Friends and colleagues of best-selling crime novelist Ruth Rendell have shared loving memories following her death aged 85.
Rendell penned more than 60 best-sellers including the Inspector Wexford novels, in a glittering writing career spanning five decades.
The prolific author suffered a stroke in January and her publisher Penguin Random House confirmed she died in London at 8am yesterday.
A statement from the publishing giant said: “Ruth was very much part of our publishing family and a friend to many at Penguin Random House.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.”
Rendell, who grew up in east London and Essex, started her career as a journalist on a local paper but was forced to resign after reporting on a sports club’s dinner without attending, meaning she missed the moment a speaker collapsed and died.
But this blow didn’t hold her back for long and she went on to pen more than 60 best-sellers which were translated into more than 20 languages and regularly filmed for television.
She became a household name with her Inspector Wexford novels, starting with From Doon with Death in 1964, which brought her a whole new audience when they were televised, starring George Baker in the title role.
She enjoyed worldwide sales of around 60 million and won a variety of awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing.
In 1997, Rendell was made a Labour life peer and campaigned for many years on a series of causes including female genital mutilation.
She also gave regularly to charity and was understood to pledge six-figure sums every year to good causes.
Rendell was on record stating people who have a lot of money should give a “considerable amount of it away”.
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.
“Ruth also became one of the first New Labour working peers, continuing to effect change through the House of Lords, most particularly on the issue of female genital mutilation. Ruth was a great writer, a campaigner for social justice, a proud mother and grandmother, a generous and loyal friend.
“Her many close friends in publishing and the House of Lords will greatly miss her wonderful company and her truly unique contribution to our lives.”
Susan Sandon, managing director of Cornerstone Publishing, added: “Ruth was beloved as an author and a friend to me, and to so many of us.
“Her writing and her company enriched all our lives.”
Rendell was relatively guarded about the details of her private life but married the same man a fellow journalist twice and is survived by their son.
Her final novel, Dark Corners, will be published in October.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe