Quick Facts
Born:
June 1879, Dublin
Died:
April 11, 1957, Worthing, Sussex, Eng. (aged 77)
Notable Works:
“The Cask”
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Freeman Wills Crofts (born June 1879, Dublin—died April 11, 1957, Worthing, Sussex, Eng.) was an internationally popular Irish author of detective novels whose tight plots and exact and scrupulous attention to detail set new standards in detective-fiction plotting.

Educated in Belfast, Crofts was a railroad engineer in Northern Ireland (1899–1929). During a long convalescence he wrote his first novel, The Cask (1920). Considered a classic of the detective genre, it was followed by more than 30 detective novels, most of which featured Inspector French of Scotland Yard.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.