Editing Ruth Rendell

{{short description|English writer (1930–2015)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name             = The Baroness Rendell of Babergh
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| image            = Ruth Rendell, English author, NY.jpg
| caption          = Rendell in 1985
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1930|02|17}}
| birth_name       = Ruth Barbara Grasemann
| birth_place      = [[Woodford, London|Woodford]], Essex, England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2015|05|02|1930|02|17|df=y}}
| death_place      = London, England
| occupation       = Novelist
| genre            = {{cslist|[[Psychological thriller]]|[[murder mystery]]}}
| pseudonym       = Ruth Rendell<br>Barbara Vine
}}
'''Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} ({{nee|'''Grasemann'''}}; 17 February 1930&nbsp;– 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/01/ruth-rendell-life-in-writing|title=Ruth Rendell: a life in writing|work=[[The Guardian]]|author=Alison Flood|date=1 March 2013|access-date=1 March 2013}}</ref>

Rendell is best known for creating Chief [[Inspector Wexford]].<ref name="Drabble">The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Sixth edition. Ed. by Margaret Drabble. Oxford University Press,
 2000, p. 847. {{ISBN|0-19-866244-0}}.</ref> A second string of works was a series of unrelated crime novels that explored the psychological background of criminals and their victims. This theme was developed further in a third series of novels, published under the pseudonym '''Barbara Vine'''. 

She has sold an estimated 20 million copies. <ref>https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/159973/ruth-rendell</ref>

==Early life==
Rendell was born as Ruth Barbara Grasemann in 1930, in [[South Woodford]], [[Essex]] (now [[Greater London]]).<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11579110/Ruth-Rendell-crime-writer-obituary.html|title=Ruth Rendell, crime writer - obituary|date=2 May 2015|access-date=23 March 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> Her parents were teachers. Her mother, Ebba Kruse, was born in Sweden to Danish parents and brought up in Denmark; her father, Arthur Grasemann, was English. As a result of spending Christmas and other holidays in Scandinavia, Rendell learned Swedish and Danish.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/aug/03/featuresreviews.guardianreview9|title=The Profile: Ruth Rendell|author=LibBrooks|work=The Guardian|date=3 August 2002}}</ref>  Rendell was educated at the County High School for Girls in [[Loughton]], Essex,<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> the town to which the family moved during her childhood. In 2016 a blue plaque was unveiled at her former home, 45 Millsmead Way, Loughton, in recognition of her time living there.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-24 |title=Blue plaque unveiled for renowned and much-loved author Ruth Rendell |url=https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14298745.blue-plaque-unveiled-renowned-much-loved-author-ruth-rendell/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=East London and West Essex Guardian Series |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaques |first=Open |title=Ruth Rendell blue plaque |url=https://openplaques.org/plaques/40276 |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=openplaques.org |language=en-GB}}</ref>

After high school, she became a feature writer for her local Essex paper, the ''Chigwell Times''. She submitted a story narrating a local sports club dinner she had not attended. Because of her absence at the dinner, she did not know that the after-dinner speaker had died midway through the speech, and failed to report it. She was subsequently forced to resign.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC|title=Author Ruth Rendell dies aged 85
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32564813}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Rendell met her husband Don Rendell when she was working as a newswriter.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> They married in 1950, when she was 20, and in 1953 had a son, Simon,<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/open-and-shut-case-is-ruth-rendell-finally-ready-to-open-up-about-her-puzzling-personal-life-8523187.html|title=Open and shut case: Is Ruth Rendell finally ready to open up about her puzzling personal life?|work=The Independent|date=10 March 2013}}</ref> now a psychiatrist-social worker who lives in the U.S. state of Colorado. The couple divorced in 1975 but remarried two years later.<ref name="DarkLadyofWhodunnits">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/aug/03/featuresreviews.guardianreview9.html|title=Ruth Rendell, Dark Lady of Whodunnits|last=Brooks|first=Libby|date=3 August 2002|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=28 October 2011|location=London}}</ref>  Don Rendell died in 1999 from [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="independent.co.uk"/>

She made the county of [[Suffolk]] her home for many years, using the settings in several of her novels. She lived in the villages of [[Polstead]] and later [[Groton, Suffolk|Groton]], both east of [[Sudbury, Suffolk|Sudbury]]. She was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[1996 Birthday Honours]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54427 |date=15 June 1996 |page=9 |supp=y}}</ref> and a [[life peer]] as '''Baroness Rendell of Babergh''', of [[Aldeburgh]] in the County of Suffolk, on 24 October 1997.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=54933|date=29 October 1997|page=12149}}</ref> She sat in the [[House of Lords]] for the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]. In 1998, Rendell was named in a list of the party's biggest private financial donors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/161057.stm|title='Luvvies' for Labour|work=BBC News|date=30 August 1998}}</ref> She introduced into the Lords the bill that would later become the [[Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003]] (the intent was to prevent the practice).

In August 2014, Rendell was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref>

Rendell was a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] who was described as living mostly on fruit.<ref name="Obituary">[https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/ruth-rendell-vvcqz82nmm0 "Ruth Rendell"]. thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2023.</ref> She described herself as "slightly [[agoraphobic]]" and slept in a specially made four-poster bed because "I like to feel enclosed."<ref name="Obituary"/>

==Awards==
Baroness Rendell's awards include the Silver, [[Gold Dagger|Gold]], and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the [[Crime Writers' Association]], three [[Edgar Award|Edgars]] from the [[Mystery Writers of America]], The Arts Council National Book Awards, and [[The Sunday Times]] Literary Award.<ref name="Drabble" /> A number of her works (see the section below) have been adapted for film or television.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0719334/  Ruth Rendell (1930–2015).] [[IMDb]]</ref><ref>The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Literature.
 Helicon Publishing, 2006.</ref> She was also a patron of the charity Kids for Kids<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kidsforkids.org.uk/about_importantinfo.asp|title=How We Are Run|date=6 May 2015|website=kidsforkids.org.uk|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-date=13 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913041551/http://www.kidsforkids.org.uk/about_importantInfo.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> which helps children in rural areas of [[Darfur]]. There is a blue plaque on one of her homes, 45 Millsmead Way, in [[Loughton]]. This was unveiled by her son Simon on 24 February 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14298745.Blue_plaque_unveiled_for_renowned_and_much_loved_author_Ruth_Rendell/|title=Blue plaque unveiled for renowned and much-loved author Ruth Rendell|website=East London and West Essex Guardian Series|date=24 February 2016 |access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref>  Four of her novels appear on the British-based Crime Writers Association Poll (1990) of the best crime fiction novels ever written: two under the Rendell name and two under her pen name of Barbara Vine.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Her Crime Writer’s Association Dagger wins (four Gold, one Silver and one Cartier Diamond) remains unmatched, as does her record of being the first author to be nominated and win under multiple names.  Her unparalleled Edgar and Dagger finalist nominations include: ''A Judgement In Stone'' (1977 Gold Dagger finalist), ''A Sleeping Life'' (1979 Edgar finalist for Best Novel), ''Make Death Love Me'' (1980 Edgar finalist for Best Novel), The ''Speaker Of Mandarin'' (1983 Gold Dagger finalist), ''An Unkindness Of Ravens'' and ''The Tree Of Hands'' (both 1986 Edgar finalists for Best Novel), ''A Dark-Adapted Eye'' (as Barbara Vine, 1986 Gold Dagger finalist), ''A Fatal Inversion'' (as Barbara Vine, 1988 Macavity Award finalist for Best Novel), and ''Going Wrong'' (1990 Gold Dagger finalist.)<ref name="thecwa.co.uk">https://thecwa.co.uk/past-winners/page/2?search=ruth rendell&from_year&to_year</ref> Additionally, she was nominated four times in the Edgar Best Short Story category (in 1976 for "The Fall Of The Coin" and 1977 for "People Don’t Do Such Things"), winning twice for "The Fallen Curtain" (1975) and "The New Girlfriend" (1984).<ref name="edgarawards.com">{{cite web | url=https://edgarawards.com/category-list-best-short-story/ | title=Category List – Best Short Story &#124; Edgar® Awards Info & Database }}</ref>

==Death==
Rendell suffered a stroke on 7 January 2015,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30828386|title=Ruth Rendell in critical condition after stroke|work=BBC News|date=7 January 2015}}</ref> and she died on 2 May at [[St George's Hospital]] in [[Tooting]], London.<ref>{{cite news|title=Author Ruth Rendell dies aged 85|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32564813|work=BBC News|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite ODNB |last=Wisker |first=Gina |date=10 January 2019 |title=Rendell [née Grasemann; pseud. Barbara Vine], Ruth Barbara, Baroness Rendell of Babergh (1930–2015), novelist and short story writer |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.110398}}</ref>

=== Legacy ===
The Ruth Rendell Award was introduced in 2016 by the [[National Literacy Trust]]. It is awarded to authors for their work in inspiring children and improving their literacy.<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 June 2021|title=Nominations for the annual Ruth Rendell Award are now open|url=https://www.educatemagazine.com/ruth-rendell-award/|access-date=6 February 2022|website=Educate magazine|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Developing the thriller genre==
Rendell wrote two unpublished novels before the 1964 publication of ''[[From Doon with Death]]'', which was purchased for £75 by John Long; it was the first mystery to feature [[Inspector Wexford|Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford]]. Rendell said that the character of Wexford was based on herself.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-15239392|title=Wexford is me, Ruth Rendell confesses|work=BBC News|date=10 October 2011}}</ref> ''[[The Monster in the Box]]'', released in October 2009, was widely suggested to be Wexford's last case.<ref name="UK_TheDailyTelegraph_4May2009_TimWalker_Wexfordslastcase">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/5273451/Ruth-Rendell-closes-the-book-on-Wexford-but-new-drama-beckons.html|title=Ruth Rendell closes the book on Wexford but new drama beckons |last=Walker|first=Tim|date=4 May 2009|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=17 March 2010|location=London}}</ref> This was incorrect; however it was the final novel featuring Wexford as an employed policeman. In the two following novels, ''[[The Vault (novel)|The Vault]]'' and ''[[No Man's Nightingale]],'' he was retired but was still involved in police investigations as a "consultant".<ref>{{cite news|author=Alison Flood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/01/ruth-rendell-life-in-writing |title=Ruth Rendell: a life in writing &#124; Books |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref>

In ''Introducing Chief Inspector Wexford'' by Daniel Mallory he says (based on a 1990 interview with Rendell by [[Marilyn Stasio]]) that Rendell refers to ''the hated Agatha'' (Christie) and ''that awful Marple woman''; and says of St. Mary Mead that she ''can hardly bear to say the name of that village'' where ''one finds a lot of normal, law-abiding people living ordinary, blameless lives, who suddenly decide to murder their aunt. Well, I don't believe that.''<ref>{{cite book |last= Rendell |first= Ruth |title=  From Doon with Death |edition= 2  |orig-date= 1964 |year= 2007 |publisher= Ballantine Books |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-345-49845-8 |oclc= |page= 217 }}</ref> (''Introducing Chief Inspector Wexford'' by Daniel Mallory; from 1990 Rendell interview with [[Marilyn Stasio]])

In addition to these [[police procedural]]s starring Wexford, Rendell wrote psychological crime novels exploring such themes as romantic obsession, misperceived communication, the impact of chance and coincidence, and the humanity of the criminals involved. Among such books are ''[[A Judgement in Stone]]'', ''[[The Face of Trespass]]'', ''[[Live Flesh]]'', ''[[Talking to Strange Men]]'', ''[[The Killing Doll]]'', ''[[Going Wrong]]'' and ''[[Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (Rendell novel)|Adam and Eve and Pinch Me]]''. For the last novel published in her lifetime, [[The Girl Next Door (Rendell novel)|''The Girl Next Door'']], she returned to the Loughton of her childhood, with an implied comparison of the moral climate of wartime England and 2014.

<!--comment out unsupported claims Many credit her and close friend [[P. D. James]] for upgrading the entire genre of [[whodunit]], shaping it more into a ''why''dunit.{{cn|date=May 2015}} Rendell's protagonists are often socially isolated, suffer from mental illness, and/or are otherwise disadvantaged; she explores the adverse impacts of their circumstances on these characters as well as on their victims.{{cn|date=May 2015}}-->
Rendell created a third strand of writing with the publication in 1986 of ''[[A Dark-Adapted Eye]]'' under her pseudonym Barbara Vine (the name was derived from her own middle name and her great-grandmother's maiden name).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://anguskidman.show/2024/07/15/barbara-vine-ruth-rendell/ |title=Why did Ruth Rendell write under the name of Barbara Vine? |date=July 15, 2024 |access-date=July 15, 2024 }}</ref> ''[[King Solomon's Carpet]]'', ''[[A Fatal Inversion]]'' and ''[[Asta's Book]]'' (alternative U.S. title, ''Anna's Book''), among others, inhabited the same territory as her psychological crime novels while further developing themes of human misunderstandings and the unintended consequences of family secrets and hidden crimes. The author was noted for her elegant prose and sharp insights into the human mind, as well as her cogent plots and characters. Rendell injected the social changes of the last 40 years into her work, bringing awareness to such issues as [[domestic violence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/18/meet-author-ruth-rendell-wexford|title=Ruth Rendell: 'Withholding information from the reader should be part of any story'|author=Vanessa Thorpe|work=The Guardian|date=17 August 2013}}</ref>

==Adaptations of her works==
The Inspector Wexford series was successfully televised, starring [[George Baker (British actor)|George Baker]] as Inspector Wexford and [[Christopher Ravenscroft]] as Detective Mike Burden, under the title ''[[The Ruth Rendell Mysteries]]'', with 48 episodes from 1987 to 2000.  Rendell praised Baker's performance, stating "It was a marvellous achievement as an actor to make him more and better than the author intended."<ref name="bbc.com"/> Many of her other works have been adapted for film and television. She said that [[Claude Chabrol]]'s 1995 version of ''[[A Judgement in Stone]]'', ''[[La Cérémonie]]'' with [[Sandrine Bonnaire]], was one of the few film adaptations of her work that she was happy with. The novel was also filmed in 1986 with [[Rita Tushingham]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091305/|title=A Judgment in Stone (1986)|author=anxietyresister|date=24 April 1987|work=IMDb}}</ref> Chabrol made ''[[The Bridesmaid (film)|La Demoiselle d'honneur]]'' in 2004, based on ''[[The Bridesmaid]]''.

Other adaptations are ''[[Diary of the Dead (1976 film)|Diary of the Dead]]'' (1976), from the book ''[[One Across, Two Down]]''; the 1997 [[Pedro Almodóvar]] film ''[[Carne trémula|Live Flesh]]'';<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9449287/Ruth-Rendell-returns-to-ITV-after-12-years-with-a-dark-thriller.html|title=Ruth Rendell returns to ITV after 12 years with a dark thriller|date=6 August 2012|work=Telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> ''[[The Tree of Hands]]'', directed by [[Giles Foster]] for Granada with [[Lauren Bacall]] (U.S. title: "Innocent Victim"); and another version of  ''The Tree of Hands'', ''[[Betty Fisher et autres histoires]]'' (2001, a.k.a. ''Alias Betty''), with screenplay and direction by [[Claude Miller]]. François Ozon's 2015 film ''[[The New Girlfriend (film)|The New Girlfriend]]'' was based on Rendell's short story of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/21/the-new-girlfriend-review-francois-ozon-ruth-rendell|title = The New Girlfriend review – bold adaptation of a Ruth Rendell short story| website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 21 May 2015}}</ref> Two episodes of ''[[Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)|Tales of the Unexpected]]'' were based on Rendell's short stories - "A Glowing Future" ([[List of Tales of the Unexpected episodes#Series 4 (1981)|series 4]], episode 15) and "People Don't Do Such Things" ([[List of Tales of the Unexpected episodes#Series 8 (1985)|series 8]], episode 1).

==Awards and honours==
*1975 – [[Mystery Writers of America]] Best Short Story Edgar: ''[[The Fallen Curtain]]''
*1975 - Current Crime's Silver Cup for Best Crime Novel: ''[[Shake Hands Forever]]''
*1976 - Gold Dagger for Fiction: ''[[A Demon In My View]]''<ref name="thecwa.co.uk"/>
*1980 - Martin Beck Award for Best Crime Novel: ''[[Make Death Love Me]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.deckarakademin.se/deckarkatalogen-2004/ | title=2004 – Svenska Deckarakademin }}</ref>
*1981 - Arts Council National Book Award for Genre Fiction: ''[[The Lake Of Darkness]]''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/ruth-rendell | title=Ruth Rendell &#124; United Agents }}</ref>
*1984 - [[Mystery Writers of America]] Best Short Story Edgar: ''[[The New Girlfriend]]''<ref name="edgarawards.com"/>
*1984 - Silver Dagger for Fiction: ''[[The Tree Of Hands]]''<ref name="thecwa.co.uk"/>
*1986 - Gold Dagger for Fiction: ''[[Live Flesh]]''<ref name="thecwa.co.uk"/>
*1987 – [[Mystery Writers of America]] [[Edgar Award]]: ''[[A Dark-Adapted Eye]]''
*1987 – Gold Dagger for Fiction: ''[[A Fatal Inversion]]''
*1988 – Angel Award for Fiction: ''[[The House of Stairs (Barbara Vine novel)|The House of Stairs]]''
*1990 – ''Sunday Times'' Award for Literary Excellence
*1991 – Gold Dagger for Fiction: ''[[King Solomon's Carpet]]''
*1991 – Cartier Diamond Dagger for a Lifetime's Achievement in the Field
*1996 – [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE)
*1997 - [[Life Peer]] as Baroness Rendell of Babergh
*1997 - [[Mystery Writers of America]] Grand Master Award<ref>{{cite web | url=https://edgarawards.com/category-list-the-grand-master/ | title=Category List – the Grand Master &#124; Edgar® Awards Info & Database }}</ref>
*2004 – Mystery Ink [[Gumshoe Awards|Gumshoe Award]] for Lifetime Achievement
*2005 – [[Crime Writers' Association|CWA]] [[Dagger of Daggers]] (best crime novel to have won the Gold Dagger award (shortlist)): ''[[A Fatal Inversion]]''
*2007 – [[Gumshoe Awards|Gumshoe Award]] for Best European Crime Novel (shortlist): ''[[The Minotaur (novel)|The Minotaur]]''
*2007 – [[Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award]] (longlist): ''[[End in Tears]]''
*2010 – [[Lost Man Booker Prize]] (longlist):<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8491006.stm|work=BBC News|title=Novels up for 'lost' Booker Prize|date=1 February 2010}}</ref> ''[[A Guilty Thing Surprised]]''

{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Rendell of Babergh Achievement.png
|escutcheon = Gules three interlaced chevronels argent each ensigned by a brimstone butterfly displayed proper.
|supporters = On either side a bear statant erect proper gorged with a plain collar gobony gules and or fimbriated gules.
|orders = Commander of the Order of the British Empire
|motto = Vixi Scripsi<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage |date=2000}}</ref>}}

==Bibliography==

===Inspector Wexford series===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
#''[[From Doon with Death]]'' (1964) {{ISBN|978-0099588542}}
#''[[A New Lease of Death]]'' (1967) (American title: ''The Sins of the Fathers'') {{ISBN|978-0099534792}}
#''[[Wolf to the Slaughter]]'' (1967) {{ISBN|978-0099534822}}
#''[[The Best Man to Die]]'' (1969) {{ISBN|978-0375704895}}
#''[[A Guilty Thing Surprised]]'' (1970) {{ISBN|978-0099534846}}
#''[[No More Dying Then]]'' (1971) {{ISBN|978-0375704895}}
#''[[Murder Being Once Done]]'' (1972)
#''[[Some Lie and Some Die]]'' (1973)
#''[[Shake Hands Forever]]'' (1975)
#''[[A Sleeping Life]]'' (1978)
#''[[Put on by Cunning]]'' (1981) (American title: ''Death Notes'')
#''[[The Speaker of Mandarin]]'' (1983)
#''[[An Unkindness of Ravens]]'' (1985)
#''[[The Veiled One]]'' (1988)
#''[[Kissing the Gunner's Daughter]]'' (1991)
#''[[Simisola]]'' (1994)
#''[[Road Rage (novel)|Road Rage]]'' (1997)
#''[[Harm Done]]'' (1999) {{ISBN|978-0099281344}}
#''[[The Babes in the Wood]]'' (2002)
#''[[End in Tears]]'' (2005)
#''[[Not in the Flesh]]'' (2007)
#''[[The Monster in the Box]]'' (2009)
#''[[The Vault (novel)|The Vault]]'' (2011)
#''[[No Man's Nightingale]]'' (2013)
{{div col end}}

===Stand alone novels===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*''[[To Fear a Painted Devil]]'' (1965)
*''[[Vanity Dies Hard]]'' (1966) (American title: ''In Sickness and in Health'')
*''[[The Secret House of Death]]'' (1968)
*''[[One Across, Two Down]]'' (1971)
*''[[The Face of Trespass]]'' (1974)
*''[[A Demon in My View]]'' (1976)
*''[[A Judgement in Stone]]'' (1977)
*''[[Make Death Love Me]]'' (1979)
*''[[The Lake of Darkness]]'' (1980)
*''[[Master of the Moor]]'' (1982)
*''[[The Killing Doll]]'' (1984)
*''[[The Tree of Hands]]'' (1984)
*''[[Live Flesh]]'' (1986)
*''[[Talking to Strange Men]]'' (1987)
*''[[The Bridesmaid]]'' (1989)
*''[[Going Wrong]]'' (1990)
*''[[The Crocodile Bird]]'' (1993)
*''[[The Keys to the Street]]'' (1996)
*''[[A Sight for Sore Eyes (novel)|A Sight for Sore Eyes]]'' (1998)
*''[[Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (Rendell novel)|Adam and Eve and Pinch Me]]'' (2001)
*''[[The Rottweiler]]'' (2003)
*''[[Thirteen Steps Down (novel)|Thirteen Steps Down]]'' (2004)
*''[[The Water's Lovely]]'' (2006)
*''[[Portobello (novel)|Portobello]]'' (2008)
*''[[Tigerlily's Orchids]]'' (2010)
*''[[The Saint Zita Society]]'' (2012)
*''[[The Girl Next Door (Rendell novel)|The Girl Next Door]]'' (2014)
*''[[Dark Corners (novel)|Dark Corners]]'' (2015)
{{div col end}}

===Novellas===
*''Thornapple'' (1982).<ref>Published in ''Academy Mystery Novellas, Volume 5: Women Write Murder'', Martin H. Greenberg and Edward D. Hoch, editors. 1987</ref> Collected in ''The Fever Tree.''
*''[[Heartstones]]'' (1987). Uncollected.
*''Piranha To Scurfy'' (1990). Collected in ''Piranha To Scurfy''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780609608531 | title=Piranha to Scurfy: And Other Stories by Ruth Rendell }}</ref>
*''High Mysterious Union'' (1990). Collected in ''Piranha To Scurfy''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780609608531 | title=Piranha to Scurfy: And Other Stories by Ruth Rendell }}</ref>
*''The Strawberry Tree'' (1995). Collected in ''Blood Lines.'' 
*''[[The Thief (novella)|The Thief]]'' (2006). Collected in ''A Spot of Folly.''

===Written as Barbara Vine===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*''[[A Dark-Adapted Eye]]'' (1986) {{ISBN|978-0452270640}}
*''[[A Fatal Inversion]]'' (1987)
*''[[The House of Stairs (Barbara Vine novel)|The House of Stairs]]'' (1988)
*''[[Gallowglass (novel)|Gallowglass]]'' (1990)
*''[[King Solomon's Carpet]]'' (1991)
*''[[Asta's Book]]'' (1993) (American title: ''Anna's Book'')
*''[[No Night Is Too Long (novel)|No Night Is Too Long]]'' (1994)
*''[[The Brimstone Wedding]]'' (1995)
*''[[The Chimney Sweeper's Boy]]'' (1998)
*''[[Grasshopper (Vine novel)|Grasshopper]]'' (2000)
*''[[The Blood Doctor]]'' (2002)
*''[[The Minotaur (novel)|The Minotaur]]'' (2005)
*''[[The Birthday Present (novel)|The Birthday Present]]'' (2008)
*''[[The Child's Child]]'' (2012)
{{div col end}}

===Short story collections===
*''[[The Fallen Curtain]]'' (1976)
*''[[Means of Evil|Means of Evil and Other Stories]]'' (1979) (five [[Inspector Wexford]] stories)
*''[[The Fever Tree]]'' (1982)
*''[[The New Girlfriend]]'' (1985)
*''[[The Copper Peacock]]'' (1991)
*''[[Blood Lines (Ruth Rendell short stories collection)|Blood Lines: Long and Short Stories]]'' (1995)
*''[[Piranha to Scurfy]]'' (2000)
*''Collected Short Stories, Volume 1'' (2006)
*''Collected Short Stories, Volume 2'' (2008)
*''[[A Spot of Folly]]'' (2017)

===Uncollected short stories===
*"The Martyr", included in Midsummer Nights (ed. ''Jeanette Winterson''), Quercus, 2009

===Uncollected round-robin short stories to which Rendell was a contributor===
*"Death in the Square", co-authored with [[Peter Levi]], [[Roald Dahl]] and [[Ted Willis]], [[Daily Telegraph]], 1988
*"Web of Intrigue", co-written with members of the public. [[Daily Telegraph]], 1997

===Non-fiction===
*''Ruth Rendell's Suffolk'' (1989)
*''Undermining the Central Line: giving government back to the people'' (with [[Colin Ward]], 1989) a political tract
*''[[The Reason Why: An Anthology of the Murderous Mind]]'' (1995)

===Children's books===
* ''Archie & Archie'' (2013)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
A critical essay on Rendell's crime novels appears in [[S. T. Joshi]]'s book ''Varieties of Crime Fiction'' (Wildside Press, 2019) {{ISBN|978-1-4794-4546-2}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{British council|id=ruth-rendell|name=Baroness Ruth Rendell}}
* [http://www.gusworld.com.au/books/rendell/default.htm Gusworld] Ruth Rendell information site with detailed bibliography
* [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Rendell,%20Ruth Ruth Rendell at Random House Australia]
* [http://www.gusworld.com.au/books/vine/default.htm Fatal Inversions] detailed Barbara Vine information site with bibliography
* {{IMDb name|id=0719334|name=Ruth Rendell}}
* [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/baroness_rendell_of_babergh Baroness Rendell of Babergh] at TheyWorkForYou.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100112174611/http://www.theinterviewonline.co.uk/library/books/ruth-rendell-interview.aspx Ruth Rendell in a video interview] on [http://www.theinterviewonline.co.uk The Interview Online] talking about [[Sherlock Holmes]]
* {{NPG name}}
* {{OL author}}

{{Ruth Rendell}}
{{Authority control}}

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