Crime Writer Ruth Rendell Dies Aged 85

Crime Writer Ruth Rendell Dies Aged 85




Ruth Rendell suffered a stroke in January



Best-selling crime writer Ruth Rendell has died aged 85.

Her publishers Penguin Random House said she passed away in London at 8am today.

In a statement, they said: "We are devastated by the loss of one of our best-loved authors.

"Ruth was very much part of our publishing family and a friend to many at Penguin Random House.

"We will miss her enormously."

Baroness Gail Rebuck, chair of Penguin Random House UK, said: "Ruth was much admired by the whole publishing industry for her brilliant body of work.

"An insightful and elegant observer of society, many of her award-winning thrillers and psychological murder mysteries highlighted the causes she cared so deeply about."

The author had also worked on various issues in the House of Lords, after being made a life peer in 1997, particularly on FGM (female genital mutilation).

Baroness Rebuck added: "Ruth was a great writer, a campaigner for social justice, a proud mother and grandmother, a generous and loyal friend and probably the best-read person I have ever met."

The author, who suffered a serious stroke in January, was known for her dozens of novels, including a series featuring Chief Inspector Wexford, which were adapted for television.

Growing up in east London and Essex, she started her writing career as a local newspaper journalist but had to resign after reporting on a local sports club's dinner without going along - meaning she missed the moment the after-dinner speaker dropped dead in the middle of his speech.

She was awarded a CBE in 1996 and had worldwide book sales of around 60 million.

Also known as Baroness Rendell of Babergh, the author of more than 60 best-selling novels had recently completed a new novel and plans remain in place to publish it in the autumn.

Her most recent publication was The Girl Next Door, which came out last year along with a 50th anniversary edition of her debut novel, From Doon With Death, which was published in 1964.

Her Wexford books were dramatised for TV for more than a decade as The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, with George Baker in the lead role.