • Low, Rachael. History of the British Film: Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985 .
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