Immediately after the publication in 1975 of Colin Dexter’s (b. 1930) first detective novel, “The Last Bus to Woodstock,” its main character, Inspector Morse, unconditionally won the sympathy of English readers. With the advent of successive novels about the work of the police of the ancient University of Oxford (and there have already been twelve of them), Morse’s fame grew, increasing the circle of fans of the cycle. Absent-minded, eccentric Morse is an unrivaled master of solving crosswords, charades, and puzzles, a lover of playing with words and drinking a pint or two of bitter beer, flipping through a pornographic magazine and sitting at a striptease session, a man who stubbornly defends his erroneous versions. He is a brilliant detective. This is recognized by both the inspector’s closest assistant, Sergeant Lewis, and Morse’s other colleagues. For his novels, Dexter received the highest awards from the Crime Writers Association - the Golden Dagger and the Silver Dagger. And the film adaptation of the novels, with John Thaw in the role of Morse, was seen by millions of Russian television viewers.