Colin Dexter

2025-09-13T15:54:54Z

158.41.78.58: /* Writing career */ MOS:CURLY

{{Short description|English writer (1930–2017)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox writer 
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nom|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}
| image = Colin Dexter.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Norman Colin Dexter
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1930|9|29}}
| birth_place = [[Stamford, Lincolnshire]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|3|21|1930|9|29}}
| death_place = [[Oxford]], England
| occupation = Novelist
| alma_mater = [[Christ's College, Cambridge]]
| genre = [[Crime fiction]]
| movement =
| spouse ={{marriage|Dorothy Cooper|1956}}
| children = 2
| notableworks = ''[[Inspector Morse]]'' series (1975–1999)
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Colin Dexter BBC Radio4 Bookclub 5 Aug 2007 b007vd4k.flac|title={{center|Colin Dexter's voice}}|type=speech|description={{center|[[:File:Colin Dexter BBC Radio4 Bookclub 5 Aug 2007 b007vd4k.flac|Recorded August 2007]] from the BBC Radio 4 programme ''[[Bookclub (radio programme)|Bookclub]]''}}}}
}}
'''Norman Colin Dexter''' (29 September 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English crime writer known for his ''[[Inspector Morse]]'' series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series, ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'', from 1987 to 2000. His characters have spawned a sequel series, ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'', from 2006 to 2015, and a prequel series, ''[[Endeavour (TV series)|Endeavour]]'', from 2012 to 2023. He also set crosswords for ''[[The Oxford Times]]''.

==Early life and career==
Dexter was born in [[Stamford, Lincolnshire]], to Alfred and Dorothy Dexter.<ref name="B&MC 165">{{cite journal|last1=Howard|first1=David|title=The ''Inspector Morse'' Books of Colin Dexter|journal=The Book and Magazine Collector|date=December 1997|issue=165|page=13}}</ref> He had an elder brother, John,<ref name="Guardian Obituary">{{cite news|last1=Barker|first1=Dennis|title=Colin Dexter obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/21/colin-dexter-obituary|access-date=22 March 2017|work=The Guardian|date=21 March 2017}}</ref> a fellow classicist, who taught [[Classics]] at [[The King's (The Cathedral) School|The King's School, Peterborough]], and a sister, Avril.<ref name="Memorial Address">{{cite web|last=Percy|first=Martyn|author-link=Martyn Percy|title=Memorial Address for Colin Dexter|url=https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Memorial%20Service%20for%20Colin%20Dexter%20Address.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Memorial%20Service%20for%20Colin%20Dexter%20Address.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live|page=2|access-date=1 April 2020|work=[[Christ Church, Oxford]]|date=26 April 2018}}</ref> Alfred ran a small garage and taxi company from premises in Scotgate, Stamford.<ref>{{cite web|title=Obituary: John Boon|url=http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/obituary-john-boon-1-3811082|access-date=22 March 2017|date=4 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322015336/http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/obituary-john-boon-1-3811082|archive-date=22 March 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Dexter was educated at St John's Infants School and Bluecoat Junior School, from which he gained a scholarship to [[Stamford School]], a boys' [[grammar school]], where a younger contemporary was England cricket captain and England rugby player, [[M. J. K. Smith]].<ref name="Guardian Obituary" /><ref name="B&MC 187">{{cite journal|last1=Howard|first1=David|title=The ''Inspector Morse'' Books of Colin Dexter|journal=The Book and Magazine Collector|date=October 1999|issue=187|page=5}}</ref>

After leaving school, Dexter completed his [[national service]] with the [[Royal Corps of Signals]] and then read classics at [[Christ's College, Cambridge]], graduating in 1953 and receiving a [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|master's degree]] in 1958.<ref name="B&MC 187" />

In 1954, Dexter began his teaching career as assistant Classics master at [[Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys]] in [[Leicester]]. There he helped the school's [[Christian unions (student groups)|Christian Union]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=
|title=Mr. N. C. Dexter
|magazine=The Wyggestonian |volume=57 |issue=3 |page=80 |location=Leicester |publisher=Wyggeston Boys' School
|date=July 1957}}</ref> However, in 2000 he stated that he shared the same views on politics and religion as Inspector Morse,<ref>{{cite news |title=You ask the questions |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/you-ask-the-questions-709477.html |work=[[The Independent]]
|location=London |date=18 July 2000 |access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref> who was portrayed in the final Morse novel, ''[[The Remorseful Day]]'', as an atheist. A post at [[Loughborough Grammar School]] followed in 1957, then he took up the position of senior Classics teacher at [[Tresham College of Further and Higher Education|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.<ref name="strandmag.com">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.strandmag.com/htm/colin_dexter.htm |title=Interview with Colin Dexter, excerpts |magazine=Strand Magazine |year=2009 |author=AFG |access-date=21 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511135856/http://www.strandmag.com/htm/colin_dexter.htm|archive-date=11 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2008, Dexter featured prominently in the [[BBC Four]] programme "How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword", as part of the [[Timeshift (TV series)|''Timeshift'' series]], in which he recounted some of the crossword clues solved by Morse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fh2bh|title=How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword, Series 8, Timeshift - BBC Four|publisher=BBC|access-date=21 September 2016}}</ref>

==Writing career==
The initial books written by Dexter were [[general studies]] textbooks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sandrafraser.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/character-interview-colin-dexter/|title=Character interview – Colin Dexter's Guilty Secret |work=Sandra Fraser |access-date=21 May 2015 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He began writing mysteries in 1972 during a family holiday. ''[[Last Bus to Woodstock]]'' was published in 1975 and introduced the character of [[Inspector Morse]], the irascible detective whose penchants for [[cryptic crossword]]s, [[English literature]], [[cask ale|real ale]], and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] operas reflected Dexter's own enthusiasms. Dexter's plots used [[red herring]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordwine.co.uk/features/summer_07/dexter.html |work=The Oxford Wine Company |title=Stars in their bars: Colin Dexter |first=Theo |last=Sloot |date=Summer 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611124231/http://www.oxfordwine.co.uk/features/summer_07/dexter.html |archive-date=11 June 2010 }}</ref> "presenting Morse, and his readers, with fiendishly difficult puzzles to solve".<ref name=Grimes2017 />

The success of the 33 two-hour episodes of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'', produced between 1987 and 2000, brought further attention to Dexter's writings. The show featured Morse, played by [[John Thaw]], and his assistant [[Inspector Lewis|Robert Lewis]], a sergeant played by [[Kevin Whately]]. In the manner of [[Alfred Hitchcock]], Dexter made a [[cameo appearance]] in almost all episodes.

From 2006 to 2015, Lewis was featured in a 33-episode ITV series titled ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'' (''Inspector Lewis'' in the United States).<ref>{{cite news |title=ITV drama Lewis to end after 10 years |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34709048 |access-date=22 March 2017 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> He is assisted by James Hathaway, a detective sergeant played by [[Laurence Fox]]. A prequel series, ''[[Endeavour (TV series)|Endeavour]]'', features a young Morse and stars [[Shaun Evans]] and [[Roger Allam]]. ''Endeavour'' was first broadcast on the ITV network in 2012, ending with the ninth series in 2023, taking young Morse's career into 1972.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newsweek.com/endeavour-season-8-final-last-pbs-masterpiece-itv-1527124 |magazine=Newsweek |title='Endeavour': Why the PBS Show May End After Season 8 |first=Samuel |last=Spencer |date=24 August 2020 |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> Dexter was a consultant for ''Lewis'' and the first few years of ''Endeavour''. As with ''Morse'', Dexter occasionally made appearances in both series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2012/03/12/itv-commissions-full-series-of-morse-drama-endeavour-349890/|title=ITV commissions full series of Morse drama Endeavour |last=Hooton |first=Christopher |newspaper=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]] |date=12 March 2012 |access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref>

Dexter set crosswords for ''[[The Oxford Times]]'' as "Codex" (COlin DEXter). Some of these were published in 2006 as ''Morse Crosswords'' (Chambers). He took the names for some of his characters, including Morse and Lewis, from other [[cruciverbalist]]s. All the characters in ''[[Last Bus to Woodstock]]'', the first Morse novel, were named after crossword compilers or entrants in ''[[The Observer]]''{{'}}s puzzles, "except the murderer".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-10-14 |title=Still setting the puzzles |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/8446331.still-setting-puzzles/ |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=Oxford Mail |language=en}}</ref> For example, although Dexter's military service was as a [[Morse code]] operator, the character was named after his friend Sir [[Jeremy Morse]], a crossword devotee like Dexter.<ref name=Grimes2017 /> [[Alec Robins]] – "Zander" in the BBC magazine [[The Listener (magazine)|''The Listener'']] and "Custos" in ''[[The Guardian]]'' – introduced Dexter to Jeremy Morse (who later became chairman of Lloyds Bank) at a crossword dinner. At the same dinner was Robins' Everyman crossword colleague on ''The Observer'', Dorothy Taylor. She had used the alias Mrs B Lewis so she could carry on entering ''Observer'' prize crossword competitions after she became a compiler there. Dexter took inspiration from the two names.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Quinn |first=Anthony |date=23 July 1998 |title='Morse code', Letters |work=The Guardian |pages=17}}</ref>

The music for the television series, written by [[Barrington Pheloung]], used a [[Motif (music)|motif]] based on the Morse code for Morse's name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crime4u.com/morendsixpseven.html |title=Cracking The Code –The Composer Behind Morse |first=Kim |last=Smith |work=Essex Life & Countryside |date=October 2001 |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=7 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007121135/http://www.crime4u.com/morendsixpseven.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
Dexter received several [[Crime Writers' Association]] awards: two [[Silver Dagger (award)|Silver Daggers]] 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.<ref name="strandmag.com"/> In 1996, Dexter received a [[Macavity Awards|Macavity Award]] for his short story "Evans Tries an O-Level". In 1980, he was elected a member of the by-invitation-only [[Detection Club]].<ref name="Independent">{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/colin-dexter-obituary-inspector-morse-oxford-whodunit-crime-writer-a7642411.html |title=Colin Dexter obituary: Inspector Morse creator and one of the great whodunnit men |first=Peter |last=Guttridge |newspaper=The Independent|location=London |date=21 March 2017 |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> In 2005 Dexter became a Fellow by Special Election of [[St Cross College, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Colin Dexter OBE |url=http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/about-st-cross/news/colin-dexter-obe|publisher=St Cross College |access-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322111929/http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/about-st-cross/news/colin-dexter-obe|archive-date=22 March 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[2000 Birthday Honours]] Dexter was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] for services to literature. In 2001 he was awarded the [[Freedom of the City]] of Oxford. In September 2011, the [[University of Lincoln]] awarded Dexter an honorary [[Doctor of Letters]] degree.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2011/08/405.asp |title=Inspector Morse creator among leading lights to be honoured at Lincoln graduation |publisher=University of Lincoln |first=Thirzah |last=Wildman |access-date=3 November 2020 |date=31 August 2011 |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715104203/https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2011/08/405.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Colin Dexter | publisher=Stamford Civic Society| url=https://www.stamfordcivicsociety.org.uk/colin-dexter.html#:~:text=In%20September%202011%2C%20the%20University,self%2Deffacing%20man%20had%20achieved. | access-date=23 March 2024}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1956, he married Dorothy Cooper. They had a daughter, Sally, and a son, Jeremy.<ref name="Guardian Obituary" /><ref name=Grimes2017/>

==Death==
On 21 March 2017 Dexter's publisher, [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]], said in a statement "With immense sadness, Macmillan announces the death of Colin Dexter who died peacefully at his home in Oxford this morning."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39342698|publisher=[[BBC News]]|access-date=21 March 2017|title=Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse, dies aged 86}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Inspector Morse novels===
# ''[[Last Bus to Woodstock]]'' (1975)
# ''[[Last Seen Wearing (Dexter novel)|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)<ref name="B&MC 187" /><ref name=WorldCat>{{cite web|title=Colin Dexter|url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AColin+dexter&fq=x0%3Abook+%3E+ln%3Aeng&qt=advanced&dblist=638|website=WorldCat|access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref>

===Novellas and short story collections===
* ''The Inside Story'' (1993)
* ''Neighbourhood Watch'' (1993)
* ''[[Morse's Greatest Mystery]]'' (1993); also published as ''As Good as Gold''
*# "As Good as Gold" (Morse)
*# "Morse's Greatest Mystery" (Morse)
*# "Evans Tries an O-Level"
*# "Dead as a Dodo" (Morse)
*# "At the Lulu-Bar Motel"
*# "Neighbourhood Watch" (Morse)
*# "A Case of Mis-Identity" (a [[Sherlock Holmes pastiche]])
*# "The Inside Story" (Morse)
*# "Monty's Revolver"
*# "The Carpet-Bagger"
*# "Last Call" (Morse)<ref name="B&MC 187" /><ref name=WorldCat />

===Uncollected short stories===
* "The Burglar" in ''You, [[The Mail on Sunday]]'' (1994)
* "The Double Crossing" in ''Mysterious Pleasures'' (2003)
* "Between the Lines" in ''The Detection Collection'' (2005)
* "The Case of the Curious Quorum" (featuring Inspector Lewis) in ''The Verdict of Us All'' (2006)
* "The Other Half" in ''[[Strand Magazine|The Strand Magazine]]'' (February–May 2007)
* "Morse and the Mystery of the Drunken Driver" in ''[[Daily Mail]]'' (December 2008)
* "Clued Up" (a 4-page story featuring Lewis and Morse solving a crossword) in ''Cracking Cryptic Crosswords'' (2009)

===Other===
* Foreword to ''Chambers Crossword Manual'' by Don Manley (5th edition, 2014)<ref name=WorldCat />
* ''Chambers Book of Morse Crosswords'' (2006)<ref name=WorldCat />
* Foreword to ''Oxford: A Cultural and Literary Companion'' by David Horan (1999; new edition 2007)<ref name=WorldCat />
* ''Cracking Cryptic Crosswords: A Guide to Solving Cryptic Crosswords'' (2010)<ref name=Grimes2017>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/books/colin-dexter-dead-creator-of-inspector-morse.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/books/colin-dexter-dead-creator-of-inspector-morse.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |title=Colin Dexter, 86, Dies; Creator of Inspector Morse, a Sleuth on Page and Screen |date=21 March 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=3 November 2020 |first=William |last=Grimes }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* Foreword to ''Oxford Through the Lens'' by Douglas Vernimmen (2016)<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3LyjwEACAAJ |contribution=Foreword |contributor-first=Colin |contributor-last=Dexter |title=Oxford through the Lens |first=Douglas |last=Vernimmen |isbn=978-1-85149-838-3 |year=2016 |publisher=Antique Collectors' Club }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Diogenes Small]]
* ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'' (1987-2000)
* ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'' (2006-2015)
* ''[[Endeavour (TV series)|Endeavour]]'' (2012-2023)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0223294|name=Colin Dexter}}
* {{NPG name}}
* {{OL author}}

{{InspectorMorse}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, Colin}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:People from Stamford, Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:People educated at Stamford School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Cartier Diamond Dagger winners]]
[[Category:English crime fiction writers]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:English mystery writers]]
[[Category:English detective fiction writers]]
[[Category:Fellows of St Cross College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Writers from Oxford]]
[[Category:Writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches]]
[[Category:Inspector Morse]]
[[Category:Macavity Award winners]]
[[Category:Members of the Detection Club]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Crossword creators]]
[[Category:Royal Corps of Signals soldiers]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]

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Colin Dexter