Ruth Rendell

Writer

February 17, 1930 (85 years)

† May 2, 2015

South Woodford, Essex, England, UK

Biography

Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.

Filmography

6.8

Tales of the Unexpected

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

7.1

Screen Two

Series of single made-for-television dramas.

6.6

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries

The Ruth Rendell mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000.

7.0

Live Flesh

When Victor attempts to seduce Elena, all he gets for his trouble is a one-way, six-year ticket to prison, where he concentrates on strengthening his mind, his body... and his desire for vengeance on the man who put him there. After his release and still madly in love with her, Victor will stop at nothing to win her over even if means revenge, for Elena has married David, the cop who sent him to prison!

7.3

La Cérémonie

Sophie, a quiet and shy maid working for an upper-class French family, finds a friend in the energetic and uncompromising postmaster Jeanne, who encourages her to stand up against her bourgeois employers.

6.6

Gallowglass

Gallowglass is a British television miniseries adaptation of the Ruth Rendell novel of the same name. The word “gallowglass” means servant, or one indebted to another. This is the story of a young man who feels such indebtedness to another young man after he is saved from committing suicide by jumping in front of an oncoming train. It is an emotional story of obsessive love, lust and fear.

7.2

Thirteen Steps Down

Mix Cellini is obsessed. And not just with the supermodel he's been stalking. He's also endlessly fascinated by the life of Reggie Christie, the infamous serial killer hanged fifty years ago.

8.0

A Dark Adapted Eye

This psychological mystery/thriller, adapted from Ruth Rendell's novel of the same name, depicts a family on the edge. Two sisters, the elder obsessive Vera, and the younger, manipulative Eden, cut a path of jealousy, murder and revenge that leads to the destruction of their entire family.

6.1

The New Girlfriend

A young woman makes a surprising discovery about the husband of her late best friend.

6.1

Betty Fisher and Other Stories

When bestselling novelist Betty Fisher loses her young son in a tragic accident, her unstable mother resorts to unusual actions to alleviate Betty's grief, actions which set off a chain reaction among a promiscuous waitress and her criminal associates.

6.3

No Night Is Too Long

A chance meeting, a stolen kiss and a sudden flare of passion sets a handsome young university student on a journey of betrayal, heartbreak and murder.

N/A

A Fatal Inversion

After Adam inherits a country house from his great uncle, he and his friend Rufus decide to spend the summer there instead of abroad. An odd assortment of 'house guests' turns up through different means and it's an uneasy mix at best. A decade afterwards, the bodies of a young woman and an infant are discovered in the woods behind the house. As the police investigate, they naturally look to Adam as former owner of the house, and what happened all those years before starts to catch up with him.

4.3

A Sight for Sore Eyes

When she was seven, Elise Gardet witnessed her mother’s brutal murder. Ever since, she has tried to forget this unsolved crime. Now she’s 18 and beautiful, but her bourgeois family and her stepmother’s anxiety are suffocating her.

4.9

13 Steps Down

No description available

8.0

Tree of Hands

A woman is attempting to cope with her son's tragic death when her mother arrives on an ill-timed visit with her own remedies.

5.0

A Fatal Inversion

Adaptation of the Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) novel. After Adam inherits a country house from his great uncle, he and his friend Rufus decide to spend the summer there instead of abroad. An odd assortment of 'house guests' turns up through different means and it's an uneasy mix at best. A decade afterwards, the bodies of a young woman and an infant are discovered in the woods behind the house. As the police investigate, they naturally look to Adam as former owner of the house, and what happened all those years before starts to catch up with him.

7.1

Diary of the Dead

An unemployed man who lives with his wife and overbearing mother-in-law sees an opportunity to relieve himself of the old bat, which tangles him in a maze of deception.

6.4

The Bridesmaid

A hard-working young man meets and falls in love with his sister's bridesmaid. He soon finds out how disturbed she really is.

4.4

A Demon in My View

A strangler known as the Kenbourne Killer has been murdering streetwalkers for 25 years. The police set out to track him down.

5.0

An Affair in Mind

A young novelist falls for a married blond beauty. She's too afraid to leave her thuggish husband and the idea of "accidental" death comes up. The writer doesn't go through with it and they break off. However, she's not done with him yet.