Allingham, Margery (ăl'ing-um) [key], 1904–66, English detective-story writer, b. London. Most of her novels feature Mr. Albert Campion, a scholarly detective of noble birth, bespectacled, mild, and believable. Her thrillers are intelligently written and noted for their adroit characterization and literate style. Among her more than 25 books are The Crime at Black Dudley (1928), Flowers for the Judge (1936), Black Plumes (1940), The Tiger in the Smoke (1952), and The Mind Reader (1965), her last.
