The Jewel That Was Ours

Morse is out of the hospital and less interesting, but this may be my second-favorite Morse book. First, his relationship with Lewis is well established and works really well here. Second, a tour group of elderly Americans are central to the mystery and leads to some interesting commentary on the idea of “Americans” versus the likeability of actual Americans. Finally, there’s just some funny stuff about tourism in Oxford I can relate to. Really the mystery takes a back door to the story and the characters in this novel, and I like that

My first Inspector Morse book ...! It certainly won't be my last. I normally prefer my crime and deteictive fiction to be of the 'hardboiled' American type but this was a great change from their frenetic pace with plenty of well rounded, described characters, great dialogue between them and a mystery worthy of Morse's (as one reviewer called it) drink-fuelled brain.
A tour bus full of Americans arrive at Oxford, one of their members is donating a priceless artefact to a local museum, but when she ends up dead, the jewel is stolen and the curator also ends up dead they got more than the travel brochure promised them. Full of red herrings, twists and turns and seemingly endless dead ends (sometimes quite literally) in his investigations it show more is no wonder Morse can often be found in a pub. show less

In a slight reversal of the customary sequence, this novel was actually an adaptation of a television screenplay. The book is derived from an episode broadcast on Christmas Day during the height of the popularity of the Inspector Morse television series, and Colin Dexter subsequently developed it into a novel, changing many of the plot twists, and delivering a completely different solution to the mystery.

I first encountered Colin Dexter’s books following a recommendation from Mr Wilf Massiah, my wonderful English teacher, who was also my school’s librarian. To be fair, this referral had less to do with any literary merit that Mr Massiah might have perceived in the books, and was more a consequence of the fact that Colin Dexter’s show more first job after graduating from university had been as a classics teacher at the school (Loughborough Grammar School). Dexter’s spell there was very brief (possibly even just one academic year), and he had moved on long before I was even born, let alone attended the school. He did seem to retain fond memories of his time at the school, however, and became a regular speaker at alumni events throughout the period when the television series dominated ITV’s schedules.

I have often wondered why television producers selected Dexter’s books for adaptation. Presumably he was just lucky in his selection of such a photogenic setting. The Oxford cityscape certainly transferred favourably to the small screen, and John Thaw captured much of the querulous and capricious nature of Morse’s personality. If I might briefly slip[ into nerd mode (although you are probably asking, ‘What do you mean “slip into …”?’), I recall that in the original editions of the earlier novels, Morse actually drove a Lagonda, rather than his celebrated red Jaguar, which was an adornment of television’s making.

To my mind, the early novels in the series tended to be over-complicated to a ridiculous degree, primarily as an exercise in demonstrating Dexter’s own dexterity with crosswords and similar puzzles, which quickly emerged as one of Morse’s identifying features. That trait persists into this book, although to a less obtrusive extent than in some of its predecessors.

The basic scenario revolves around the death in Oxford’s smart Randolph hotel of an American tourist before she was due to present a medieval jewel to the Ashmolean Museum. Despite the almost priceless nature of this jewel, it had been stowed in her handbag which appears to have been stolen at the time of her death. Shortly afterwards, the rather extravagant Oxford academic who was due to receive the jewel on behalf of the Ashmolean, and who saw it as his guarantee of academic preferment, is found dead in the River Isis.

There isn’t really much more to say about the book. It is fairly standard Morse fare. The Chief Inspector is as querulous, and Sergeant Lewis as long-suffering as ever. If you like whodunits, you will probably enjoy this one, as I certainly did, although it is nothing out of the ordinary within that genre, and not up to Dexter at his best. show less

Pretty happy with this one. A tour bus full of Americans (with interesting back stories) pulls into Oxford to hear tourist talks, but a wife gets dead right away and a jewel (that was to be donated to the Ashmolean Museum) is stolen! Later, a philandering museum director is also killed- must be related, right? Morse and Lewis are on it. Morse also gets cozy with an overly friendly, overly lush Oxford sophisticated lady... .and she is a pretty pleasant time for all. My first Morse and i was struck repeatedly by close resemblances to my favorite Joyce Porter, Inspector Dover. Yes, Dover is certainly played for more laughs (constant) and he has a hostile relationship with his sergeant ... but Morse is also likely to jump to unsupportable show more conclusions and is often toying with his sergeant and constantly accepting free drinks / food from him too. In short- lots!!!! but .. happily they are both good, so there is space for Morse as well as Dover. show less

The Wolvercote Tongue is stolen and several interested parties die but, all likely suspects appear to have unbreakable alibis. This was one of my favourite stories from the televised Morse so, I was particularly interested to see how it faired in its intended novel form: the answer, even better. Reading the Morse books in order allows one to appreciate the improvement from book to book, with almost no exception. Characters, whilst perhaps not entirely real, are somehow believable and the improbable twists in the plot which would leave a real detective floundering at square one, are conquered by a sleuth on par with Holmes, Poirot and the greats of detective fiction.
Eruditely written, this is a first class read!

Morse doesn't always get it right. Sometimes he gets to the point of actually charging a suspect before he realises that he's got it wrong. In fact Lewis thinks that Morse creates scenarios before he looks at the facts. But somehow he gets some elements right and then he plucks something else out of left field, and somehow it all fits.

We listen carefully, just as Lewis does, and eventually Morse persuades us.

We have really been enjoying this set of audio books narrated superbly by Samuel West.

THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS (Inspector Morse #9) 1981, by Colin Dexter is yet another in an all too small collection of superlative mysteries. Set in Oxford, England, this outing has a bus full of American tourists, a death, the theft of a priceless artifact, and no possibility of a rational solution. Until Morse arrives that is. And in his fashion he manages to not only pull the thread of the mystery free, but does so in his own elegant fashion.
While we can still visit Morse through the books and the television shows (Morse and Endeavour), I certainly miss the anticipation of a new thriller on the shelves.
Alas.