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Jack Ritchie

Author profile

born

February 26, 1922 in Milwaukee, The United States

died

April 25, 1983

gender

male

genre

Mystery & Thrillers

influences

Agatha Christie, John D. MacDonald, Raymond Chandler, Donald E. Westla ...more

About this author

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Jack Ritchie was born in a room behind his father’s tailor shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 26th, 1922. After leaving high school, Ritchie was a student at the Milwaukee State Teachers College. When America joined the Second World War, he enlisted in the U.S army. He was stationed in the Central Pacific for two years, serving for much of that period on the island of Kwajalein. It was here that he first discovered crime and mystery fiction. To pass the time, he read a large amount of mystery books and it was through this that he grew to love the genre.

At the end of the war, Ritchie returned to his hometown of Milwaukee. After trying unsuccessfully to go back to college under the G.I. Bill, Ritchie worked for a time in his father’s sh...more Jack Ritchie was born in a room behind his father’s tailor shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 26th, 1922. After leaving high school, Ritchie was a student at the Milwaukee State Teachers College. When America joined the Second World War, he enlisted in the U.S army. He was stationed in the Central Pacific for two years, serving for much of that period on the island of Kwajalein. It was here that he first discovered crime and mystery fiction. To pass the time, he read a large amount of mystery books and it was through this that he grew to love the genre.

At the end of the war, Ritchie returned to his hometown of Milwaukee. After trying unsuccessfully to go back to college under the G.I. Bill, Ritchie worked for a time in his father’s shop. Not wishing to follow in his father’s footsteps, Ritchie decided to try writing stories for a living. When Ritchie met the literary agent Larry Sternig (through his mother, Irma Reitci, who also wrote short stories) he gave him a copy of a story he had written. Sternig recognised his writing ability from the very beginning and sold Ritchie’s first story, "Always the Season", to the New York Daily News in 1953. Larry Sternig went on to be his lifelong agent.

Ritchie married a fellow writer, Rita Krohne, in 1954. Rita, under her married name, wrote a series of historical adventure novels for children. Among these was the award-winning "Night Coach to Paris". Jack and Rita Ritchie made their living from the combined income of their freelance writing, though in an interview in 1962, Jack Ritchie mentioned that they never collaborated on any of their stories. Ritchie and his wife lived in various Milwaukee locales throughout the 1950's. Their first home together was a secluded log cabin on Washington Island, where during the winter they battled against the elements. With the birth of their first child in 1957, the Ritchies relocated to a larger house on the island. In 1964, they moved back to the mainland, living in a farmhouse just west of Jefferson and raising a family of four children.

In his spare time, Ritchie was an avid reader of non-fiction books and had a particular interest in history. He was also a fan of word puzzles and did the crossword in the Milwaukee Journal religiously.

While his wife took part-time work to supplement the family income, Jack Ritchie continued to be a prolific writer of short stories. Ritchie’s work appeared in an amazing variety of periodicals and newspapers. He contributed a number of "hard-boiled" stories to Manhunt magazine throughout the 1950's with other stories appearing in such diverse publications as The Philadelphia Inquirer, Smashing Detective Stories and Good Housekeeping. Some readers may wonder why Ritchie's stories appeared in such a wide variety of periodicals. The major reason for this was that his agent, Larry Sternig, would promptly send out manuscripts whenever a new publication appeared on the scene. As Jack Ritchie's son Steven has noted, this is what made Sternig a great literary agent. However, it was to Alfred Hitchock's Mystery Magazine that Ritchie sold more stories to than any other periodical. Between 1959 and 1982, Ritchie sold an incredible 123 stories to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. One of these tales, "The Green Heart", was adapted into the movie "A New Leaf" starring Walter Matthau. Other stories from AHMM were used in the popular television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

As has been noted by author Donald E. Westlake, Ritchie never really gained the recognition he deserved. This was because he wrote in the short story field, as opposed to the more fashionable novels (Tiger Island was published posthumously in 1987). But to his many fans he is seen as one of the greatest short story writers of all time. Those that have discovered his stories invariably want to read more of them. His finest works continue to be reprinted to this day and it is through this legacy that he will be remembered(less)

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Books by Jack Ritchie

Average rating: 3.86 · 387 ratings · 38 reviews · 43 distinct works

	Little Boxes Of Bewilderment: Suspense Comedies by Jack Ritchie, Francis M. Nevins Jr. 5.00 avg rating — 6 ratings	My rating:
	È ricca, la sposo e l'ammazzo by Jack Ritchie, Sandro Ossola (Translator) 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1971	My rating:
	Approssimativamente tuo by Jack Ritchie, Carlo Oliva (Translator) 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1961	My rating:
	The Adventures of Henry Turnbuckle: Detective Comedies by Jack Ritchie by Jack Ritchie, Francis M. Nevins Jr., Martin H. Greenberg 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1987	My rating:
	The Australian Trout 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	My rating:
	Ellery Queen Presents, the Midnight Strangler and Other Stories by Jack Ritchie, George Baxt, William Bankier 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1986	My rating:
	Tiger Island 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	My rating:
	La vittima dell'anno 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1961	My rating:
	Il caro prezzo della privacy by Jack Ritchie, Sara Radaelli (Translator), Tatiana Moroni (Translator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2002	My rating:
	Kuraimu Mashin by Jack Ritchie, 好野理恵 (翻訳) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2005	My rating:

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Jack's Fans (1)

Jack Ritchie

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Jack Ritchie

combine editions
Books by Jack Ritchie