Woods, Sara 1922-1985 [A pseudonym] (Sara Bowen-Judd, Sara Hutton Bowen-Judd, Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek)

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Woods, Sara 1922-1985 [A pseudonym] (Sara Bowen-Judd, Sara Hutton Bowen-Judd, Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek)

PERSONAL:

Born March 7, 1922, in Bradford, Yorkshire, England; died November 6, 1985, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; daughter of Francis Burton and Sara Roberta Hutton; married Anthony George Bowen-Judd (an electronics engineer), April 25, 1946. Education: Attended Convent of Sacred Heart, Filey, Yorkshire, England. Religion: Roman Catholic.

CAREER:

Worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London, England, during World War II; pig breeder, 1948-54; Rotol Ltd., Gloucester, England, assistant to company secretary, 1954-58; St. Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, registrar, 1958-64; writer.

MEMBER:

Society of Authors, Authors League of America, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers Association.

WRITINGS:

Bloody Instructions, Harper (New York, NY), 1962.

Malice Domestic, Collins (London, England), 1962.

The Third Encounter, Harper (New York, NY), 1963, published as The Taste of Fears, Collins (London, England), 1963.

Error of the Moon, Collins (London, England), 1963.

Trusted like the Fox, Collins (London, England), 1964, Harper (New York, NY), 1965.

This Little Measure, Collins (London, England), 1964.

The Windy Side of the Law, Harper (New York, NY), 1965.

Though I Know She Lies, Collins (London, England), 1965, Holt (New York, NY), 1972.

Enter Certain Murderers, Harper (New York, NY), 1966.

Let's Choose Executors, Collins (London, England), 1966, Harper (New York, NY), 1967.

And Shame the Devil, Collins (London, England), 1967, Holt (New York, NY), 1972.

The Case Is Altered, Harper (New York, NY), 1967.

Past Praying For, Harper (New York, NY), 1968.

Knives Have Edges, Collins (London, England), 1968, Holt (New York, NY), 1970.

Tarry and Be Hanged, Collins (London, England), 1969, Holt (New York, NY), 1971.

An Improbable Fiction, Collins (London, England), 1970, Holt (New York, NY), 1971.

Serpent's Tooth, Collins (London, England), 1971, Holt (New York, NY), 1973.

The Knavish Crows, Collins (London, England), 1971.

They Love Not Poison, Holt (New York, NY), 1972.

Yet She Must Die, Macmillan (London, England), 1973, Holt (New York, NY), 1974.

Enter the Corpse, Macmillan (London, England), 1973, Holt (New York, NY), 1974.

Done to Death, Macmillan (London, England), 1974, Holt (New York, NY), 1975.

A Show of Violence, McKay (New York, NY), 1975.

My Life Is Done, Macmillan (London, England), 1975, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1976.

The Law's Delay, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1977.

A Thief or Two, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1977.

Exit Murderer, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1978.

The Fatal Writ, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1979.

Proceed to Judgment, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1979.

They Stay for Dinner, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1980.

They Stay for Death, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1980.

Weep for Her, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1980.

Cry Guilty, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1981.

Dearest Enemy, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1981.

Enter a Gentlewoman, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1982.

Villains by Necessity, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1982.

Most Grievous Murder, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1982.

Call Back Yesterday, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1983.

The Lie Direct, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1983.

Where Should He Die?, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1983.

The Bloody Book of Law, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1984.

Murders Out of Tune, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1984.

Defy the Devil, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1984, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1985.

An Obscure Grave, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1985.

Away with Them to Prison, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1985.

Put Out the Light, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1985.

Most Deadly Hate, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1986.

Nor Live So Long, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1986.

Naked Villainy, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1987.

UNDER PSEUDONYM ANNE BURTON

The Dear Departed, Raven (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980.

Where There's a Will, Raven (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980.

UNDER PSEUDONYM MARY CHALLIS

Burden of Proof, Raven (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980.

Crimes Past, Raven (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980.

UNDER PSEUDONYM MARGARET LEEK

The Healthy Grave, Raven (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980.

We Must Have a Trial, Raven (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1980.

OTHER

Contributor of short stories to English newspapers.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sara Woods, a pseudonym for Sara Bowen-Judd, "chronicled the cases of barrister Anthony Maitland and his uncle Sir Nicholas Harding. The books are a fascinating study of the English legal system and explore the ways that barristers, solicitors, and police try to see justice done within the sometimes frustrating boundaries of that system," according to Gillian Rodgerson in the St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers. A reviewer for Critic magazine placed Maitland in "the great tradition of masterful English detectives" and "worthy to stand with the best. If you haven't met Mr. Maitland … you are missing some of the more civilized suspense writing available today."

All of the Maitland books follow a similar formula: they all derive their titles from the works of William Shakespeare; Maitland's methodical investigation of the case results in a quiet victory, usually in a courtroom; and each book features the same small cast of characters and the same environs of London and three nearby villages. Despite these similarities from book to book, however, Woods's novels describe the workings of the English legal system in a style that rarely falters. Rodgerson explained: "Woods's writing is strongest in the area of plot. Her stories are a mixture of standard legal problems such as child custody battles (Most Deadly Hate), art theft (Cry Guilty), or libel (Enter a Gentlewoman) and more bizarre circumstances such as hypnotism and reincarnation (Call Back Yesterday) and convenient amnesia (Defy the Devil). The books are absorbing and Woods usually gives the reader ample opportunity to guess what really happened before Maitland solves the crime and sees the guilty one punished."

According to many critics and lovers of detective stories, one of the best of the Maitland books is Trusted like the Fox, the story of a traitor brought to justice. Anthony Boucher, writing in the New York Times Book Review, called it "a long, solid, ingenious and sometimes startling trial novel." A critic for the Times Literary Supplement claimed that "stories whose resolution is by means of the processes of a court of law are always fascinating if well done, and Sara Woods' Trusted like the Fox is very well done." In a review for Book Week, D.B. Hughes called Trusted like the Fox "one of the finest law novels in memory."

In the 1982 book Villains by Necessity, Maitland accepts the case of Jim Arnold, once a burglar but now attempting to live an honest life as a shopkeeper. He becomes a villain by necessity again, however, when threatened by thugs running a protection racket, and is caught stealing a valuable coin collection. As with all the Maitland books, justice is finally gained by a clever plot twist during the courtroom proceedings. Alan Paul Curtis, reviewing Villains by Necessity for Who-Dunnit.com, commented that this book, as well as Woods's entire body of work, was "entertaining, with the offer of a bracing, uncomplicated plot."

Woods wrote almost fifty of the Maitland books before her death in 1985. Thereafter, several more were published posthumously, including the final novel in the series, 1987's Naked Villainy. In this last installment, Maitland is brought in to prove the innocence of a young man accused of murdering his parents. During the course of his investigations, Maitland discovers that a local witches' coven has much to do with the crime at hand. With fresh information at hand, Maitland is able to secure a confession from the guilty party during the course of the subsequent trial. A reviewer for ENotes.com noted that the story line of this novel "can hardly be described as overly taxing," but went on to observe, "there is no challenge to which Maitland cannot respond adequately."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers, 4th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Best Sellers, May 15, 1967, review of The Case Is Altered, p. 27.

Book Week, April 11, 1965, D.B. Hughes, review of Trusted like the Fox, p. 10.

Critic, June, 1967, review of Let's Choose Executors, p. 25.

Harper, July, 1965, review of Trusted like the Fox, p. 231.

Library Journal, February 1, 1966, review of The Windy Side of the Law, p. 91.

New York Times Book Review, March 7, 1965, Anthony Boucher, review of Trusted like the Fox, p. 28; January 9, 1966, review of The Windy Side of the Law, p. 36; February 11, 1968, review of The Case Is Altered, p. 41; April 24, 1977, Newgate Callendar, review of The Law's Delay, p. 45.

Times Literary Supplement, March 19, 1964, review of Trusted Like the Fox, p. 238; July 15, 1965, review of The Windy Side of the Law, p. 593; December 21, 1967, review of And Shame the Devil; June 11, 1970, review of An Improbable Fiction; March 16, 1973, review of Enter the Corpse; May 28, 1976, review of The Law's Delay.