Freeman Wills Crofts
1 June 1879 - 11 April 1957
Freeman Wills Crofts was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French.
A railway engineer by training, Crofts introduced railway themes into many of his stories, which were notable for their intricate planning. Although outshone by Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler and other more celebrated authors from the golden age of detective fiction, he was highly esteemed by those authors, and many of his books are still in print.