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Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh

ルース・バーバラ・レンデル

Ruth Barbara Rendell

Pen Names: Barbara Vine（Pseudonym used for psychological crime novels）, Ruth Rendell（Primary author name used for Inspector Wexford series and other novels）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1930-02-17 （South Woodford, Essex, England）
Died
2015-05-02 （Tooting, London, England (St George's Hospital)） age 85
Nationality
British
Languages
English, Swedish (learned), Danish (learned)
Residence History
Loughton, Essex (grew up) → Polstead, Suffolk (residence; used as setting) → Groton, Suffolk → London (later years)

Career

Occupations
writer, novelist, short story writer, life peer (House of Lords)
Active Years
1964-2015

Education

County High School for Girls, Loughton
Country: United Kingdom
Completed secondary education; worked briefly as a local newspaper feature writer

Awards

Edgar Award (Best Short Story)
1975
Work: The Fallen Curtain
Category: 短編
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: winner
Gold Dagger for Fiction
1976
Work: A Demon in My View
Category: 長編
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: winner
Martin Beck Award (Best Crime Novel)
1980
Work: Make Death Love Me
Category: 長編
Organization: Swedish Crime Writers' Academy
Result: winner
Arts Council National Book Award (Genre Fiction)
1981
Work: The Lake of Darkness
Category: 長編
Organization: Arts Council
Result: winner
Edgar Award (Best Short Story)
1984
Work: The New Girlfriend
Category: 短編
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: winner
Silver Dagger for Fiction
1984
Work: The Tree of Hands
Category: 長編
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: winner
Gold Dagger for Fiction
1986
Work: Live Flesh
Category: 長編
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: winner
Edgar Award (notable recognition)
1987
Work: A Dark-Adapted Eye (as Barbara Vine)
Category: 長編
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: winner
Gold Dagger for Fiction
1987
Work: A Fatal Inversion (as Barbara Vine)
Category: 長編
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: winner
Angel Award for Fiction
1988
Work: The House of Stairs (as Barbara Vine)
Category: 長編
Organization: Angel Award
Result: winner
The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence
1990
Organization: The Sunday Times
Result: recipient
Gold Dagger for Fiction
1991
Work: King Solomon's Carpet (as Barbara Vine)
Category: 長編
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: winner
Cartier Diamond Dagger (Lifetime Achievement)
1991
Category: 生涯功労
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: recipient
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1996
Category: 勲章
Organization: The Crown / The London Gazette
Result: honour
Life peer (Baroness Rendell of Babergh)
1997
Category: 称号
Organization: UK Government (The London Gazette)
Result: appointed
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award
1997
Category: 生涯功労
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: recipient
Gumshoe Award for Lifetime Achievement
2004
Category: 生涯功労
Organization: Mystery Ink / Gumshoe Awards
Result: recipient
Dagger of Daggers
2005
Work: A Fatal Inversion
Category: 選出
Organization: Crime Writers' Association
Result: recipient
Lost Man Booker Prize (longlist)
2010
Work: A Guilty Thing Surprised
Category: ロングリスト
Organization: Lost Man Booker Prize
Result: longlist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

From Doon with Death

1964 Police procedural / Mystery

Rendell's debut novel introducing Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford. A country murder mystery that foregrounds psychological observation within a procedural framework.

investigationmoralitysmall-town secrets
Adaptations
  • [Television] The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (TV series) (1987)

A Judgement in Stone

1977 Psychological suspense / Mystery

A brutal household massacre told through the perspective of a housemaid; acclaimed for its exploration of motive and class tensions.

classenvymisunderstanding
Adaptations
  • [Film] La Cérémonie (Claude Chabrol) / Claude Chabrol (1995)
  • [Film (earlier adaptation)] A Judgment in Stone (1986) (1986)

A Dark-Adapted Eye

1986 Psychological crime novel

Published under the Barbara Vine pseudonym; focuses on family secrets and past crimes, notable for its intricate psychological detail.

family secretsmemoryguilt and atonement

Bibliography

  • From Doon with Death (1964)
  • A New Lease of Death (1967)
  • Wolf to the Slaughter (1967)
  • A Guilty Thing Surprised (1970)
  • Shake Hands Forever (1975)
  • A Judgement in Stone (1977)
  • The Tree of Hands (1984)
  • Live Flesh (1986)
  • A Dark-Adapted Eye (as Barbara Vine, 1986)
  • The Minotaur (2005)
  • The Girl Next Door (2014)

Adaptations

  • The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (TV series, 1987–2000)
  • La Cérémonie (film adaptation of A Judgement in Stone, 1995)
  • Carne trémula / Live Flesh (film by Pedro Almodóvar, 1997)
  • The New Girlfriend (short story film adaptation, 2015, François Ozon)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
elegant, precise prosepsychological emphasis in characterizationblend of police procedural and psychological novel
Recurring Motifs
family secretsobsession/compulsionmiscommunicationchance and coincidencesocial issues (domestic violence, marginalisation)

Health

  • stroke
    2015-01-07（発症）～2015-05-02（死亡）
    Suffered a stroke in January 2015; condition deteriorated and she died in May 2015.

Legacy

Rendell was highly regarded for both psychological crime fiction and police procedurals, selling an estimated 20 million copies worldwide. Her unmatched record of CWA Daggers and multiple Edgar Awards marks her as a major figure in crime writing. The Ruth Rendell Award was established in 2016 by the National Literacy Trust.

Academic Societies

  • Crime Writers' Association (related)

Archives

  • Portraits and related material at the National Portrait Gallery, London

In Popular Culture

  • Popularised via the TV series 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'

Quotes

  • Wexford is me
    Source: Interview with BBC (2011) (2011)

Trivia

  • Estimated to have sold 20 million copies worldwide.
  • Was a vegetarian, reportedly living mostly on fruit.
  • Described herself as 'slightly agoraphobic'.
  • Slept in a specially made four-poster bed.
  • Notable for winning major awards under multiple names (Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine).