Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

s by English crime 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 best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

. He made his first appearance in the author's

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

debut ''

From Doon With Death ''From Doon with Death'' was the debut novel of British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1964. The story was later made into a movie in 1988. The novel introduced her popular recurring character Inspector Wexford Chief Inspector Regin ...

'', and has since been the protagonist of 23 more novels (plus some short stories). In ''

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 ...

'' he was played by George Baker.

Character

In a 2013 interview, Rendell stated:

Wexford is a Liberal Democrat though, and I am a Labour party member, in fact a Labour peer, so I am further to the left than him.

Wexford is an intelligent, sensitive man. He has a placid wife, Dora, and two daughters, Sheila and Sylvia. He has a good relationship with Sheila (his favourite) but a difficult relationship with Sylvia (who feels slighted though he has never actually intended to slight her). He also has a strong friendship with DI Mike Burden.

Setting

The Wexford series of novels are set in "Kingsmarkham", a fictional town in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. Kingsmarkham has been reported as "inspired by

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

in West Sussex". Rendall says that Kingsmarkham "is not romantic at all, (with) ugly modern buildings, huge supermarkets, open car lots and bus garages, and sprawling blocks of local authority housing with the police station a concrete box of tricks amid the quiet crowded houses of High Street … a piece of gaudy litter in a pastoral glade and having modern furniture and (a) sleek, gleaming reception counter". (''Introducing Chief Inspector Wexford'' by Daniel Mallory; from 1990 Rendell interview with

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,From Doon with Death ''From Doon with Death'' was the debut novel of British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1964. The story was later made into a movie in 1988. The novel introduced her popular recurring character Inspector Wexford Chief Inspector Regin ...

'' (1964) #''

A New Lease of Death 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 prota ...

'' (1967) (known as ''Sins of the fathers'' in the US) #''

Wolf to the Slaughter ''Wolf to the Slaughter'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1967. It is the third book in the popular Inspector Wexford series. A mini-series adapted from the novel was produced by Television South in 1987. Re ...

'' (1968) #''

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 Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of det ...

'' (1969) #''

A Guilty Thing Surprised 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 prota ...

'' (1970) #'' No More Dying Then'' (1971) #'' Murder Being Done Once'' (1972) (known as ''Murder being once done'' in the US) #'' Some Lie And Some Die'' (1973) #''

Shake Hands Forever ''Shake Hands Forever'' is a novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1975. It is the 9th entry in her popular Inspector Wexford Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of detective novels ...

'' (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. It was shortlisted for the Mystery Writers' Of ...

'' (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) (known as ''Death notes'' in the US) #''

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 Veiled One'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell. It is the 14th entry in the Inspector Wexford Chief Inspector Reginald "Reg" Wexford is a recurring character in a series of detective novels by English crime writer Ruth Re ...

'' (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 of the book refers to historical corporal punishment in the Royal Navy where a sai ...

'' (1992) #''

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 dependenc ...

'' (1994) #''

Road Rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...

'' (1997) #''

Harm Done 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 prota ...

'' (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 ''Th ...

'' (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 motoris ...

'' (2005) #''

Not in the Flesh 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 protag ...

'' (2007) #''

The Monster in the Box ''The Monster in the Box'' is a novel by British crime-writer Ruth Rendell, published in 2009. The novel is the 22nd in the Inspector Wexford series. Plot summary Wexford has long suspected Eric Targo of being a serial killer. Decades later, ...

'' (2009) #'' The Vault'' (2011) #'' No Man's Nightingale'' (2013)

References

External links

Inspector Wexford
- celebrating the books, and the tv series. Book series introduced in 1964 Wexford, Reginald Characters in mystery novel series of the 20th century Literary characters introduced in 1964 British mystery novels British detective novels British novels by series Crime novel series Novels by Ruth Rendell British detective television series {{novel-char-stub