Michael Dibdin
Michael Dibdin (21 March 1947 – 30 March 2007)[1] was a British crime writer, best known for inventing Aurelio Zen, the principal character in 11 crime novels set in Italy.
Early life[]
Dibdin was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire (now West Midlands), England. The son of a physicist, he was brought up from the age of seven in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, where he attended the Friends' School and was taught by James Simmons.[1] He graduated with a degree in English from Sussex University, and then went to study for a Master's degree at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Career[]
After publishing his first novel, a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, he lived for four years in Italy, teaching at the university in Perugia.
Dibdin is best known for his Aurelio Zen mysteries, set in Italy.[2] The first of these, Ratking, won the 'Gold Dagger' award of 1988. This series of detective novels provide a penetrating insight into the less visible aspects of Italian society over the last 20 years. The earlier books have a lightness of touch that gradually becomes much darker. The character of Zen himself is anti-heroic, which adds much to the books' irony and black humour. A final Zen book, End Games, appeared posthumously in July 2007.
He also wrote other detective works set in America and in the UK.
Personal life[]
Dibdin eventually settled in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Dibdin was married three times, most recently to the novelist K. K. Beck. He died on 30 March 2007, in Seattle, following a short illness.
Bibliography[]
Aurelio Zen series[]
- Ratking (1989)
- Vendetta (1991)
- Cabal (1992)
- Dead Lagoon (1994)
- Cosi Fan Tutti (1996)
- A Long Finish (1998)
- Blood Rain (1999)
- And Then You Die (2002)
- Medusa (2003)
- Back to Bologna (2005)
- End Games (2007)
Other books[]
- The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978)
- A Rich Full Death (1986)
- The Tryst (1989)
- Dirty Tricks (1991)
- The Dying of the Light (1993)
- Dark Spectre (1995) ISBN 0-571-17523-6
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Christopher Hawtree (4 April 2007). "Guardian obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ Patricia Prandini Buckler (2014). Bloody Italy: Essays on Crime Writing in Italian Settings. McFarland. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-7864-5864-6.
External links[]
- Michael Dibdin at British Council: Literature
- BBC obituary
- Daily Telegraph obituary
- January Magazine Interview: Michael Dibdin
- BBC Programme page: Zen
Video[]
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- People from Wolverhampton
- Alumni of the University of Sussex
- Male writers from Northern Ireland
- British crime fiction writers
- Organized crime novelists
- British expatriates in the United States
- 1947 births
- 2007 deaths
- People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn
- 20th-century British novelists
- 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland
- 20th-century British male writers
- British writer stubs