Stuart Palmer Stuart Palmer (1905-1968) was born in Wisconsin, and worked a number of odd jobs, including apple picking, journalism, and copywriting, before publishing his first crime novel in 1931. It was with his second novel that he established his writing carer by introducing Hildegarde Withers, a school mistress and amateur sleuth. Withers was an immensely popular character, and went on to star in thirteen more novels. A master of intricate plotting, Palmer found success writing for Hollywood, where several of his books were filmed by RKO Pictures. Read More Read Less