Norman Colin Dexter OBE (1930-2017) was a British crime writer best known as the author of the Inspector Morse novels which were adapted into the ITV series Inspector Morse which ran from 1987 to 2000 and which was followed by the spin-off Lewis and the prequel Endeavour (collectively known as the 'Morseverse').
Dexter wrote his first novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, during a family holiday in 1972 (it was published in 1975). Many of Morse's character traits — a love of cryptic crosswords, English literature, classical music and real ale — were also those of his creator. Dexter was from Lincolnshire and had done his National Service in the Royal Corps of Signals (details which Morse also 'inherited') although he had studied at Cambridge University before becoming a teacher. The Oxford connection came about when his deafness forced him to give up teaching, following which he worked for an Oxford University examinations board.
From the first episode of Inspector Morse, Dexter became well-known for his Creator Cameo appearances, usually in the background of a pub scene, a concert scene or sitting on a bench as the main characters walk through a park. This continued into Lewis and Endeavour until ill heath prevented it, although in the latter this tradition was continued through the use of photographs and mocked-up portraits.
Several details from the novels were Adapted Out for the TV series, notably Morse's smoking habit and appreciation of eroticism. Other changes for the TV series were so favoured by Dexter that he incorporated them into later novels, notably Morse driving a Jaguar (originally, his car was a Lancia), Sergeant Lewis being younger than Morse (originally, he was older) and the notable toning-down of Morse's Chivalrous Pervert tendencies (apparently done at the request of John Thaw, who played Morse).
A well-known Running Gag in the novels was Morse's hatred of his first name, which was never mentioned ... until the end of the penultimate book, Death is Now My Neighbour, in which it was finally revealed to be Endeavour. As a result of the publicity that surrounded this reveal, Morse's first name is now so widely known that it's no longer a mystery. The same goes for Morse dying at the end of the last novel, The Remorseful Day — this was widely reported when the book was published (and given more publicity when the character died in the TV adaptation the following year) and so doesn't need spoilers.
Originally, Morse — a brilliant student who was obliged to drop out of Oxford University following a failed relationship — was portrayed as having attended the real-life St John's College. It was only when Dexter wanted to write a story about the goings-on within an Oxford college that he hit on the idea (not original to him) of creating a fictional college as it would give him licence for invention while also avoiding the prospect of depicting unsavoury events in a real-life institution (at the time, he was still employed by Oxford University). Thus, Lonsdale College was invented. It was later retconned to be Morse's old college. Subsequent Morseverse writers have ran with this idea, to the extent that there are now dozens of them
.
Dexter was very fond of using literary quotes as chapter headings; invariably, they had a bearing on the events that followed. When he couldn't find suitable quotes, he made them up and attributed them to non-existent sources. The best known of these was an historical author of Dexter's own devising, Diogenes Small, who was eventually credited with a lengthy bibliography including a dictionary that ran to 18 editions and who, much to Dexter's amusement, has featured in more than one quotation compilation.
Here is the full list of Inspector Morse novels:
- Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
- Last Seen Wearing (1976)
- The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)
- Service of All the Dead (1979) note
- The Dead of Jericho (1981) note ; the first Morse novel to be adapted for TV
- The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983); adapted for TV as "The Last Enemy", with an unused plot element later resurfacing in the Endeavour episode "Cartouche"
- The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986); adapted – loosely – as "The Secret of Bay 5B"
- The Wench is Dead (1989) note
- The Jewel That Was Ours (1991); based on the TV episode "The Wolvercote Tongue"
- The Way Through the Woods (1992) note
- Morse's Greatest Mystery (1993), also published under the title As Good as Gold; short story collection note
- The Daughters of Cain (1994)
- Death is Now My Neighbour (1996); the one in which Morse's first name is finally revealed, albeit in somewhat different circumstances to the TV adaptation
- The Remorseful Day (1999); the one in which
Morse dies
