Colin Dexter

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 television series, Inspector Morse, from 1987 to 2000. His characters spawned a sequel series, Lewis, from 2006 to 2015, and a prequel 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. He had an elder brother, John, a fellow classicist, who taught Classics at The King's School, Peterborough, and a sister, Avril. Alfred ran a small garage and taxi company from premises in Scotgate, Stamford. 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.

After leaving school Dexter did 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's degree in 1958. However in 2000 he stated that he shared the same views on politics and religion as Inspector Morse, who was portrayed as an atheist already in the first Morse novel, Last Bus to Woodstock. A post at Loughborough Grammar School followed in 1957, then 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.

In November 2008 Dexter featured prominently in the BBC Four programme How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword, as part of the Timeshift series, in which he recounted some of the crossword clues solved by Morse.

Writing career The first books Dexter wrote were general studies textbooks. 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 crosswords, English literature, real ale, and Wagner operas reflected Dexter's own enthusiasms. Dexter's plots used red herrings, "presenting Morse, and his readers, with fiendishly difficult puzzles to solve". He is assisted by James Hathaway, a detective sergeant played by Laurence Fox. A prequel 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. Dexter was a consultant for Lewis and the first few years of Endeavour. As with Morse, Dexter occasionally made appearances in both series.

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 cruciverbalists. All the characters in Last Bus to Woodstock, the first Morse novel, were named after crossword compilers or entrants in The Observers puzzles, "except the murderer". 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.

The music for the television series, written by Barrington Pheloung, used a motif based on the Morse code for Morse's name.

Awards and honours Dexter received several Crime Writers' Association awards: two Silver Daggers for Service of All the Dead in 1979 and The Dead of Jericho in 1981; two Gold Daggers 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 2005 Dexter became a Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford.

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.

Personal life In 1956, he married Dorothy Cooper. They had a daughter, Sally, and a son, Jeremy.