'A magisterial, beautifully presented, splendidly researched companion to the life of the late Chief Inspector'- Colin Dexter.
Paul Taylor has provided the most detailed account of the habits, opinions, loves and hates of Inspector Morse from all the available written sources. While fictional television programmes may be marvellously produced, directed, scripted, and acted they must remain forever fictional and have no part in this book which is based on the real Morse, the real Lewis and Strange, the very real Oxford, and a large number of crimes (particularly murder).
No details, however, are provided of the solutions to those crimes. Among the many interesting discoveries made by Taylor are the true Christian name of Lewis, a sample of Morse's handwriting, the exact location of Lonsdale College in Oxford, the dates of all the cases investigated, and an exact timetable of the events leading to the demise of the Chief Inspector.
The companion is arranged alphabetically - from the AA to Zeta III (the Barotse chief) - with detailed entries on Morse, Lewis, and Strange. There follows a number of appendices containing crosswords dedicated to Morse (and their solutions), a list of all people, brand names, and organisations mentioned in the cases, a complete gazetteer of all places, every public house, and explanatory notes on many of the quotations discovered in those cases. There is also an extensive bibliography.
This is an essential volume for anyone interested in Morse and Oxford, in crime and its detection, and in the celebration of Colin Dexter's skill in recording the cases.