Author: Francis Beeding

Francis Beeding is a pseudonym used by two British writers—Hilary St. George Saunders (1898-51) and John Palmer (1885-44), best friends who co-authored dozens of novels throughout the 1920s, “30s and “40s. The two authors actually had two pen-names; one was Francis Beeding who penned crime novels, and the other David Pilgrim, who wrote historical novels. Saunders in particular wrote prolifically, also partnering with Geoffrey Dennis to write under the pseudonym Barum Browne, and teamed with a member of parliament, John de Vere Loder, to write under the moniker Cornelius Coffyn.Francis Beeding wrote over thirty novels, five of which have been adapted into feature films. Of these, his 1927 work The House of Dr. Edwardes remains the best known, forming the basis for Alfred Hitchcock”s masterpiece Spellbound. During the Second World War, Saunders and Palmer wrote cloak-and-dagger stories involving British efforts to combat the Nazis.