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An American In Search Of Morse

Roberta Harding
 

As a law professor on sabbatical from an American university, I had the good fortune to be able to go to Oxford from March until late May 1998 in order to conduct research in my primary area of academic interest. This incredible opportunity also allowed me to engage in a different, but equally interesting, type ot research: ferreting out a number of Morsian locations featured and mentioned in Colin Dexter’s mesmerizing Morse novels.

Soon after my arrival in early March I was lucky to accidently stumble upon my first Morse locale. On my way to ‘the Bod’ one morning I decided to sneak a peek at the quad of a college situated near the Radcliffe Camera. To my surprise and delight I discovered that I was at Brasenose College. Furthermore, almost everyday I found myself at or passing the Carfax Tower, Cornmarket, the Covered Market, and other icons on or near the High Street. I remember deciding to visit the Martyr’s Memorial late one afternoon after an especially grueling research session. Since my office was located in a building on the Banbury Road, I frequently took the bus, or walked, up St. Giles. Sometimes I would take a slight detour and walk up the Woodstock Road to stop at my favourite pastry shop to pick a delicacy to indulge in at work. On each occasion I could see myself accompanying Morse and Lewis as they drove down from the Thames Valley Police. I was very fortunate to be able to reside at Beechwood House, which is adjacent to Iffley Village. This gave me innumerable opportunities to walk down to the river and think about the cases Morse and Lewis were involved in that featured the river.

So far I considered myself fortunate to have accomplished a fair amount of Morse slouthing in such a relatively short amount of time (I had only been in Oxford for a few weeks). Then one evening I went to the Cafe Freud on Walton Street to hear Joseph Heller, the author of “Catch-22”, speak about his recently published autobiography. Walking to the Cafe, I passed the Ashmolean and the Randolph Hotel (featured in WOLV). As I periodically glanced at my “Oxford A to Z” to make sure that I was heading in the right direction (my abyssmal sense of direction is well-known), it suddenly dawned upon me that I was in the Jericho section of Oxford. Jericho was the setting for JERI. Now this was a momentous occasion for me because that was the first Colin Dexter book that I ever read and the first Morse film I viewed! All in all, my first month in Oxford was fruittul, and not in terms of the amount of academic research I completed.

April and May were also fruitful in terms of an American searching for Morse. I went to The Trout pub in Wolvercote, the village where Lewis’ wife’s Aunt Cissie lives, on two different occasions. With the delicious food, flowing river, outside tables, quiant architecture, and strolling peacocks I can understand why Morse and Lewis stopped there. One evening my friend Alison, a British woman I became acquainted with in Oxtord through my roommate in law school, and I went to the bar at the Randolph Hotel on Beaumont Street. I must admit that everytime someone entered, I quickly, and discreetly, glanced over at the entrance to check if it might be Morse coming in as he did in WOLV. One evening in May Alison and I went to hear John Lill perform at the Sheldonian. Sitting there instantly brought memories of how the Sheldonian was featured in TWIL. My visit to the Holywell Music Room reminded me of Morse sitting there listening to the opera diva. On sunny days in May I would take a break from my research and stroll over to the King’s Arms pub on the corner of Holywell and Parks Road to sip a refreshing ginger ale. This brought distinct memories of reading NEIG. The same book came to mind whenever I went to the Turf Tavern for a ploughman’s lunch. Having afternoon tea at the Old Parsonage Hotel with my friends Sylvia and Hannah reminded me of the eerie goings ons in SECR.

Undoubtedly the highlight of my search for Morse was meeting Collin Dexter. He was one of the participants in the crime novel panel sponsored by the Oxford Literary Society that was held at the Oxford Union. I could hardly believe my good fortune! I distinctly remember arriving very early so that I would be assured of securing a good seat. After the panel discussion, Mr. Dexter kindly signed “The Making of Inspector Morse” for me. Per my request, his dedication was for my mother, anothor avid Morse fan (this was her favourite present that I brought her trom from England). In a typically American fashion I chattered away about how many Americans adore his books and are truly appreciative of the joy his writings has brought to them, not to mention the films that have been made of his books. Mr. Dexter politely and jovially listened to my ruminations. Another high point of my visit was discovering the existence of this Society. I’ve already purchased the Morse Society pins for my mother and myself and only hope that maybe next year we can attend the Morse weekend.

In conclusion, I’ll always remember the months I spent at Oxtord, and not only tor the quality of research it enabled me to do. I hope to meet you at the next annual Morse weekend.