February 22, 2010
A tiny old man shuffles onto the stage, aided by a young woman. He carries a leather attaché case, out of which he gets a large magnifying glass. This is Colin Dexter, creator of the famous Inspector Morse who, at age 79, is still a marvellous raconteur.
Devotees of his books will undoubtedly know something of the man (his career in education, for example, or his complete lack of typing skills), yet the evening furnished the audience with over an hour of witty anecdotes that revealed the man behind the biographical details. Dexter’s is a self-deprecating humour: he is happy to joke about the fête organiser who wrote to him confessing “I am casting around, rather desperately, for some minor local celebrity”. In fact, the writer describes himself as “short, fat, bald and deaf,” a collection of adjectives which falls far short of doing him justice. Because, added to that list should be ‘humorous’, ‘engaging’, and ‘intelligent’ (Dexter is a national crossword champion).
The first hour was fairly unstructured, yet the gentle approach allowed for many an amusing story; about book signings, mistaken identity, road signs. The insight into the man’s personal letters also proved to be both revelatory and hilarious (“Dear Mr Dexter, I recently heard on the radio that you were dead. Can you tell me whether or not this is true?”). Dexter touched on Morse at times, when discussing John Thaw for instance, or when reading the occasional discarded extract, yet the first half was more of a window into the man himself than into his writing.
This may have disappointed some audience members, who were sold an evening of Dexter discussing “his most well-known creation…and how Morse was adapted for television”. Yet they needn’t have worried, because the question and answer session post-interval was entirely dominated by the subject of the Inspector and Oxford as the UK’s murder-capital. Dexter opened up about his Hitchcockian cameos in the TV series, the conditions imposed on the Lewis spin-off, his total lack of research into the police force, and the semi-autobiographical basis for Morse’s character. When asked about how the books were changed for television, he admits “I recognised the title”, explaining the producer’s demand for murders to be scheduled before the ad breaks, regardless of their chronology in the novel. However, you get the sense that Dexter is very happy with the adaptations, especially the casting of Thaw: “he was exactly right for the part – I won’t allow anyone else to play Morse”.
This was both an entertaining and intimate evening. It provided a rare insight into the man behind the crime writing, who is as loveable as the characters he creates.
Devotees of his books will undoubtedly know something of the man (his career in education, for example, or his complete lack of typing skills), yet the evening furnished the audience with over an hour of witty anecdotes that revealed the man behind the biographical details. Dexter’s is a self-deprecating humour: he is happy to joke about the fête organiser who wrote to him confessing “I am casting around, rather desperately, for some minor local celebrity”. In fact, the writer describes himself as “short, fat, bald and deaf,” a collection of adjectives which falls far short of doing him justice. Because, added to that list should be ‘humorous’, ‘engaging’, and ‘intelligent’ (Dexter is a national crossword champion).
The first hour was fairly unstructured, yet the gentle approach allowed for many an amusing story; about book signings, mistaken identity, road signs. The insight into the man’s personal letters also proved to be both revelatory and hilarious (“Dear Mr Dexter, I recently heard on the radio that you were dead. Can you tell me whether or not this is true?”). Dexter touched on Morse at times, when discussing John Thaw for instance, or when reading the occasional discarded extract, yet the first half was more of a window into the man himself than into his writing.
This may have disappointed some audience members, who were sold an evening of Dexter discussing “his most well-known creation…and how Morse was adapted for television”. Yet they needn’t have worried, because the question and answer session post-interval was entirely dominated by the subject of the Inspector and Oxford as the UK’s murder-capital. Dexter opened up about his Hitchcockian cameos in the TV series, the conditions imposed on the Lewis spin-off, his total lack of research into the police force, and the semi-autobiographical basis for Morse’s character. When asked about how the books were changed for television, he admits “I recognised the title”, explaining the producer’s demand for murders to be scheduled before the ad breaks, regardless of their chronology in the novel. However, you get the sense that Dexter is very happy with the adaptations, especially the casting of Thaw: “he was exactly right for the part – I won’t allow anyone else to play Morse”.
This was both an entertaining and intimate evening. It provided a rare insight into the man behind the crime writing, who is as loveable as the characters he creates.