Sir Ian Rankin, author of the popular Rebus novels, has revealed in a recent interview that the loss of his mother before he turned 20 may have led him to create his most famous character. Isobel became ill just two weeks after Rankin moved to Edinburgh to attend the University and died within ten months. It was a difficult time for the author, and he admitted that it resulted in the writing that he produced to be dark. He sees this as the first step toward writing the sombre crime novels that he is now famous for.
The author reminisced about the time when his mother was ill, as he had to split his time between his new life in Edinburgh and his hometown of Cardenden. The writing allowed him to deal with the painful loss. Revisiting the time when his mother passed away, Rankin added, “humanity seemed bleak to [him], and [he] wondered where God was in all of this.”
Now aged 64, Rankin has sold more than 35 million copies of Rebus novels and has announced the release of his 25th novel, Midnight and Blue. He initially thought that his previous book, A Heart Full of Headstones, would be the last in the series. However, the fans expressed wanting to know what came next. The new novel sees an imprisoned Rebus, and the author spent a day in Saughton Prison as part of his research.and
Rankin’s Rebus books have been translated into 36 languages, and the author was knighted for his services to charity and literature. The writer credits his working-class background with his tenacity and drive to prove himself to the world. In response to AI creating books, Rankin feels that “the computer can’t write it, it’s just stealing from other people,” while seeing humanity’s ability to create as incredible. He also expressed his hope that former President Obama would eventually read one of his books
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