home > mystery novel authors > mary higgins clark

Mary Higgins Clark

If you look on the Internet, the many references to Mary Higgins Clark give her birth date as anywhere from 1928 to 1931. The majority of them say 1929, so that's what I'll go with!

Mary Higgins Clark was born in New York City, growing up there with a full complement of Irish parentage, along with an inbred love of storytelling and a touch of superstition - the latter something she declines to admit, even though several of her books demonstrate her interest in the subjects involved.

Mary Higgins Clark lost her father when she was only ten years old, leaving her mother to raise her and Mary's two brothers alone. After graduating from high school, Mary went to a secretarial school so she could help her mother financially. She then traveled with Pan Am as a stewardess in 1949, and eventually married Warren Clark, who died in 1964. Mary was left with five children.

Mary Higgins Clark sold her first short story in 1956, and went on to write a biographical novel about George Washington, then her first attempt at a mystery - 'Where Are The Children?' - which became a bestseller and turned her life around.

In 1979, Mary Higgins Clark graduated summa cum laude from the Fordham University at Lincoln Cwenter with a degree in philosophy. Ms. Clark has since received thirteen honorary doctorates.

Mary Higgins Clark has a number of impressive awards to her credit: Irish Woman of the Year from the NY Board of Education, Women's Achievement Award from the Women's Clubs of New Jersey, the Gold Medal of Honor from the Irish-American Historical Society, the Spirit of Achievement Award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the National Arts Club Gold Medal in Education, the 1997 Horatio Alger Award, and several honorary titles from the Pope. Her writing achievements include the 1980 Grand Prix de Literature of France, being Chairman of the International Crime Congress, President of the Mystery Writers of America, and a member of the Board of Directors for that same organization.

Mary Higgins Clark married John J. Conheeney in 1996, the then retired CEO of Merrill Lynch Futures, and they now reside primarily in Saddle River, New Jersey, with an apartment in Manhattan and other homes in Spring Lake, New Jersey and Dennis, Massachusetts. Between the two of them they have a family of twenty-four children (including grandchildren).



Murder Mystery Reviews

Books by this author we have reviewed:

back