Ethel Lina White (2 April 1876[1] – 13 August 1944) was a British crime writer from Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales.
Her father's invention, a compound of bitumen and cement was the first waterproof building material, and used in the construction of the London Underground, which brought wealth to the family.
[3] White grew up in Fairlea Grange,[4] which was built in the 1880s by her father,[5] and started writing as a child and contributing essays and poems to children's papers.
By 1917 White was working in London in the Ministry of Pensions, but in 1919 she resigned for a £10 advance in order to write, later saying it was because she disliked "the lack of fresh air and office life".
[7] Her will read: "I give and bequeath unto [sister] Annis Dora White all that I possess on condition she pays a qualified surgeon to plunge a knife into my heart after death" thought to reflect her lifelong fear of being buried alive, a theme which featured in her novel The First Time He Died, published in 1935.
Whilst The Lady Vanishes is primarily seen as one of the highlights in Alfred Hitchcock's career, he almost did not make the film, doing so only to fulfil a studio contract with Gainsborough Pictures.