Editing Colin Dexter (section)

==Writing career==
The initial books written by Dexter were general studies textbooks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sandrafraser.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/character-interview-colin-dexter/|title=Character interview – Colin Dexter's Guilty Secret |work=Sandra Fraser |access-date=21 May 2015 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He began writing mysteries in 1972 during a family holiday. ''[[Last Bus to Woodstock]]'' was published in 1975 and introduced the character of [[Inspector Morse]], the irascible detective whose penchants for [[cryptic crossword]]s, [[English literature]], [[cask ale]], and music by [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] reflected Dexter's own enthusiasms. Dexter's plots used false leads and other [[red herring]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordwine.co.uk/features/summer_07/dexter.html |work=The Oxford Wine Company |title=Stars in their bars: Colin Dexter |first=Theo |last=Sloot |date=Summer 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611124231/http://www.oxfordwine.co.uk/features/summer_07/dexter.html |archive-date=11 June 2010 }}</ref> "presenting Morse, and his readers, with fiendishly difficult puzzles to solve".<ref name=Grimes2017 />

The success of the 33 two-hour episodes of the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series ''[[Inspector Morse (TV series)|Inspector Morse]]'', produced between 1987 and 2000, brought further attention to Dexter's writings. The show featured Inspector Morse, played by [[John Thaw]], and his assistant [[Inspector Lewis|Sergeant Robert Lewis]], played by [[Kevin Whately]]. In the manner of [[Alfred Hitchcock]], Dexter made a [[cameo appearance]] in almost all episodes.

From 2006 to 2015, Morse's assistant Lewis was featured in a 33-episode ITV series titled ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]'' (''Inspector Lewis'' in the United States).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34709048 |title=Lewis to End after Ninth Series |publisher=BBC News |access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref> Lewis is assisted by DS James Hathaway, played by [[Laurence Fox]]. A prequel series, ''[[Endeavour (TV series)|Endeavour]]'', features a young Morse and stars [[Shaun Evans]] and [[Roger Allam]]. ''Endeavour'' was first broadcast on the ITV network in 2012, ending with the ninth series in 2023, taking young Morse's career into 1972.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newsweek.com/endeavour-season-8-final-last-pbs-masterpiece-itv-1527124 |magazine=Newsweek |title='Endeavour': Why the PBS Show May End After Season 8 |first=Samuel |last=Spencer |date=24 August 2020 |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> Dexter was a consultant for ''Lewis'' and the first few years of ''Endeavour''. As with ''Morse'', Dexter occasionally made cameo appearances in both ''Lewis'' and ''Endeavour''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2012/03/12/itv-commissions-full-series-of-morse-drama-endeavour-349890/|title=ITV commissions full series of Morse drama Endeavour |last=Hooton |first=Christopher |newspaper=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]] |date=12 March 2012 |access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref>

Including both Morse and Lewis, many of the characters in Dexter's books were taken from the names of other cruciverbalists. For example, although Dexter's military service was as a [[Morse code]] operator in the [[Royal Corps of Signals]], the character was named after his friend Sir [[Jeremy Morse]], a crossword devotee like Dexter.<ref name=Grimes2017 /> The music for the television series, written by [[Barrington Pheloung]], used a [[Motif (music)|motif]] based on the Morse code for Morse's name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crime4u.com/morendsixpseven.html |title=Cracking The Code –The Composer Behind Morse |first=Kim |last=Smith |work=Essex Life & Countryside |date=October 2001 |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=7 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007121135/http://www.crime4u.com/morendsixpseven.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>