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Alan Bradlley, author of the popular Flavia de Luce mysteries

American Beauty director Sam Mendes has bought the rights to Canadian author Alan Bradley's New York Times-bestselling Flavia de Luce mysteries.

Mendes, who also directed Revolutionary Road and is working on the next James Bond film, plans to develop the popular whodunnit series into TV movies.

Earlier this year, the Oscar-winning filmmaker, who acquired the rights to the Flavia de Luce books through his Neal Street Productions, brought to the small screen the book Call the Midwife, which became the BBC's highest-rated drama since 2001.

The 10-part Flavia de Luce series (four are in print so far) follows the adventure of a precocious 11-year-old sleuth in post WWII England.

Bradley, who grew up in Cobourg, ON, took early retirement from the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in 1994 to write. His first Flavia de Luce book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, was a surprise hit when it came out in 2009.

Bradley's books have so far been sold in 33 countries and translated into 31 languages.

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