Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson studied at University of Windsor, York University and University of Leeds. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is literary activity and detective literature. Works named in the authority record are Inspector Alan Banks. Distinctions recorded are Edgar Awards, Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation, Dagger in the Library and Anthony Award for Best Novel.

• Name — Peter Robinson • Born — 17 March 1950 • Birthplace — Armley, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England • Died — 4 October 2022 • Place of death — Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Education — * University of Leeds (BA Hons) • University of Windsor (MA) • York University (PhD) • Genre — Crime • Notable Works — Inspector Alan Banks • Spouse — Sheila Halladay • Awards — * Dagger in the Library (2002) • Anthony Awards 2000 • Barry Award 1999 • Website — www.inspectorbanks.com

Robinson was born in Armley, Leeds, on 17 March 1950. His father, Clifford, worked as a photographer; his mother, Miriam (Jarvis), was a homemaker. Robinson studied English literature at the University of Leeds, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours. He then emigrated to Canada in 1974 to continue his studies, obtaining a Master of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor. He was later awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree in English at York University in 1983.

Robinson taught at several colleges and universities in Toronto, and the University of Windsor (his alma mater) as writer-in-residence from 1992 to 1993. He was best known for the Inspector Banks series of novels set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Eastvale. His first novel, Gallows View, was published in 1987. It garnered him the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award, which he went on to win six more times during his career. The series was eventually translated into twenty languages by the time of his death. He also wrote two collections of short stories – Not Safe After Dark (1998) and The Price of Love (2009) – as well as another novel, Caedmon's Song, released in 1990.

Robinson resided in the Beaches area of Toronto with his wife, Sheila Halladay, and he occasionally taught crime writing at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. He also taught at a number of Toronto colleges and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, 1992–1993. Robinson and his wife had a holiday cottage in Richmond, North Yorkshire. He died on 4 October 2022, at the age of 72.

The novels are set in the fictional English town of Eastvale in the Yorkshire Dales. Robinson has stated that Eastvale is modelled on Ripon and Richmond and is somewhere north of Ripon, close to the A1 road. A former member of the London Metropolitan Police, Inspector Alan Banks leaves the capital for a quieter life in the Dales. Since 2010 several of the novels have been adapted for television under the series title DCI Banks with Stephen Tompkinson in the title role. • Gallows View (1987), • A Dedicated Man (1988), • A Necessary End (1989), • The Hanging Valley (1989), • Past Reason Hated (1991), • Wednesday's Child (1992), • Dry Bones That Dream (1994), (published in the United States as Final Account) • Innocent Graves (1996), • Dead Right (1997), (published in the United States as Blood at the Root) • In a Dry Season (1999), • Cold Is the Grave (2000), • Aftermath (2001), • The Summer that Never Was (2003), (published in the United States as Close to Home) • Playing with Fire (2004), • Strange Affair (2005), • Piece of My Heart (2006), • Friend of the Devil (2007), • All the Colours of Darkness (2008), • Bad Boy (2010), • Watching the Dark (2012), • Children of the Revolution (2013), • Abattoir Blues (2014), (published in the United States as In the Dark Places) • When the Music's Over (2016), • Sleeping in the Ground (2017), • Careless Love (2018), • Many Rivers to Cross (2019), • Not Dark Yet (2021), • Standing in the Shadows (2023),

Although Caedmon's Song is a standalone novella, it is related to Friend of the Devil, which is also related to Aftermath. • Caedmon's Song (1990), • The First Cut – American edition of Caedmon's Song (1993), • No Cure for Love (1995), • Not Safe After Dark (Crippen & Landru, 1998 & Macmillan Publishers, 2004), (Short stories; includes three Inspector Banks stories) • The Price of Love (2009), (Short stories; includes an Inspector Banks novella and three Banks stories) • Before the Poison (2011),

Peter Robinson is recorded as having received Edgar Awards, Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation and Dagger in the Library. Recognition and collections. Robinson received Edgar Awards, Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation, Dagger in the Library, Anthony Award for Best Novel, Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Palle Rosenkrantz Prize.