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Inspector Morse: Masonic Mysteries
Inspector Morse tops the list of suspects when his lady friend is stabbed to death at a rehearsal for the local drama society's production of The Magic Flute. Even his loyal Sgt. Lewis has to admit that all the evidence points to the inspector.
- GenresMystery
Audio Cassette
First published February 1, 1999
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November 1, 2024
Masonic Mysteries is an episode from January 1990, from the 4th season of the Inspector Morse television series, which starred John Thaw as Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Many people do not know that most of these mysteries were not actually written by Colin Dexter, but were original screenplays written by various authors. Colin Dexter only wrote 13 Morse novels, plus a few short stories, but there were 8 “Inspector Morse” series, with a total of thirty-three separate stories. Eleven of these were written by Julian Mitchell.
I have reviewed all 13 Inspector Morse novels; please see my shelves for the individual novels LINK HERE. I do not usually review the episodes not based on his own stories, although many are very good, and all of them are available as audio books. I’m making the exception here, as Julian Mitchell actually wrote an episode of Inspector Morse once, which so impressed Colin Dexter that he then wrote a novel based on it! (“The Wolvercote Tongue” by Julian Mitchell was broadcast on 25th December 1987, and was developed by Colin Dexter into his 9th Morse novel The Jewel That Was Ours in 1991.)
Julian Mitchell did adapt some of Colin Dexter’s own novels, but Masonic Mysteries is one of his original ones, using the characters of Morse and Lewis (and their boss Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Strange). It has a convoluted plot, which is particularly appealing, as we see the vulnerable side of Inspector Morse. In this one Morse is not the most intellectual and intelligent person, who runs rings round everyone else. He is up against a Moriarty-type villain, who seems to outwit him at every move.
It is Morse himself who is suspected of murdering
The incidents continue, such as This is what the title refers to, and Morse is sure that the answer to the mystery will lie in the libretto of Mozart’s masonic opera “The Magic Flute”.
Morse is adamant that he has been deliberately targeted and set up. He begins to look to his past to see who, among the many criminals he arrested, might now be seeking revenge, and who would have the ability to pull off all the baffling feats.
It’s an absorbing story, with a second murder and suicide still to come. One bit of trivia from the television episode is that the actress who played the first murder victim is Kevin Whately’s wife, in real life.
Both the adaptations and the original screenplays of Inspector Morse episodes were written by notable writers, such as Anthony Minghella, Alma Cullen, Malcolm Bradbury and Daniel Boyle. I feel that Julian Mitchell’s screenplays top the list. He is an English playwright, (an Oxford alumnus, whereas Colin Dexter actually went to Cambridge University!) Perhaps his best known play (and film) is “Another Country”, which I was lucky enough to see at its initial run at a theatre in London’s West End. As well as writing plays and screenplays, Julian Mitchell occasional writes novels.
The Inspector Morse series was such an enduring success, that it in turn spawned two more successful series about the characters (“Lewis” and “Endeavour”), despite Colin Dexter expressly forbidding that any more episodes be written in the Inspector Morse series after his own death. This is a testament not only to the creator’s, actors’ and directors’ prowess, but also largely I believe, to the excellence of the additional writers such as Julian Mitchell.
I have reviewed all 13 Inspector Morse novels; please see my shelves for the individual novels LINK HERE. I do not usually review the episodes not based on his own stories, although many are very good, and all of them are available as audio books. I’m making the exception here, as Julian Mitchell actually wrote an episode of Inspector Morse once, which so impressed Colin Dexter that he then wrote a novel based on it! (“The Wolvercote Tongue” by Julian Mitchell was broadcast on 25th December 1987, and was developed by Colin Dexter into his 9th Morse novel The Jewel That Was Ours in 1991.)
Julian Mitchell did adapt some of Colin Dexter’s own novels, but Masonic Mysteries is one of his original ones, using the characters of Morse and Lewis (and their boss Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Strange). It has a convoluted plot, which is particularly appealing, as we see the vulnerable side of Inspector Morse. In this one Morse is not the most intellectual and intelligent person, who runs rings round everyone else. He is up against a Moriarty-type villain, who seems to outwit him at every move.
It is Morse himself who is suspected of murdering
The incidents continue, such as This is what the title refers to, and Morse is sure that the answer to the mystery will lie in the libretto of Mozart’s masonic opera “The Magic Flute”.
Morse is adamant that he has been deliberately targeted and set up. He begins to look to his past to see who, among the many criminals he arrested, might now be seeking revenge, and who would have the ability to pull off all the baffling feats.
It’s an absorbing story, with a second murder and suicide still to come. One bit of trivia from the television episode is that the actress who played the first murder victim is Kevin Whately’s wife, in real life.
Both the adaptations and the original screenplays of Inspector Morse episodes were written by notable writers, such as Anthony Minghella, Alma Cullen, Malcolm Bradbury and Daniel Boyle. I feel that Julian Mitchell’s screenplays top the list. He is an English playwright, (an Oxford alumnus, whereas Colin Dexter actually went to Cambridge University!) Perhaps his best known play (and film) is “Another Country”, which I was lucky enough to see at its initial run at a theatre in London’s West End. As well as writing plays and screenplays, Julian Mitchell occasional writes novels.
The Inspector Morse series was such an enduring success, that it in turn spawned two more successful series about the characters (“Lewis” and “Endeavour”), despite Colin Dexter expressly forbidding that any more episodes be written in the Inspector Morse series after his own death. This is a testament not only to the creator’s, actors’ and directors’ prowess, but also largely I believe, to the excellence of the additional writers such as Julian Mitchell.
Displaying 1 of 1 review