I'm just back from a hugely enjoyable Alibis in the Archive weekend. However, whilst I was away, I received the sad news that Sheila Keating died on Thursday. Her funeral is due to take place on June 24 which, had she lived, would have been her 101st birthday. Sheila was the widow of that genial and highly successful writer Harry Keating, and she had a wonderful career as an actor (as Sheila Mitchell), and she was particularly well-known over the last twenty years and more as a reader of audio books.
I'll talk about this year's Alibis in a day or two, but first things first: today I'd like to pay tribute to Sheila. She was a remarkable woman, truly indomitable, and I very much enjoyed her company. She was forthright and impressive, and even though she reached a grand age, I find it hard to believe she is no longer with us. I first got to know her in the late 80s or early 90s, on the occasions when she accompanied Harry to crime writing events. They were both generous people, and in my early days, Harry gave a kind quote which featured on the front cover of The Devil in Disguise. I spent quite a bit of time in their company at my first Malice Domestic back in 2005, when Harry was given a lifetime achievement award. We dined together at the banquet and had a great evening.
After I was elected to the Detection Club (of which Harry was the sixth President), I saw them more regularly, and after Harry died in 2011, Sheila continued to attend Club dinners. She kindly invited me to stay with her at her lovely home in Notting Hill on a number of occasions. On one visit, she showed me her work-in-progress, a draft of a biography of Harry, for which Len Deighton (a good friend) had written a foreword. I read it on the screen, and enjoyed it, and eventually I was able to introduce her to a publisher, Level Best Books, and write an appreciation of Harry which was included in the book. Her book and Howdunit (which I edited on behalf of the Detection Club and which included a contribution by Harry) featured on the same shortlist for a Macavity award, which greatly entertained both of us. I can say in all honesty that I was truly delighted when she won - a brilliant achievement for a first book, and possibly unique in that she was 96 at the time! She also supplemented her book by writing a very good article for CADS about Harry's non-fiction.
When, ten years ago at CrimeFest, Sheila presented me with the H.R.F. Keating award for best critical/biographical crime book for The Golden Age of Murder, it was a great thrill, given my connection with Harry and her. It was lovely to win the same award on two further occasions, for Howdunit and The Life of Crime.
She became interested in what I'd told her when writing about Gallows Court and offered to read the audio book - again, a source of joy from my point of view. She came along to the launch in Hatchards (see the above photo) and she was also there at the Dorchester Hotel on that memorable evening when I was elected President of the Detection Club in succession to Simon Brett, who had in his turn succeeded Harry fourteen years earlier. I recall too a memorable CrimeFest banquet in the company of Sheila, Catherine Aird, and James Runcie; three terrific dinner companions, it must be said.
Sheila also spent time encouraging me with my public speaking, something that never came naturally to me. She taught me about voice projection and although I don't think I was the greatest pupil, her advice about conducting the Detection Club ritual was really helpful.
It was rather poignant that I received the news of Sheila's death whilst at Alibis, because eight years ago, she came to Alibis and took part in a discussion about the British Crime Writing Archives; she was very supportive of my efforts with the archives for the CWA (of which Harry had also been Chair, something else he and I had in common) and the Detection Club, and I did appreciate that. I'll miss her, but I remember her with great affection.
No comments:
Post a Comment