Chief Inspector George Gideon of Scotland Yard is a fictional policeman who appeared in 26 police procedural novels, 21 of which were written by John Creasey under the pseudonym J.J. Marric, and published between 1955 and 1976. Portraying Gideon as a master balancing the management of cases and the workings of law enforcement, it has been considered his "most famous police procedural series". After Creasey's death, the series was continued in five further novels by William Vivian Butler. Anthony Boucher of the New York TimesBook Review considered the first of the books, Gideon's Day, to be author's best book. H. R. F. Keating, reviewer for the London Times picked Gideon's Week as one of the "100 Best Crime and Mystery Books". Gideon's Fire won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
The character
George Gideon is powerfully built but has a gentle voice. He has pale-blue eyes. He is famed for his prodigious feats of memory and his ability to handle a bewildering work-load of cases simultaneously. Despite his seniority in rank, Gideon often takes a hands-on approach and on occasions physically engages with criminals. He is respected and liked by his staff - but they know to keep their heads down when his temper is aroused. In the first novel, Gideon's Day he holds the rank of Detective Superintendent, but in the second Gideon's Week, he has been promoted to Commander, and is the operational head of the Yard's entire CID, a position he holds for the rest of the series. One of Creasey's technical advisers for the series was Commander George Hatherill, who had organized the British Army'sSpecial Investigation Branch during World War II, and was the operational head of the Yard's CID from 1954 until 1964 during which time he was awarded the OBE. Hatherill is generally believed to have been Creasey's model for Gideon.
Family
Throughout the series, Marric emphasizes the pressure experienced by police families due to the demands of police work, and the impact of distress in the family on the ability to work. Gideon is married to Kate, and has six surviving children. Their relationship has been strained by the loss of a seventh child while Gideon was on the Flying Squad. In Gideon's Day , the first book in the series, the children are described as Tom ; Prudence, Priscilla, Matthew, Penelope, and Malcolm. The oldest children are self-supporting; the younger ones in school. As the series progresses, the children train for careers, move out, and marry. Family relationships are usually mentioned only briefly, to establish a time frame or as they relate to or affect Gideon's work. Penny, the Gideon's youngest daughter, is mentioned most frequently, in part because of her on-and-off relationship with an older police officer, Alec Hobbs. In Gideon's Wrath Alec Hobbs' first wife Helen dies, around the time that Hobbs becomes Gideon's deputy. In Gideon's River Hobbs escorts Penelope to the river gala, accompanying Gideon and Kate. In Gideon's Way, written by William Vivian Butler and published in 1983, Alec and Penny are married and have a son, George. The number of children was trimmed in the TV series.
Film and TV
In Gideon's Day, Gideon is played by Jack Hawkins. The co-stars were Anna Lee, Dianne Foster, Ronald Howard, Cyril Cusack, and Andrew Ray. The film was released by Columbia Pictures and is only loosely based on the book of the same title. Ford treats it as a comedy-melodrama, whereas the book is a more serious and straightforward procedural. A 26-part TV series Gideon's Way was made in 1964, starring John Gregson, which ran until 1966 in the UK, produced by ITC Entertainment.
