Ruth Rendell Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for "sustained excellence in crime writing․"
• Began her career as a journalist for the Chigwell Times before becoming an author
• Published her debut novel "From Doon with Death," featuring the first appearance of Inspector Wexford, in 1964
• Quote: "He sort of is me, although not entirely․ Wexford holds my views pretty well on most things, so I find putting him on the page fairly easy․"
• Quote: "[on retiring] "I couldn't do that․ It's what I do and I love doing it․ It's absolutely essential to my life․ I don't know what I would do if I didn't write․ I'll do it until I die, won't I? If I can․ You don't know, but probably․""
• Best known as the creator of several popular crime stories starring Chief Inspector Wexford
• Wrote more than 60 novels during her career and saw her Inspector Wexford stories turned into a television series