Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse and his sidekicks have had a tremendous influence on the genre of detective fiction, through their appearance in both Dexter’s novels and the several long-running TV series inspired by these. As with all detective fiction, the settings are as much the subject of the works as the characters, and Inspector Morse has also been highly influential in affecting the way in which Oxford is perceived and represented.

In this day school, we will hear from Ian Bradley, a friend of Dexter’s, and two leading scholars of detective fiction, Heather O’Donoghue and David Bishop (who has literally written the book on Inspector Morse). Whether you are attending in-person or online, you will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions of the speakers, individually and in the final discussion panel which will close the day.

Speakers:

Mr David Bishop
David Bishop is programme leader for Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. His non-fiction publications include Endeavour: The Complete Inspector Morse which analyses Colin Dexter’s novels and their many adaptations. Bishop writes the Cesare Aldo historical mysteries set in Renaissance Florence. The first novel, City of Vengeance, was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize in 2021.

Mr Ian Bradley
Ian Bradley was a friend of Colin Dexter’s. He taught English Language and English Literature for over thirty years in the north west of England. In 2007, he was awarded an MA with Distinction in Classical Acting from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He is a former Editor of Blue Light, the journal of the Duke Ellington Society UK. He is presently finalising the typescript for a monograph on Colin Dexter’s novels which will be published in Autumn 2021.

Professor Heather O’Donoghue
Heather O’Donoghue has just retired as the Professor of Old Norse Literature at the University of Oxford. She served for some years as a judge for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger awards, and also for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award for thrillers. She reviews and writes about crime fiction (but has never written any!).

Dr Antony Richards
Antony Richards is a Chartered Scientist and lecturer for nearly 30 years. A long-time friend of Colin Dexter he founded the Inspector Morse Society, has written several guides to Oxford’s most famous detective, and conducted countless location tours. More recently he has been a course director for the Road Scholar Murder is Afloat programme on the QM2.