Ruth Rendell, Simisola

Susan A. Rowland

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1994

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Crime and Detective
Novel

Resources

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Simisola

(1994) is a Ruth Rendell novel featuring her liberal policeman, Chief Inspector Wexford and his conservative deputy, Mike Burden. Set in the fictional town of Kingsmarkham and using the medium of a “murder mystery”, this work explores the extent of racism in a middle class white community. Prejudice proves to touch even those who, like Wexford, believe themselves to be free of it. Indeed, the art of

Simisola

is to reveal confusion over race by deeply embedding it into the crime plot. Not only does racial oppression generate crime, but it also muddles the solving of crime. By showing the police making significant mistakes due to the racial identity of crime victims, the novel implicates the police, and metonymically the institutional structures of British society, into a…

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1187 words

Citation: Rowland, Susan A.. "Simisola". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 June 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16823, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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