Michael Dibdin (21 March 1947 – 30 March 2007) was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character in 11 crime novels set in Italy.

Early life

Dibdin was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

(now West Midlands), England. The son of a physicist, he was brought up from the age of seven in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, where he attended the Friends' School and was taught by James Simmons. He graduated with a degree in English from

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, and then went to study for a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, Alberta, Canada.

Career

After publishing his first novel, a

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking i ...

, he lived for four years in Italy, teaching at the university in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

. Dibdin is best known for his Aurelio Zen mysteries, set in Italy. The first of these, '' Ratking'', won the ' Gold Dagger' award of 1988. This series of detective novels provide a penetrating insight into the less visible aspects of Italian society over the last 20 years. The earlier books have a lightness of touch that gradually becomes much darker. The character of Zen himself is

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actio ...

ic, which adds much to the books' irony and black humour. A final Zen book, ''End Games'', appeared posthumously in July 2007. He also wrote other detective works set in America and in the UK.

Personal life

Dibdin eventually settled in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, United States. Dibdin was married three times, most recently to the novelist

K. K. Beck Kathrine Kristine Beck (born 1950), known mainly by her pen name of K. K. Beck, is an American novelist. She has written over a dozen books, some of which were part of the ''Iris Cooper'' novel series and the ''Jane da Silva'' novel series. ...

. He died in Seattle on 30 March 2007, aged 60, following a short illness.

Bibliography

Aurelio Zen series

# '' Ratking'' (1988) # ''

Vendetta Vendetta may refer to: * Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight Film * ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke * ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes * ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), an ...

'' (1991) # '' Cabal'' (1992) # ''

Dead Lagoon ''Dead Lagoon'' is a 1994 novel by Michael Dibdin and is the fourth in his Aurelio Zen series. It was published by Faber & Faber in the UK and by Pantheon Books the following year in the US. Plot Moonlighting, Italian police detective Zen had ...

'' (1994) # ''

Cosi Fan Tutti ''Cosi Fan Tutti'' is a novel by Michael Dibdin published by Faber and Faber in 1996. The fifth in his Aurelio Zen series, it is set in Naples. One strand of the plot plays on the storyline of the Mozart comic opera '' Così fan tutte''; in addit ...

'' (1996) # ''

A Long Finish ''A Long Finish'' is a 1998 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the sixth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen Michael Dibdin (21 March 1947 – 30 March 2007) was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character ...

'' (1998) # '' Blood Rain'' (1999) # '' And Then You Die'' (2002) # ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

'' (2003) # ''

Back to Bologna ''Back to Bologna'' is a 2005 novel by Michael Dibdin, and is the tenth entry in the popular Aurelio Zen Michael Dibdin (21 March 1947 – 30 March 2007) was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character ...

'' (2005) # ''

End Games ''End Games'' is a 2007 novel by Michael Dibdin. It is the 11th and last entry in the Aurelio Zen Michael Dibdin (21 March 1947 – 30 March 2007) was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character in 1 ...

'' (2007)

Other books

* ''

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel by Michael Dibdin. The novel is an account of Holmes's attempt to solve the Jack the Ripper murders. Holmes suspects the Ripper to be his nemesis, James Moriarty. There is ...

'' (1978) * ''A Rich Full Death'' (1986) * ''The Tryst'' (1989) * ''Dirty Tricks'' (1991) * '' The Dying of the Light'' (1993) * ''Dark Spectre'' (1995) * ''

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

'' (2000)

References

External links

*
BBC obituary

Daily Telegraph obituary

BBC Programme page: Zen

Video

Michael Dibdin: "Zen is someone I don't know very much about" – video
1947 births 2007 deaths writers from Wolverhampton Alumni of the University of Sussex Male writers from Northern Ireland British crime fiction writers Organized crime novelists British expatriates in the United States People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn 20th-century British novelists 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland 20th-century British male writers {{UK-writer-stub