Frank Lucius Packard

Jimmie Dale and the Phantom Clue Frank Lucius Packard

Frank L. Packard was born in Montreal, Quebec and educated at McGill University and the University of Liege. As a young man he worked as a civil engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. His experiences working on the railroad led to his writing a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called Jimmie Dale. His experiences working on the railroad led to his writing a series of mystery novels, the most famous of which featured a character called "Jimmie Dale"; who first appeared in the novel The Adventures of Jimmie Dale in 1917. He was a wealthy playboy by day, but at night put on a costume and became The Grey Seal, who enters businesses or homes and cracks safes, always leaving a grey seal behind to mark his conquest, but never taking anything. Frank Packard died in 1942 in Lachine, Quebec and was buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.