Yorkshire crime novelist and Kate Shackleton mystery author Frances Brody gains honorary doctorate from Leeds Beckett University

Brody, the author of the popular Kate Shackleton series of detective novels set in 1920s and ‘30s Yorkshire, began her writing career in radio and has also written for theatre and television. Through meticulous research, her historical fiction works capture a range of settings across Yorkshire, from the Dales and the Yorkshire coast to its towns and cities.

Published in 2009, Dying in the Wool, set in fictionalised Cottingley (renamed Bridgestead), near Bradford, introduced Kate Shackleton, a war widow turned amateur sleuth. There are now 13 books in the series, which is popular in the US, Canada, Australia and Germany, as well as having a strong UK fanbase.

More recently, Frances Brody has launched a new series of period crime novels following Nell Lewis, the governor of a 1960s fictional women’s open prison in Yorkshire. The second Brackerley Prison Mystery, Six Motives for Murder, is out now.

Born in Leeds just after the second world war, Brody wrote her first novel at age 18 but disregarded it, instead moving to America to work in secretarial roles. She returned to the UK five years later and began writing again, with works published in magazines and broadcast on the radio.

Her play The Sun and the Devil was produced as a 90-minute radio play for BBC Radio 4. Her stage plays have been toured by several theatre companies and produced at Manchester Library Theatre, the Gate and Nottingham Playhouse. For her first published novel Sisters on Bread Street (later published as Somewhere Behind The Morning), she was awarded the HarperCollins Elizabeth Elgin award, and two more books followed in the series.

Brody is closely involved with the Leeds Library, collaborating in the production of its 250th anniversary book, and a long-time supporter of its events and activities. She is also a regular contributor to the Headingley Lit Fest, the Leeds Lit Fest and events in Ilkley and Bradford.

Frances Brody said: “I’m delighted to receive this honorary award bearing the Leeds Beckett name. ‘Beckett’ has followed around me for my whole life. Beckett Street is where I was born and where I shared fond early memories. Good friends were laid to rest in Beckett Street cemetery. Becketts’ Bank and the stories around it were the inspiration for my third novel which began my journey into crime writing. That I am being recognised by this institution feels somehow meant to be.”

Professor Peter Slee, Leeds Beckett University vice chancellor, said: “Frances’s work combines rigorous historical research with expert storytelling. Her commitment to rooting her stories in the life and people of Yorkshire make her a fine ambassador for the region. This year, she joins over 1,000 fellow graduates in the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, who will each go on to play their part in helping us to interpret and understand the world around us.”

Frances Brody will receive her honorary doctorate during Leeds Beckett’s graduation week, when more than 7,500 students and nearly 29,000 guests will attend ceremonies. More than 11,000 students will graduate from the university this summer.