Colin Dexter ( Inspector Morse)

Stamfordians

Monday, 05 January 2009 01:01

Norman Colin Dexter, OBE, (born 29 September 1930 in Stamford, Lincolnshire) is an English crime writer, known for his Inspector Morse novels.

Dexter was educated at Stamford School, where his brother, John Dexter, had been before him and went on to teach at Kings School, Peterborough. After completing his National Service with the Royal Corps of Signals he read classics at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1953 and receiving an honorary Masters Degree in 1958.

Early life and career

In 1954, he started his teaching career in the East Midlands, becoming assistant classics master at Wyggeston School, Leicester. A post at Loughborough Grammar School followed, before he took up the position of senior classics teacher at Corby Grammar School, Northamptonshire, in 1959.

In 1966, he was forced by the onset of deafness to retire from teaching, and took up the post of Senior Assistant Secretary at the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations (UODLE) in Oxford - a job he held until his retirement in 1988.

Dexter featured prominently in the BBC programme "How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword" as part of the Time Shift series broadcast in November 2008 in which he recounted some of the crossword clues solved by Morse.

Writing career

He started writing mysteries in 1972 during a family holiday: "We were in a little guest house halfway between Caernarfon and Pwllheli. It was a Saturday and it was raining - it's not unknown for it to rain in North Wales. The children were moaning ... I was sitting at the kitchen table with nothing else to do, and I wrote the first few paragraphs of a potential detective novel." Last Bus to Woodstock was published in 1975 and introduced the world to the character of Inspector Morse, the irascible detective whose penchants for cryptic crosswords, English literature, cask ale and Wagner reflect Dexter's own enthusiasms. Dexter's plots are notable for his use of false leads and other red herrings.

The success of the 33 episodes of the TV series Inspector Morse, produced between 1987 and 2001, brought further acclaim for Dexter. In the manner of Alfred Hitchcock, he also makes a cameo appearance in almost all episodes.

Dexter suggested the English poet A E Housman as his "great life" on the BBC Radio 4 programme of that name in May 2008. Dexter and Housman were both classicists who found a popular audience for another genre of writing.

Awards and honours

Dexter has been the recipient of several Crime Writers' Association awards: two Silver Dagger's for Service of All the Dead in 1979 and The Dead of Jericho in 1981; two Gold Dagger's for The Wench is Dead in 1989 and The Way Through the Woods in 1992; and a Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in 1997. In 1996 Dexter received a Macavity Award for his short story Evans Tries an O-Level.

In 2000 Dexter was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to literature.

Bibliography

Novels

Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
Last Seen Wearing (1976)
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)
Service of All the Dead (1979)
The Dead of Jericho (1981)
The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983)
The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986)
The Wench is Dead (1989)
The Jewel That Was Ours (1991)
The Way Through the Woods (1992)
The Daughters of Cain (1994)
Death is Now My Neighbour (1996)
The Remorseful Day (1999)

Novellas and short story collections

The Inside Story (1993); Special edition, commissioned by American Express

London: Pan, Pub date 1993, Paperback, 56p.; includes crossword puzzle

Neighbourhood Watch (1993); Limited edition of 229 copies

Richmond: Hartley Moorhouse and Geir Moe Sorenson ISBN 1898154007, Pub date May 1993, Paperback in slip case

Morse's Greatest Mystery (1993); also published as As Good as Gold
1. "As Good as Gold"
2. "Morse's Greatest Mystery" [Insp. Morse]
3. "Evans Tries an O-Level"
4. "Dead as a Dodo" [Insp. Morse]
5. "At The Lulu-Bar Motel"
6. "Neighbourhood Watch" [Insp. Morse]
7. "A Case of Mis-Identity"
8. "The Inside Story" [Insp. Morse]
9. "Monty's Revolver"
10. "The Carpet-Bagger"
11. "Last Call" [Insp. Morse].