''The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn'' is a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by
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'', fro ...
, the third novel in
Inspector Morse
Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series ''Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...
series.
Synopsis
The Oxford Foreign Examinations Syndicate runs school exams in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
and other places with a British connection. The Secretary Dr Bartlett and Mr Roope, a chemistry don and a member of the committee, disagree about the appointment of a new member of staff. Roope gets his way and Nicholas Quinn, a deaf man who lipreads, gets the job.
When Quinn is found murdered in his
maisonette
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...
, all the staff are under suspicion. There is Bartlett, his deputy Ogleby and the attractive Monica Height, who has liaisons with some of the others - especially young Donald Martin. Strangely, nearly all of them, including Quinn, appear to have tickets for The Nymphomaniac at Studio 2 in Walton Street on the afternoon of the murder. When later Ogleby is himself found murdered, a neat drawing of Quinn’s ticket is found in his diary.
Morse tries to deduce which of the others is the murderer but keeps getting it wrong. An intrigue involving wealthy Arabs and prior knowledge of exam papers is clearly the cause, and Quinn had found out about it and paid for it with his life.
Characters
*
Inspector Morse
Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series ''Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...
*
Sergeant Robert Lewis
*Monica Height
*Philip Ogleby
*Dr Bartlett
*Dr Roope
*
Chief Superintendent Strange
*Donald Martin
*Sergeant Dixon
*Nicholas Quinn
Publication history
*1977, London: Macmillan , Pub date 5 May 1977, Hardback
Adaptations
;Television
The novel was adapted as the second episode of the
Inspector Morse TV series in 1987. The adaptation remained faithful to the source material, the only noticeable changes being the omission of much of the material prior to Quinn's murder. The television version begins with him already employed by the syndicate. The film watched by the characters viewed was changed to ''
Last Tango in Paris
''Last Tango in Paris'' ( it, Ultimo tango a Parigi; french: Le Dernier Tango à Paris) is a 1972 erotic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and portrays a recently w ...
''.
The cast included
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series ''Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...
as Inspector Endeavour Morse,
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas ''Inspector Morse'' 1987–2000 and ...
as Sergeant Robert Lewis,
Barbara Flynn
Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series '' A Family at War'' (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy ...
as Monica Height,
Michael Gough
Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...
as Philip Ogleby,
Clive Swift
Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was best known to television viewers for ...
as Dr Bartlett,
Anthony Smee
Anthony Smee (22 November 1949), known professionally as Tony Smee, is an English theatre producer, writer, and actor who has worked in radio, theatre, television, and film since 1972.
Background
Education
Smee trained at the Rose Bruford Coll ...
as Dr Roope,
Roger Lloyd-Pack
Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was an English actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in ''The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later star ...
as Donald Martin,
Lyndam Gregory
Lyndam Gregory (c. 1955 – 15 July 2014) was an Indian-born British theatre, television, soap opera, and voiceover actor. His best known credits include his portrayal of Sammy Patel on ''Coronation Street'' in 1983, his recurring role as Guppy Sh ...
as Sergeant Dixon,
Phil Nice
Phil Nice (born 6 April 1954 in Vange, Essex) is a British actor who has been active in television and films since 1984.
He has appeared in TV serials including ''Who Dares Wins'', ''South of the Border'', ''Inspector Morse'', ''Mr. Bean'', '' ...
as Nicholas Quinn.
;Radio play
In 1996, a
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
adaptation was released that was dramatised by Guy Meredith and directed by
Ned Chaillet
Edward William Chaillet, III ( ; born 29 November 1944) is a radio drama producer and director, writer and journalist.
Chaillet, American by birth, was born in Boston, Massachusetts but is a "native of Washington" according to ''The New York T ...
.
The cast included
John Shrapnel
John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. O ...
as Inspector Morse,
Robert Glenister
Robert Lewis Glenister (born 11 March 1960 in Watford, Hertfordshire) is an English actor. The son of the television director John Glenister and the older brother of actor Philip Glenister, his roles include con man Ash "Three Socks" Morgan in ...
as Sergeant Robert Lewis, Meg Davies as Monica Height, David Timson as Philip Ogleby,
Richard Pasco
Richard Edward Pasco, (18 July 1926 – 12 November 2014) was a British stage, screen and TV actor.
Early life
Pasco was born in Barnes, London, the only child of insurance company clerk Cecil George Pasco (1897-1982) and milliner Phyllis Ire ...
as Dr Bartlett, John Hartley as Dr Roope,
Stephen Critchlow
Stephen Anthony Critchlow (22 November 1966 – 19 September 2021) was a British actor, known for his work in the theatre and appearances on radio series such as '' Truly, Madly, Bletchley'', '' The Way We Live Right Now'', and '' Spats'', alon ...
as Donald Martin,
Lyndam Gregory
Lyndam Gregory (c. 1955 – 15 July 2014) was an Indian-born British theatre, television, soap opera, and voiceover actor. His best known credits include his portrayal of Sammy Patel on ''Coronation Street'' in 1983, his recurring role as Guppy Sh ...
as Sergeant Dixon and Roger May as Nicholas Quinn.
References
Further reading
* Bishop, David, ''The Complete Inspector Morse: From the Original Novels to the TV Series'' London: Reynolds & Hearn (2006)
* Bird, Christopher, ''The World of Inspector Morse: A Complete A-Z Reference for the Morse Enthusiast'' Foreword by Colin Dexter, London: Boxtree (1998)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silent World of Nicholas Quinn, The
1977 British novels
Novels by Colin Dexter
1987 British television episodes
British novels adapted into television shows
Macmillan Publishers books