(Norman) Colin Dexter is the British author of the Inspector Morse novels. Dexter was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, on 29 September 1930. After National Service with the Royal Corps of Signals he read Classics at Christ's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1953.

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 Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations in Oxford - a job he held until his retirement in 1988.

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, real ale and Wagner reflect Dexter's own enthusiasms.

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

Colin Dexter has been the recipient of several Crime Writers Association "Golden Dagger" awards, and in 2000 he was awarded the OBE for services to literature.

See also: Diogenes Small

Bibliography

• 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 Inside Story (1993) #
• Morse's Greatest Mystery [Short stories] (1993)

1. "Morse's Greatest Mystery" #
2. "Evans Tries an O-level"
3. "Dead as a Dodo #
4. "At The Lulu-bar Motel"
5. "Neighbourhood Watch" #
6. "A Case of Mis-identity"
7. "The Inside Story" #
8. "Monty's Revolver"
9. "The Carpet-bagger"
10. "Last Call" #

• Neighbourhood Watch (1993) #
• The Daughters of Cain (1994)
• As Good as Gold [Short stories] (1994) #

1. "Morse's Greatest Mystery" #
2. "Evans Tries an O-level"
3. "Dead as a Dodo #
4. "At The Lulu-bar Motel"
5. "Neighbourhood Watch" #
6. "A Case of Mis-identity"
7. "The Inside Story" #
8. "Monty's Revolver"
9. "The Carpet-bagger"
10. "Last Call" #
11. "As Good as Gold" #

• Death is Now My Neighbour (1996) #
• The Remorseful Day (1999) #

# Inspector Morse series

Note: "Neighbourhood Watch" and "The Inside Story" were published both as separate books and in Morse's Greatest Mystery. As Good as Gold includes all the stories in Morse's Greatest Mystery plus the story "As Good as Gold." "Neighbourhood Watch" was published as special, extremely limited edition, The Inside Story and As Good as Gold were published as advertisements for American Express and Kodak, respectively.

Resource

• Illustrated Bibliography of 1st Editions