Detective Inspector John Rebus
Encyclopedia
Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus
Inspector Rebus
The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on the title character Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh.-Content and style:...

 series of detective novels by the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 writer Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...

, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus. The novels are mostly set in and around Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

.

In the books

According to Ian Rankin, John Rebus was born in 1947 and grew up in a pre-fabricated house in Craigmead Terrace, Cardenden
Cardenden
Cardenden is a Scottish town located on the South bank of the River Ore in the parish of Auchterderran, Fife. It is approximately North-West of Kirkcaldy. Cardenden was named in 1848 by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway for its new railway station...

, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, the son of a stage hypnotist. His grandfather was an immigrant from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. He grew up in a terraced house
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...

 along with his brother, Michael. He left school at the age of fifteen and joined the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

, one of the few mainstream career options open to young men of the area, the others being coalmining or Rosyth Dockyard
Rosyth Dockyard
Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...

, whilst his brother followed in their father's footsteps. After serving in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 during The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

, he applied to undergo selection for the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...

. After passing selection - where Rebus excelled - he and a colleague were selected for further training for a secretive elite programme, training which eventually prompts Rebus to resign from the SAS and which spurs a nervous breakdown. Following lobbying from the Army, Rebus was given a position with Lothian and Borders Police
Lothian and Borders Police
Lothian and Borders Police is the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian...

 in order to recover from the trauma.

Ian Rankin prefers to leave the physical appearance of his characters to the reader's imagination, although when Rebus is first introduced in Knots and Crosses
Knots and Crosses
Knots and Crosses is a 1987 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the first of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was written while Rankin was a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh...

, we learn that he has brown hair and green eyes, like his brother. His rough lifestyle means that his clothes are often less than immaculate. He was married, but divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

d sometime in the 1980s. His ex-wife, Rhona, and his daughter, Samantha, appear frequently in the novels. Since the series takes place in real time, Samantha grows from a child to a young woman.

In Knots and Crosses, Rebus is only a Detective Sergeant, but is promoted to Detective Inspector sometime before the start of Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek (novel)
Hide and Seek is a 1991 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the second of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:Detective Inspector John Rebus finds the body of an overdosed drug addict in an Edinburgh squat, laid out cross-like on the floor, between two burned-down candles, with a five-pointed...

, four years later. He has not been promoted since, although he has turned down a promotion on at least one occasion. His advancing years and approaching retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...

 mean that he is unlikely to receive another chance.

Rebus is for the most part apolitical - in Strip Jack
Strip Jack
Strip Jack is a 1992 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the fourth of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:A police raid on an Edinburgh brothel captures popular young local MP Gregor Jack. When Jack's fiery wife Elizabeth disappears, and two bodies are found, suspicion falls on a famous local...

it is revealed that he has only voted three times in his adult life, once for Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, once for the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 and once for the SNP
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

. His general ambivalence towards politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 is tempered by a dislike of sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...

, resulting from his experiences as a soldier in Northern Ireland. He also reveals that he abstained on the Scottish devolution referendum in 1979 with suggested occasional guilt pangs when he later befriends an independence advocate. Many plots feature nascent political independence or devolution as backdrop with reference and settings including Scottish parliament.

Influences

Rebus can be said to belong to a long tradition of paternal Scottish hard men. A natural leader whose gruff exterior and fierce will to succeed in his field belies a benevolent nature. The character owes as much to the likes of Jock Stein
Jock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...

 and Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...

 as it does to a more obvious relation, Jim Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...

. The post-war upbringing on a Scottish housing scheme amidst the decline of heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...

, a fondness for alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

, an identification with those who struggle against adversity, a distrust of authority, and an intimidating personal manner. Rebus has a strong love for books and music, owns an extensive record collection and drives a Saab 900
Saab 900
The Saab 900 was a car produced by Saab Automobile from 1978 until 1998 in two generations. The first generation from 1978 to 1993 is known as the "classic"; the generation from 1994 to 1998 is known as the "new generation" ....

. Rebus is a heavy drinker and often orders a pint of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

 and a whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

. The traits that keep him strong are also the traits that drive those closest to him away. It is the pervasive image of Rebus as the noble loner
Loner
A loner is a person who avoids or does not actively seek human interaction or prefers to be alone. There are many reasons for solitude, intentional or otherwise, and "loner" implies no specific cause. Intentional reasons include spiritual and religious considerations or personal philosophies...

 that wins the sympathy of readers.

Rebus does have a string of romantic liaisons, but apart from his marriage to Rhona none last very long. He has been linked with DI Gill Templer before she became his superior officer. He has a strong platonic relationship with his understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...

 and protégée
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....

, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, but it is never confirmed whether a romantic attachment ever developed. His longest relationship has been with Patience Aitken which spanned several novels. Either his relationships are improper and unsuitable - with women personally linked to the cases Rebus is working on, or else they find that Rebus is 'married' to his job, and cannot be fully committed to a relationship.

Retirement

In a 2007 interview with BBC Radio Scotland, Rankin corrected his interviewer in the description of Exit Music as not the last Rebus novel, but Rebus's retirement novel. Rankin expects to revisit the Edinburgh he created in fiction, with Clarke as his central police officer character. In the same interview, Rankin suggests several reasons for his creation's popularity, despite the policeman's unlikeableness. First, Rebus is an outsider, and many people can feel as though they do not fit in as well as they think they should; secondly, Rebus is a curmudgeon, and there is a pleasure in such characters; and finally, he doesn't just solve cases, he also has the intention of doing some greater good as well.

On the Sunday, Dec 13 2009 edition of the BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...

 program Shereen, Rankin admitted that he knows where Rebus is in retirement: working on cold cases at police headquarters as a civilian. Rankin said it was possible that his new character, Inspector Fox, may either bump into Rebus or end up on an investigation that has something to do with a skeleton in Rebus's closet. However, including Rebus in a novel currently would mean that Scottish Television would have the right to produce the novel, so Rankin admitted that he might hold off on that plot for some time.

Rebus inspired by musician Ian Stewart?

According to a Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...

 article in March 2006, Scottish musician Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (musician)
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

 was the inspiration for the John Rebus character:
  • "Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin has revealed that John Rebus, the star of 15 novels set in the grimy underbelly of the nation’s capital, may have more to do with the Rolling Stones than any detective could have surmised. The award-winning novelist admits during a new Radio 4
    BBC Radio 4
    BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

     series exploring the relationships between crime writers and their favourite music that he took some of his inspiration for the unruly inspector from the “sixth Stone”, Ian Stewart
    Ian Stewart (musician)
    Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

    . [Black and Blue
    Black and Blue
    Black and Blue is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1976. It was the band's first studio album released with Ronnie Wood as the replacement for Mick Taylor...

    , Let It Bleed
    Let It Bleed
    Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...

    and Beggars Banquet
    Beggars Banquet
    - Personnel :The Rolling Stones* Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "Parachute Woman"* Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", backing vocals, lead vocals on opening of "Salt of the Earth"* Brian...

    are titles of 'Stones' albums.]"

TV series

Plans were afoot in the late 80s and early 90s to bring Rebus to television in an adaptation of Knots and Crosses with Leslie Grantham
Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham is an English actor best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. He is also a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a German taxi driver, and he generated significant press coverage as the result of an online sex scandal...

 in the lead but this came to nothing. Ian Rankin believes that it was likely they would have made Rebus English or relocated the entire story to London.

In the Rebus
Rebus (TV series)
Rebus is the title of the detective drama based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin set in and around Edinburgh produced by STV Productions for the ITV Network....

television adaptations he was played by John Hannah
John Hannah (actor)
John David Hannah is a Scottish actor of film and television. He has appeared in Stephen Sommers' Mummy Series, Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow...

 in the first two series, but in the later series the role was taken over by Ken Stott
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...

 to much acclaim.

A lot and of Rebus's character foibles are glossed over in the adaptations, for example his large LP collection and the frequent popular music references and thoughts that Ian Rankin weaves into the stories. However, Rebus' reliance on alcohol is evident and he is often seen drinking in the Oxford Bar
The Oxford Bar
The Oxford Bar is a public house situated on Young Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. The pub is chiefly notable for having been featured in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series of novels. The Oxford Bar, or The Ox, is John Rebus's favourite pub in Edinburgh to go for a drink.-History:The Oxford Bar...

. Also, in the television series Rebus is portrayed as being a supporter of Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

. This is not found in Ian Rankin's books, he having stated outside the books that Rebus is a Raith Rovers supporter. His colleague DS Siobhan Clarke's support of Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

 is openly referenced in many of the books. Rebus's Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

accent is softened as well; in the novel Tooth and Nail, London Metropolitan Police colleagues find it difficult to understand his speech.

External links

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