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 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.

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 to the west, Snaresbrook and Wanstead to the south and Redbridge to the east, and is north-ea ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

(now Greater London). 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 town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

, Essex, the town to which the family moved during her childhood. After high school, she became a feature writer for her local Essex paper, the ''Chigwell Times''. However, she was forced to resign after filing a story about a local sports club dinner she hadn't attended and failing to report that the after-dinner speaker had died midway through the speech. Rendell met her husband Don Rendell when she was working as a newswriter. They married when she was 20, and in 1953 had a son, Simon, now a psychiatric 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. She made the county of Suffolk 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. Histor ...

and later Groton, both east of Sudbury. 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(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 supple ...

and a life peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh, of Aldeburgh in the County of Suffolk, on 24 October 1997. She sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

for the Labour Party. In 1998 Rendell was named on 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 mut ...

(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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.

Awards

Baroness Rendell's awards include the Silver,

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association, three Edgars from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an 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 Edgar Awa ...

, The Arts Council National Book Awards, and

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British 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 News UK, w ...

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. There is a blue plaque on one of her homes, 45 Millsmead Way, in

. 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.

Death

Rendell had a stroke on 7 January 2015 and died on 2 May 2015.

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 th ...

. 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 ''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, ...

'', 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 procedurals 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 ''A Judgement in Stone'' is a 1977 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, widely considered to be one of her greatest works. Plot summary Eunice is taken on as a housekeeper by a family of four. She has kept her illiteracy a secret and is obse ...

'', '' The Face of Trespass'', ''

Live Flesh ''Live Flesh'', is a psychological thriller by British author Ruth Rendell, published in 1986. It won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year. It was the inspiration for a film of the same name by Pedro Almod ...

'', '' Talking to Strange Men'', '' The Killing Doll'', '' Going Wrong'' 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'' 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'', '' A Fatal Inversion'' and '' Asta's Book'' (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.

Adaptations of her works

The Inspector Wexford series was successfully televised, starring George Baker as Inspector Wexford and Christopher Ravenscroft 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 bro ...

'', 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 Chabrol's 1995 version of ''

'', ''

La Cérémonie ''La Cérémonie'' is a 1995 crime drama 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 Papin, two French maids who brutally murdered their employer's wif ...

'' 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 Actr ...

, 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), ...

. Chabrol made '' La Demoiselle d'honneur'' in 2004, based on '' The Bridesmaid''. Other adaptations are ''

Diary of the Dead ''Diary of the Dead'' (promoted as ''George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead'') is a 2007 American found footage horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Although independently produced, it was distributed theatrically by The Weinstei ...

'' (1976), from the book '' One Across, Two Down''; the 1997

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

film ''

''; ''

The Tree of Hands ''The Tree of Hands'' is a 1984 suspense novel by the author Ruth Rendell. It won the CWA Silver Dagger in 1984, and was short listed for the MWA Edgar Award upon publication in America. The book has been filmed twice. One adaptation featured ...

'', directed by Giles Foster for Granada with Lauren Bacall (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. Francois Ozon's 2015 film '' The New Girlfriend'' was based on Rendell's short story of the same name. Two episodes of '' 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, line of nVidia video cards * Scania 4-series, the truck model line * South African Class 6E1, Series 4, e ...

, episode 15) and "People Don't Do Such Things" ( series 8, episode 1).

Awards and honours

*1975 –

Best Short Story Edgar: '' The Fallen Curtain'' *1987 –

Edgar Award: '' A Dark-Adapted Eye'' *1987 – Gold Dagger for Fiction: '' A Fatal Inversion'' *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'' *1991 – Cartier Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Achievement in the Field *1996 –

(CBE) *1997 - Life Peer as Baroness Rendell of Babergh *2004 – Mystery Ink Gumshoe Award for Lifetime Achievement *2005 – CWA Dagger of Daggers (best crime novel to have won the Gold Dagger award (shortlist)): '' A Fatal Inversion'' *2007 – Gumshoe Award for Best European Crime Novel (shortlist): '' The Minotaur'' *2007 – Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award (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 motoris ...

'' *2010 – Lost Man Booker Prize (longlist): ''

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 ...

Bibliography

Inspector Wexford series

#'' From Doon with Death'' (1964) #'' A New Lease of Death'' (1967) (American title: ''The Sins of the Fathers'') #''

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 ...

'' (1967) #'' The Best Man to Die'' (1969) #''

'' (1970) #'' No More Dying Then'' (1971) #'' Murder Being Once Done'' (1972) #'' 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 ...

'' (1979) #''

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 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 sa ...

'' (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 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 intimi ...

'' (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) #''

'' (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) #''

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

Standalone novels

*''

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 the ...

'' (1965) *'' Vanity Dies Hard'' (1965) (American title: ''In Sickness and in Health'') *'' The Secret House of Death'' (1968) *'' One Across, Two Down'' (1971) *'' The Face of Trespass'' (1974) *'' A Demon in My View'' (1976) *''

'' (1977) *'' Make Death Love Me'' (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 ''King Lear ...

'' (1980) *'' Master of the Moor'' (1982) *'' The Killing Doll'' (1984) *''

'' (1984) *''

'' (1986) *'' Talking to Strange Men'' (1987) *'' The Bridesmaid'' (1989) *'' Going Wrong'' (1990) *'' The Crocodile Bird'' (1993) *'' The Keys to the Street'' (1996) *'' A Sight for Sore Eyes'' (1998) *'' Adam and Eve and Pinch Me'' (2001) *'' The Rottweiler'' (2003) *'' Thirteen Steps Down'' (2004) *'' The Water's Lovely'' (2006) *''

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

'' (2008) *'' Tigerlily's Orchids'' (2010) *'' The Saint Zita Society'' (2012) *'' The Girl Next Door'' (2014) *'' Dark Corners'' (2015)

Novellas

*''Thornapple'' (1982).Published in ''Academy Mystery Novellas, Volume 5: Women Write Murder'', Martin H. Greenberg and Edward D. Hoch, editors. 1987 Collected in ''The Fever Tree'' *'' Heartstones'' (1987). Uncollected *'' The Thief'' (2006). Collected in ''A Spot of Folly''

Written as Barbara Vine

*'' A Dark-Adapted Eye'' (1986) *'' A Fatal Inversion'' (1987) *'' The House of Stairs'' (1988) *''

Gallowglass The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from ga, gallóglaigh meaning foreign warriors) were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland between the mid 13t ...

'' (1990) *'' King Solomon's Carpet'' (1991) *'' Asta's Book'' (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 Rosen ...

'' (1994) *'' The Brimstone Wedding'' (1995) *'' The Chimney-sweeper's Boy'' (1998) *'' Grasshopper'' (2000) *'' The Blood Doctor'' (2002) *'' The Minotaur'' (2005) *'' The Birthday Present'' (2008) *'' The Child's Child'' (2012)

Short story collections

*'' The Fallen Curtain'' (1976) *'' Means of Evil and Other Stories'' (1979) (five Inspector Wexford stories) *'' The Fever Tree'' (1982) *'' The New Girlfriend'' (1985) *'' 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 *"Paradise", in The Strand Magazine #11, 2003

Uncollected round-robin short stories to which Rendell was a contributor

*"Death in the Square", co-authored with

Peter Levi Peter Chad Tigar Levi, FSA, FRSL (16 May 1931, in Ruislip – 1 February 2000, in Frampton-on-Severn) was a British poet, archaeologist, Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and prolific reviewer and critic. He was Professor of P ...

, Roald Dahl and Ted Willis, Daily Telegraph, 1988 *"Web of Intrigue", co-written with members of the public. Daily Telegraph, 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)

, 1989) a political tract *'' The Reason Why: An Anthology of the Murderous Mind'' (1995)

Children's Books

* ''Archie & Archie'' (2013)

References

External links

*
Gusworld
Ruth Rendell information site with detailed bibliography
Ruth Rendell at Random House Australia

detailed Barbara Vine information site with bibliography *
Baroness Rendell of Babergh
at TheyWorkForYou.com
Ruth Rendell in a video interview
o
The Interview Online
talking about Sherlock Holmes * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rendell, Ruth 1930 births 2015 deaths 21st-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists People from Loughton 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers Anthony Award winners Cartier Diamond Dagger winners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Edgar Award winners English crime fiction writers English mystery writers English people of Swedish descent English women novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Literary peers Members of the Detection Club People from Aldeburgh People from Woodford, London Place of death missing Pseudonymous women writers Writers from London Women mystery writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers