''Last Bus to Woodstock'' is a crime novel 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'', fr ...

, the first of 13 novels in his

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.

Plot summary

Two young women are waiting in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

for a bus to the nearby town of

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

, and they decide to hitch a lift. Later that night, one of them, Sylvia Kaye, is found murdered and apparently raped in the car park of the Black Prince pub in Woodstock. Suspicion falls on various characters. The body is reported found by John Sanders, a young man who, it later transpires, is addicted to pornography and sometimes paid Sylvia for sex. He admits to waiting for her on the night of her murder but found her dead. It turns out he interfered with the body but did not murder her. Inspector Morse discovers the lift was offered in a red car and guesses various bits of information about the owner. His discoveries lead him to calculate the chances of finding a red car in North Oxford which meets all the criteria. There is only one, and it belongs to Bernard Crowther, a don at the university who lives on Southdown Road. Crowther admits that, although married, he is having an affair with another woman. He admits giving a lift to two women and dropping them in Woodstock while on the way to meet his mistress. Crowther's wife kills herself, mistakenly thinking that her husband is the murderer; Crowther himself dies shortly afterwards from a heart attack, thinking that she is the killer. In the end it turns out it was neither of them but rather the other woman at the bus stop, Sue Widdowson, who was Crowther's mistress. Crowther had dropped her off and had sex with Sylvia. Widdowson became insanely jealous, crept up behind Sylvia in the car, and hit her on the back of the head with a tyre lever lying in the car park. A further complication involves Jennifer Coleby who worked with Sylvia in an insurance office. Jennifer is having an affair with her boss, Palmer, and shares a flat with Sue Widdowson. Crowther types coded messages to a girlfriend who proves to be Widdowson. He leaves the messages with Coleby at her work, and she delivers them to Widdowson.

Characters

* Sergeant Robert Lewis *Max *Sue Widdowson *Jennifer Coleby *Bernard Crowther *Clive Palmer *Margaret Crowther *Mrs Jarman *Peter Newlove *John Sanders *Sylvia

Development history

This is the first Inspector Morse novel, and is more carefully plotted than many subsequent books in the series. The reader is not deliberately led astray. Colin Dexter started writing what would become ''Last Bus to Woodstock'' on a 1972 family holiday in North Wales. Sitting in the kitchen on a rainy Saturday afternoon he committed to paper a few paragraphs regarding a detective named Morse. Knowing where it would be set,

, and how the story would end, he spent the next 18 months writing the novel.

Adaptations

The novel was adapted for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

as part of ''

'' and was first aired on 22 March 1988. The character of Sue Widdowson was renamed Mary, and Sylvia's last name was changed to Kane. There were several amendments to the plot in the television adaptation: e.g. the red car was identified through the curiosity of a neighbour and her smart and observant deduction; Crowther did not die of the heart attack and his wife did not commit suicide; Crowther and Sylvia didn't have sex after he picked her up at the bus stop; the "murder" turned out to be more of an accident—Widdowson confronted Sylvia in the car park, knocked her to the ground, and Crowther unwittingly reversed over her in the car and drove off not knowing; and there was no sexual attack on the corpse by Sanders, only theft. 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 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 an ...

as Sergeant Lewis,

Peter Woodthorpe Peter Woodthorpe (25 September 1931 – 13 August 2004) was an English actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of ''The Lord of the Rings'' and BBC's 1981 radio serial. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cul ...

as Max,

Ingrid Lacey Ingrid Marcella Lacey (born 6 November 1958) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Julia in Series 2 of '' London's Burning'', Helen Cooper in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1993–98). Her film appearances include '' ...

as Mary Widdowson,

Jill Baker Jill Baker (born 1952) is a British actress who has worked extensively in theatre and television for 50 years. Personal life Baker is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She and actor Bob Peck were married for 17 years, from 19 ...

as Jennifer Coleby, Anthony Bate as Bernard Crowther,

Terrence Hardiman Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail

Fabia Drake Fabia Drake OBE (born Ethel McGlinchy; 20 January 1904 – 28 February 1990) was a British actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century. Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent. Her first professional role in ...

as Mrs Jarman, Paul Geoffrey as Peter Newlove, Ian Sears as John Sanders, and

Jenny Jay Jenny Jay (born Jennifer Bolton on 18 November 1967 in Birmingham), is a British actress, who played Carmen in Carla Lane's television series '' Bread''. She has also appeared in such programmes as '' Behind The Bike Sheds'', ''The Bill'', '' KYTV ...

as Sylvia Kane. The book was first dramatised as a radio play by the BBC on Radio 4 in 1975. The announcer reading the end credits attributes the authorship of the original book to Colin ''Dempster''. In 1984, a BBC Radio 4 adaptation was released that was dramatised by

Melvyn Jones Melvyn Jones (born 26 January 1964 in Stourbridge) is a British slalom canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. He won three medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with two golds (K1 team: 1987, 1993) and a bronze ...

and directed by Brian Miller. The radio play featured

Andrew Burt Andrew Thomas Hutchison Burt (23 May 1945 – 16 November 2018) was a British actor, voiceover artist, and counsellor. Early life and education Andrew Burt was born on 23 May 1945 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Hutchison Bu ...

as Inspector Morse and Christopher Douglas as Sergeant Lewis.

References

External links

''Last Bus to Woodstock'' at Pan MacmillanGoodreads Review
{{InspectorMorse 1988 British television episodes 1975 British novels Novels by Colin Dexter Novels set in Oxfordshire British novels adapted into television shows Macmillan Publishers books