June 18, 1987

Bruce Marshall (June 24, 1899 to June 18, 1987) was a Scottish writer, the author of more than 40 books. mainly fiction. He began writing as a young man and continued creative writing  throughout his career as an accountant, and service in both world wars.

His tenth novel, after of a series of "nine very bad religious novels, inspired by his conversion to Roman Catholicism," to quote his ODNB article, was Father Malachy's Miracle (1931), "a humorous clerical fantasy set in Edinburgh. Revised in 1947, it was a bestseller in Italy and Germany in 1949 and 1950 ..."

A major book was the non-fiction account of the treatment of a resistance fighter when he fell into enemy hands: The White Rabbit (1952.) Marshall's own experience as an intelligence officer gave him an edge in recreating the story of "resistance hero Wing Commander F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas."

In 1948 Bruce Marshall retired from his accountancy position and took his family to the South of France. He had lost a leg in the first World War and found the climate there beneficial.

[T]hey spent the last thirty-four years of their lives at Clos Riant, 104 boulevard du Cap, shared with up to ten cats. The writer had many good friends, who regarded him with great affection, and many visited him in France and were welcome, though unexpected invasions of his privacy by acquaintances making Antibes a stepping-stone on their holiday journeys could elicit unfavourable comment from the very forthright Scot. He was also notably cheerful, which may be partly why he got on especially well with children, enjoying long conversations with them. He was particularly delighted that his granddaughter followed him in becoming a chartered accountant with his old firm, now called KPMG.

This period of Bruce Marshall's life saw many of his novels successfully received.