Elisabeth Sanxay Holding with her daughters
Born Elisabeth Sanxay on June 18, 1889, in Brooklyn, New York. Attended Miss Whitcomb’s School for Ladies and other finishing schools throughout her childhood. Married George Holding, a British diplomat, in 1913, traveling widely throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Had two daughters, Skeffington and Antonia. Lived for many years in Bermuda, where husband was a government official.
Published six romantic novels, including Invincible Minnie (1920), Angelica (1921), Rosaleen Among the Artists (1921), and The Unlit Lamp (1922), as well as many short stories and novellas. Turned to suspense fiction after the 1929 stock market crash, starting with Miasma (1929). Holding published an additional seventeen detective novels, including Dark Power (1930), The Death Wish (1934), The Unfinished Crime (1935), The Strange Crime in Bermuda (1937), The Obstinate Murderer (1938), The Girl Who Had To Die (1940), Who’s Afraid? (1940), Speak of the Devil (1941), Kill Joy (1942), Lady Killer (1942), The Old Battle Ax (1943), Net of Cobwebs (1945), The Innocent Mrs. Duff (1946), The Blank Wall (1947), Too Many Bottles (1951), The Virgin Huntress (1951) and Widow’s Mite (1953).
The Blank Wall was adapted into the films The Reckless Moment (1949), directed by Max Ophüls and starring Joan Bennett and James Mason, and The Deep End (2001), directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel and starring Tilda Swinton.
Moved back to New York in the late 1940s upon George Holding’s retirement from government work. Died in the Bronx on February 7, 1955.
Books by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Invincible Minnie (1920)
Angelica (1921)
Rosaleen Among the Artists (1921)
The Unlit Lamp (1922)
Miasma (1929)
Dark Power (1930)
The Death Wish (1934)
The Unfinished Crime (1935)
The Strange Crime in Bermuda (1937)
The Obstinate Murderer (1938)
The Girl Who Had To Die (1940)
Who’s Afraid? (1940)
Speak of the Devil (1941)
Kill Joy (1942)
Lady Killer (1942)
The Old Battle Ax (1943)
Net of Cobwebs (1945)
The Innocent Mrs. Duff (1946)
The Blank Wall (1947)
Too Many Bottles (1951)
The Virgin Huntress (1951)
Widow’s Mite (1953)
Sarah Weinman is widely recognized as a leading authority on crime fiction. She is the editor of Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense, which the Los Angeles Review of Books called “simply one of the most significant anthologies of crime fiction, ever.” She is the news editor for Publishers Marketplace, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the National Post, and The Washington Post, among other publications.