Magdalen Nabb, who died in Florence on 18 August 2007 aged 60, was an underrated crime novelist whose books brought alive the characters and atmosphere of her adopted home, Florence.

In a career lasting nearly thirty years, Ms Nabb published thirteen novels featuring her brooding Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia. Most of her plots were based on real Florentine crimes and Ms Nabb worked closely with the local Carabinieri to get every detail right.

She later became a successful children's author, writing 11 books in the Josie Smith series that was also adapted for television. Of her two other books for children, ‘The Enchanted Horse’ won the Smarties Book Prize in 1993.

But despite being championed by major critics, Ms Nabb never appeared in any best-selling lists, leading reviewers such The Sunday Telegraph's crime critic Susanna Yager to remark: "The mystery for me is why Magdalen Nabb is not better known."

Magdalen Nuttal, known by her family as Magda, was born in the Lancashire moorland village of Church on 16 January 1947. She was brought up in Ramsbottom and attended the Convent Grammar School Bury, but her childhood was cut short when both her parents died suddenly when Magdalen was 13.

She was sent to live with her uncle, but he also died after only a fortnight. The young Nabb was a talented potter and sought refuge in art, going to art school in Manchester before becoming a primary school teacher.

She married James Nabb at the age of 17. The marriage lasted ten years and the couple had a son, Liam, but the union collapsed in 1975. The 28-year old Ms Nabb moved to Florence with Liam and poet Nigel Thompson, her companion at the time.

She found work as a potter in Montelupo, the town that would feature in her 1987 novel ‘The Marshal and the Murderer’. It was here she found the muse that would spark her literary career – a mysterious policeman with dark glasses on whom she based Marshal Guarnaccia. Her first book featuring the investigator, ‘Death of an Englishman’, was published in 1981.

Ms Nabb was appointed custodian resident of Casa Guidi, Robert Browning's house in Florence. The city became a character in her novels as important as the cunning criminals and even Guarnaccia himself. She collaborated with the Carabinieri to research real crimes for her plots, such as the seven gruesome double murders that took place between 1968 and 1985.

Ms Nabb was inspired to write by crime writer Georges Simenon. She sent him a copy of her first book, which he loved, and the two engaged in a lifelong correspondence of mutual encouragement and support. She thought of him as a mentor and always sent him the first copy of every book.

Her greatest passion was riding, and she even overcame a stroke in 1994 in order to get back in the saddle. In 2005, she rode across Kenya to raise money for the Brooke Animal Hospital; royalties from her children’s book ‘The Enchanted Horse’ also went to the charity.

On 18 August 2007, Ms Nabb was riding when she suffered another stroke and died. She leaves behind her son, Liam. Carabinieri officers in full ceremonial dress formed a guard of honour for her coffin.

Ms Nabb’s books have been translated into over a dozen languages and are enjoyed by readers, old and young, worldwide. Antonia Fraser described Ms Nabb’s 2003 work ‘Some Bitter Taste’ as: "so cunningly plotted that it is only at the end that you realise that not one strand of the intricate tapestry has been superfluous".

Critic Simon Brett said: "The Marshal is a completely original creation, and a welcome rarity in crime fiction. Sympathy and compassion are the keynotes to his character. Crime novels these days are peopled by so many flawed detective heroes, fighting their past, their melancholy or their addictions, that it is a relief to spend time in the Marshal's company."

But Ms Nabb wrote largely "in her head" only picking up a pen when she felt the story was ready. Impatient publishers would be told: "I'm writing it while I'm weeding and washing up, and you'll have the book at the end of October as I promised, fully cooked."

The accomplished author would disagree with her legacy as a distinguished crime writer: "They are novels, not crime books. Crime is simply useful to me. A sudden death throws the spotlight on people's lives."