Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best known for creating Chief
Inspector Wexford
Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of detective novels by English crime writer Ruth Rendell. He made his first appearance in the author's 1964 debut '' From Doon With Death'', and has since been the prot ...
.The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Sixth edition. Ed. by Margaret Drabble. Oxford University Press,
2000, p. 847. . A second string of works was a series of unrelated crime novels that explored the psychological background of criminals and their victims. This theme was developed further in a third series of novels, published under the pseudonym Barbara Vine.
She has sold an estimated 20 million copies.
Early life
Rendell was born as Ruth Barbara Grasemann in 1930, in
South Woodford
South Woodford is an area of East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Woodford Green to the north, Walthamstow
Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. T ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
(now
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
). Her parents were teachers. Her mother, Ebba Kruse, was born in Sweden to Danish parents and brought up in Denmark; her father, Arthur Grasemann, was English. As a result of spending Christmas and other holidays in Scandinavia, Rendell learned Swedish and Danish. Rendell was educated at the County High School for Girls in
Loughton
Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...
, Essex, the town to which the family moved during her childhood. In 2016 a blue plaque was unveiled at her former home, 45 Millsmead Way, Loughton, in recognition of her time living there.
After high school, she became a feature writer for her local Essex paper, the ''Chigwell Times''. She submitted a story narrating a local sports club dinner she had not attended. Because of her absence at the dinner, she did not know that the after-dinner speaker had died midway through the speech, and failed to report it. She was subsequently forced to resign.
Personal life
Rendell met her husband Don Rendell when she was working as a newswriter. They married in 1950, when she was 20, and in 1953 had a son, Simon, now a psychiatrist-social worker who lives in the U.S. state of Colorado. The couple divorced in 1975 but remarried two years later. Don Rendell died in 1999 from
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
.
She made the county of
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
her home for many years, using the settings in several of her novels. She lived in the villages of
Polstead
Polstead is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. The village lies northeast of Nayland, southwest of Hadleigh and north of Colchester. It is situated on a small tributary stream of the River Stour. In 20 ...
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario
** Sudbury (federal electoral district)
** Sudbury (provincial electoral district)
** Sudbury Airport
** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
. She was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the
1996 Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...
and a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
as Baroness Rendell of Babergh, of
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...
in the County of Suffolk, on 24 October 1997. She sat in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
for the Labour Party. In 1998, Rendell was named in a list of the party's biggest private financial donors. She introduced into the Lords the bill that would later become the
Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003
The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (c. 31) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom applying to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It replaced the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, extending the ban on female genital mu ...
(the intent was to prevent the practice).
In August 2014, Rendell was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.
Rendell was a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
who was described as living mostly on fruit."Ruth Rendell" thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2023. She described herself as "slightly
agoraphobic
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and q ...
" and slept in a specially made four-poster bed because "I like to feel enclosed."
Awards
Baroness Rendell's awards include the Silver,
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the E ...
, The Arts Council National Book Awards, and
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
Literary Award. A number of her works (see the section below) have been adapted for film or television. She was also a patron of the charity Kids for Kids which helps children in rural areas of
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...
. There is a blue plaque on one of her homes, 45 Millsmead Way, in
Loughton
Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...
. This was unveiled by her son Simon on 24 February 2016. Four of her novels appear on the British-based Crime Writers Association Poll (1990) of the best crime fiction novels ever written: two under the Rendell name and two under her pen name of Barbara Vine.
Her Crime Writer’s Association Dagger wins (four Gold, one Silver and one Cartier Diamond) remains unmatched, as does her record of being the first author to be nominated and win under multiple names. Her unparalleled Edgar and Dagger finalist nominations include: ''A Judgement In Stone'' (1977 Gold Dagger finalist), ''A Sleeping Life'' (1979 Edgar finalist for Best Novel), ''Make Death Love Me'' (1980 Edgar finalist for Best Novel), The ''Speaker Of Mandarin'' (1983 Gold Dagger finalist), ''An Unkindness Of Ravens'' and ''The Tree Of Hands'' (both 1986 Edgar finalists for Best Novel), ''A Dark-Adapted Eye'' (as Barbara Vine, 1986 Gold Dagger finalist), ''A Fatal Inversion'' (as Barbara Vine, 1988 Macavity Award finalist for Best Novel), and ''Going Wrong'' (1990 Gold Dagger finalist.)https://thecwa.co.uk/past-winners/page/2?search=ruth rendell&from_year&to_year Additionally, she was nominated four times in the Edgar Best Short Story category (in 1976 for "The Fall Of The Coin" and 1977 for "People Don’t Do Such Things"), winning twice for "The Fallen Curtain" (1975) and "The New Girlfriend" (1984).
Death
Rendell suffered a stroke on 7 January 2015, and she died on 2 May at
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...
in
Tooting
Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross.
History
Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...
, London.
Legacy
The Ruth Rendell Award was introduced in 2016 by the
National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity (registered no. 1116260 in England and Wales and registered no. SCO42944 in Scotland) based in London, England, that promotes literacy.
It was founded by Sir Simon Hornby, former chairman of ...
. It is awarded to authors for their work in inspiring children and improving their literacy.
Developing the thriller genre
Rendell wrote two unpublished novels before the 1964 publication of '' From Doon with Death'', which was purchased for £75 by John Long; it was the first mystery to feature Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford. Rendell said that the character of Wexford was based on herself. '' The Monster in the Box'', released in October 2009, was widely suggested to be Wexford's last case. This was incorrect; however it was the final novel featuring Wexford as an employed policeman. In the two following novels, '' The Vault'' and '' No Man's Nightingale,'' he was retired but was still involved in police investigations as a "consultant".
In ''Introducing Chief Inspector Wexford'' by Daniel Mallory he says (based on a 1990 interview with Rendell by
Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio is a New York City author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for ''The New York Times Book Review'' since about 1988,Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio is a New York City author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for ''The New York Times Book Review'' since about 1988,police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
s starring Wexford, Rendell wrote psychological crime novels exploring such themes as romantic obsession, misperceived communication, the impact of chance and coincidence, and the humanity of the criminals involved. Among such books are '' A Judgement in Stone'', '' The Face of Trespass'', '' Live Flesh'', ''
Talking to Strange Men
''Talking to Strange Men'' is a 1987 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell.
Plot summary
Two plotlines run through this crime novel. The main adult protagonist is John Creevey who stumbles upon a series of hidden coded messages which he thinks m ...
'', ''
The Killing Doll
''The Killing Doll'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, published in 1984.
Synopsis
Pup Yearman, a 16-year-old who lives in a rundown area of London, experiments with magic. Dolly, Pup's older sister, does more than just dabble in mag ...
'', ''
Going Wrong
''Going Wrong'' is a psychological thriller by English crime writer Ruth Rendell.
The novel was published in 1990 by Hutchinson in the UK and Mysterious Press in the US.
Synopsis
When he was a young man, Guy Curran led a local street gang a ...
'' and '' Adam and Eve and Pinch Me''. For the last novel published in her lifetime, ''The Girl Next Door'', she returned to the Loughton of her childhood, with an implied comparison of the moral climate of wartime England and 2014.
Rendell created a third strand of writing with the publication in 1986 of ''
A Dark-Adapted Eye
''A Dark-Adapted Eye'' (1986) is a psychological thriller novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pen name Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award. It was adapted as a television film of the same name in 1994 by the BBC.
Plot
L ...
'' under her pseudonym Barbara Vine (the name was derived from her own middle name and her great-grandmother's maiden name). ''
King Solomon's Carpet
''King Solomon's Carpet'' (1991) is a novel by Barbara Vine, pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. It is about the London Underground and the people frequenting it. Vine's novel is inhabited by ordinary passengers, tube aficionados, pickpockets, buskers ...
'', ''
A Fatal Inversion
''A Fatal Inversion'' is a 1987 novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in that year and, in 1987, was also shortlisted for the Dagger of Daggers, a special awar ...
'' and ''
Asta's Book
''Asta's Book'' is a 1993 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is b ...
'' (alternative U.S. title, ''Anna's Book''), among others, inhabited the same territory as her psychological crime novels while further developing themes of human misunderstandings and the unintended consequences of family secrets and hidden crimes. The author was noted for her elegant prose and sharp insights into the human mind, as well as her cogent plots and characters. Rendell injected the social changes of the last 40 years into her work, bringing awareness to such issues as
domestic violence
Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
.
Adaptations of her works
The Inspector Wexford series was successfully televised, starring George Baker as Inspector Wexford and
Christopher Ravenscroft
Christopher Ravenscroft (born 1946) is an English actor, best known for his recurring role as DI Mike Burden in ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'', the ITV adaptation of Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford mysteries.
Biography
Ravenscroft was born in ...
as Detective Mike Burden, under the title ''
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broa ...
'', with 48 episodes from 1987 to 2000. Rendell praised Baker's performance, stating "It was a marvellous achievement as an actor to make him more and better than the author intended." Many of her other works have been adapted for film and television. She said that
Claude Chabrol
Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...
La Cérémonie
''La Cérémonie'' ( English: lit. ''The Ceremony'') is a 1995 French-German psychological thriller film by Claude Chabrol, adapted from the 1977 novel '' A Judgement in Stone'' by Ruth Rendell. The film echoes the case of Christine and Lea Papi ...
'' with
Sandrine Bonnaire
Sandrine Bonnaire (; born 31 May 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter who has appeared in more than 40 films. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for '' À Nos Amours'' (1983), the César Award for Best Actre ...
, was one of the few film adaptations of her work that she was happy with. The novel was also filmed in 1986 with
Rita Tushingham
Rita Tushingham (born 14 March 1942) is an English actress. She is known for her starring roles in films including '' A Taste of Honey'' (1961), '' The Leather Boys'' (1964), '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965), '' Doctor Zhivago'' (1965 ...
Diary of the Dead
''Diary of the Dead'' (promoted as ''George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead'') is a 2007 found footage horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Although independently produced, it was distributed theatrically by The Weinstein Compa ...
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...
Giles Foster
Giles Foster has been an English television director since 1975, specialising in television dramas. He has also directed in Australia and in Germany (2012-2014). He wrote some television dramas in the 1970s.
He is from Bath, Somerset and was edu ...
for Granada with
Lauren Bacall
Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall ( ), was an American actress. She was named the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the America ...
(U.S. title: "Innocent Victim"); and another version of ''The Tree of Hands'', '' Betty Fisher et autres histoires'' (2001, a.k.a. ''Alias Betty''), with screenplay and direction by
Claude Miller
Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter.
Life and career
Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his f ...
. François Ozon's 2015 film ''
The New Girlfriend
''The New Girlfriend and Other Stories'' is a short story collection by British writer Ruth Rendell. The title story won the MWA Edgar Award for Best Short Story of the Year in 1984.Tales of the Unexpected'' were based on Rendell's short stories - "A Glowing Future" (
series 4 Series 4 could refer to:
* Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model
* BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line
* GeForce 4 series
The GeForce 4 series (codenames below) refers to the fourth generation of Nvidia's GeForce line of graph ...
, episode 15) and "People Don't Do Such Things" ( series 8, episode 1).
Awards and honours
*1975 –
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the E ...
Best Short Story Edgar: '' The Fallen Curtain''
*1975 - Current Crime's Silver Cup for Best Crime Novel: ''
Shake Hands Forever
Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of detective novels by English crime writer Ruth Rendell. He made his first appearance in the author's 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of R ...
''
*1976 - Gold Dagger for Fiction: '' A Demon In My View''
*1980 - Martin Beck Award for Best Crime Novel: ''
Make Death Love Me
''Make Death Love Me'' (1979) is a psychological crime novel by English author Ruth Rendell, regarded by some as one of her bleakest and most powerful stories. The novel was shortlisted for an Edgar and won Sweden's prestigious Martin Beck Awar ...
''
*1981 - Arts Council National Book Award for Genre Fiction: ''
The Lake Of Darkness
''The Lake of Darkness'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1980. It won the Arts Council National Book Award for Genre Fiction in 1981.
The title comes from a quotation from Shakespeare's ''King Lear'':
:"Frateretto ...
''
*1984 -
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the E ...
Best Short Story Edgar: ''
The New Girlfriend
''The New Girlfriend and Other Stories'' is a short story collection by British writer Ruth Rendell. The title story won the MWA Edgar Award for Best Short Story of the Year in 1984.
*1984 - Silver Dagger for Fiction: '' The Tree Of Hands''
*1986 - Gold Dagger for Fiction: '' Live Flesh''
*1987 –
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the E ...
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
: ''
A Dark-Adapted Eye
''A Dark-Adapted Eye'' (1986) is a psychological thriller novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pen name Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award. It was adapted as a television film of the same name in 1994 by the BBC.
Plot
L ...
''
*1987 – Gold Dagger for Fiction: ''
A Fatal Inversion
''A Fatal Inversion'' is a 1987 novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in that year and, in 1987, was also shortlisted for the Dagger of Daggers, a special awar ...
''
*1988 – Angel Award for Fiction: '' The House of Stairs''
*1990 – ''Sunday Times'' Award for Literary Excellence
*1991 – Gold Dagger for Fiction: ''
King Solomon's Carpet
''King Solomon's Carpet'' (1991) is a novel by Barbara Vine, pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. It is about the London Underground and the people frequenting it. Vine's novel is inhabited by ordinary passengers, tube aficionados, pickpockets, buskers ...
''
*1991 – Cartier Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Achievement in the Field
*1996 –
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE)
*1997 -
Life Peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
as Baroness Rendell of Babergh
*1997 -
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the E ...
Grand Master Award
*2004 – Mystery Ink
Gumshoe Award
The Gumshoe Awards were an American award for popular crime fiction literary works. The Gumshoe Awards were awarded annually by the American Internet magazine ''Mystery Ink'' (not to be confused with Mystery Inc.) to recognize the best achievemen ...
Dagger of Daggers
The Dagger of Daggers was a special award given in 2005 by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) to celebrate its 50th anniversary. All books that had previously won the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year were eligible, and the purpose ...
(best crime novel to have won the Gold Dagger award (shortlist)): ''
A Fatal Inversion
''A Fatal Inversion'' is a 1987 novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in that year and, in 1987, was also shortlisted for the Dagger of Daggers, a special awar ...
''
*2007 –
Gumshoe Award
The Gumshoe Awards were an American award for popular crime fiction literary works. The Gumshoe Awards were awarded annually by the American Internet magazine ''Mystery Ink'' (not to be confused with Mystery Inc.) to recognize the best achievemen ...
for Best European Crime Novel (shortlist): ''
The Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...
''
*2007 –
Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award
The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK's top crime-fiction awards, sponsored by Theakston's Old Peculier. It is awarded annually at Harrogate Crime Writing Festival in the UK, held every July, as part of the H ...
(longlist): ''
End in Tears
''End in Tears'' (2005) is a novel by English crime writer Ruth Rendell, the twentieth in her acclaimed Inspector Wexford series.
Synopsis
When a lump of concrete is thrown from a bridge and into passing traffic one dark night, the wrong motori ...
''
*2010 –
Lost Man Booker Prize
The Lost Man Booker Prize was a special edition of the Man Booker Prize awarded by a public vote in 2010 to a novel from 1970 as the books published in 1970 were not eligible for the Man Booker Prize due to a rules alteration; until 1970 the priz ...
A New Lease of Death
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''.
It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
'' (1967) (American title: ''The Sins of the Fathers'')
#'' Wolf to the Slaughter'' (1967)
#''
The Best Man to Die
''The Best Man to Die'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. it was first published in 1969, and is the 4th entry in her popular Inspector Wexford series.
Reception
Shirley Graves of the ''Daily Independent Journal'' wrote: "Publish ...
No More Dying Then
''No More Dying Then'' is a novel by the British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It was first published in 1971, and is the sixth title in her popular Inspector Wexford
Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series ...
'' (1971)
#''
Murder Being Once Done
''Murder Being Once Done'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1972. It is the seventh entry in her popular Inspector Wexford series.
Reception
Lenore Glen Offord of the ''San Francisco Examiner'' wrote: "Highl ...
'' (1972)
#''
Some Lie and Some Die
''Some Lie And Some Die'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1973. It is the 8th entry in her popular Inspector Wexford series. The book was adapted in 1990 into a TV movie starring Peter Capaldi.
Plot
During a ...
'' (1973)
#''
Shake Hands Forever
Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of detective novels by English crime writer Ruth Rendell. He made his first appearance in the author's 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of R ...
'' (1975)
#''
A Sleeping Life
''A Sleeping Life'' is a crime-novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1978. It features her popular investigator Detective Inspector Wexford, and is the tenth novel in the series.
''A Sleeping Life'' was a finalist for the ...
'' (1978)
#''
Put on by Cunning
''Put on by Cunning'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It was first published in 1981, and features her popular series protagonist Inspector Wexford. It is the 11th in the series.
The title comes from a quotation from Shakespea ...
'' (1981) (American title: ''Death Notes'')
#''
The Speaker of Mandarin
''The Speaker of Mandarin'' is a detective novel by British crime writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1983. It is the 12th novel in her popular Inspector Wexford series. The plot follows the popular Kingsmarkham (a fictional market town in t ...
'' (1983)
#''
An Unkindness of Ravens
''An Unkindness of Ravens'' is a murder mystery by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. First published in 1985, it is the 13th in her series featuring Inspector Wexford.
Plot
Inspector Wexford is asked to look into the disappearance of his Kin ...
'' (1985)
#''
The Veiled One
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
'' (1988)
#''
Kissing the Gunner's Daughter
''Kissing the Gunner's Daughter'' is a 1992 novel by the British mystery writer Ruth Rendell, featuring the recurring character Inspector Reg Wexford. The title refers to historical corporal punishment in the Royal Navy where a sailor kissing ...
'' (1991)
#''
Simisola
''Simisola'' is a 1994 novel by British crime writer Ruth Rendell. It features her recurring detective Inspector Wexford, and is the 17th in the series. Though a murder mystery, the book also touches on the themes of racism, welfare dependency ...
'' (1994)
#''
Road Rage
Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by people driving a vehicle. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians, or cyclists in an ...
'' (1997)
#''
Harm Done
''Harm Done'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, published in 1999. The novel is part of her popular Inspector Wexford detective series, and examines themes such as paedophilia and domestic violence.
Reception
Lynn Crosbie of the ...
'' (1999)
#''
The Babes in the Wood
''The Babes in the Wood'' is a 2002 novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It is the 19th entry in the popular Inspector Wexford series, and is set, as usual, in Kingsmarkham. In 2003, it was selected by ''The New York Times
''T ...
'' (2002)
#''
End in Tears
''End in Tears'' (2005) is a novel by English crime writer Ruth Rendell, the twentieth in her acclaimed Inspector Wexford series.
Synopsis
When a lump of concrete is thrown from a bridge and into passing traffic one dark night, the wrong motori ...
To Fear a Painted Devil
''To Fear a Painted Devil'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell published in 1965 by John Long Ltd in the UK and Doubleday in the US. Her second book, it is a stand-alone crime thriller in which "there is less reliance on suspense and th ...
'' (1965)
*'' Vanity Dies Hard'' (1966) (American title: ''In Sickness and in Health'')
*''
The Secret House of Death
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
Make Death Love Me
''Make Death Love Me'' (1979) is a psychological crime novel by English author Ruth Rendell, regarded by some as one of her bleakest and most powerful stories. The novel was shortlisted for an Edgar and won Sweden's prestigious Martin Beck Awar ...
'' (1979)
*''
The Lake of Darkness
''The Lake of Darkness'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1980. It won the Arts Council National Book Award for Genre Fiction in 1981.
The title comes from a quotation from Shakespeare's ''King Lear'':
:"Frateretto ...
The Killing Doll
''The Killing Doll'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, published in 1984.
Synopsis
Pup Yearman, a 16-year-old who lives in a rundown area of London, experiments with magic. Dolly, Pup's older sister, does more than just dabble in mag ...
Talking to Strange Men
''Talking to Strange Men'' is a 1987 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell.
Plot summary
Two plotlines run through this crime novel. The main adult protagonist is John Creevey who stumbles upon a series of hidden coded messages which he thinks m ...
Going Wrong
''Going Wrong'' is a psychological thriller by English crime writer Ruth Rendell.
The novel was published in 1990 by Hutchinson in the UK and Mysterious Press in the US.
Synopsis
When he was a young man, Guy Curran led a local street gang a ...
Dark Corners
''Dark Corners'' is a 2006 horror-thriller film directed by Ray Gower and starring Thora Birch.
Plot
Birch plays two characters, alternating between them each time she falls asleep, each of whom believes that the other is a dream. The first ...
'' (2015)
Novellas
*''Thornapple'' (1982). Collected in ''The Fever Tree.''
*''
Heartstones
''Heartstones'' is a novella by British author Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best ...
'' (1987). Uncollected.
*''Piranha To Scurfy'' (1990). Collected in ''Piranha To Scurfy''
*''High Mysterious Union'' (1990). Collected in ''Piranha To Scurfy''
*''The Strawberry Tree'' (1995). Collected in ''Blood Lines.''
*'' The Thief'' (2006). Collected in ''A Spot of Folly.''
Written as Barbara Vine
*''
A Dark-Adapted Eye
''A Dark-Adapted Eye'' (1986) is a psychological thriller novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pen name Barbara Vine. The novel won the American Edgar Award. It was adapted as a television film of the same name in 1994 by the BBC.
Plot
L ...
'' (1986)
*''
A Fatal Inversion
''A Fatal Inversion'' is a 1987 novel by Ruth Rendell, written under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. The novel won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in that year and, in 1987, was also shortlisted for the Dagger of Daggers, a special awar ...
Gallowglass
The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from meaning "foreign warriors") were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland and Scotland between the mid 13th ...
'' (1990)
*''
King Solomon's Carpet
''King Solomon's Carpet'' (1991) is a novel by Barbara Vine, pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. It is about the London Underground and the people frequenting it. Vine's novel is inhabited by ordinary passengers, tube aficionados, pickpockets, buskers ...
'' (1991)
*''
Asta's Book
''Asta's Book'' is a 1993 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is b ...
'' (1993) (American title: ''Anna's Book'')
*''
No Night Is Too Long
''No Night Is Too Long'' is a 2002 BBC dramatisation based on the 1994 novel of the same name by Barbara Vine (a pseudonym of Ruth Rendell), with a screenplay by Kevin Elyot. The title comes from a line in Richard Strauss's opera ''Der Rosenk ...
Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grassh ...
The Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...
'' (2005)
*''
The Birthday Present
''The Birthday Present'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson and starring Tony Britton and Sylvia Syms. The screenplay was by Jack Whittingham who also produced the film for British Lion Films.
Plot
Simon Scott, a top toy s ...
Inspector Wexford
Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of detective novels by English crime writer Ruth Rendell. He made his first appearance in the author's 1964 debut '' From Doon With Death'', and has since been the prot ...
The New Girlfriend
''The New Girlfriend and Other Stories'' is a short story collection by British writer Ruth Rendell. The title story won the MWA Edgar Award for Best Short Story of the Year in 1984.The Copper Peacock'' (1991)
*'' Blood Lines: Long and Short Stories'' (1995)
*'' Piranha to Scurfy'' (2000)
*''Collected Short Stories, Volume 1'' (2006)
*''Collected Short Stories, Volume 2'' (2008)
*'' A Spot of Folly'' (2017)
Uncollected short stories
*"The Martyr", included in Midsummer Nights (ed. ''Jeanette Winterson''), Quercus, 2009
Uncollected round-robin short stories to which Rendell was a contributor
*"Death in the Square", co-authored with
Peter Levi
Peter Chad Tigar Levi (16 May 1931, in Ruislip – 1 February 2000, in Frampton-on-Severn) was an English poet, archaeologist, Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and prolific reviewer and critic. He was Professor of Poetry at ...
,
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
and
Ted Willis
Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 – 22 December 1992) was an English playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. He created several television serie ...
,
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
, 1988
*"Web of Intrigue", co-written with members of the public.
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
, 1997
Non-fiction
*''Ruth Rendell's Suffolk'' (1989)
*''Undermining the Central Line: giving government back to the people'' (with
Colin Ward
Colin Ward (14 August 1924 – 11 February 2010)
A critical essay on Rendell's crime novels appears in
S. T. Joshi
Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers.
Career
His literary critic ...
's book ''Varieties of Crime Fiction'' (Wildside Press, 2019) .
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...