Author creates a lasting story
Acclaimed author Peter Robinson (English 1974, DLitt 2009), who passed away in 2022, was best known for his DCI Banks series of crime novels set in Yorkshire. He was also a familiar face here on campus, where his literary archive is housed in the University’s Special Collections, and where he and his wife Sheila endowed a scholarship that will benefit generations of students to come.
Leeds was in Peter’s blood. The acclaimed crime writer may have lived more than half his life in Canada, but his love and affinity for his place of birth permeated through everything he did. So much so that his most famous series of novels was based in the fictional town of Eastvale in the Yorkshire Dales. The world he created through his work harked back to his formative years.
He would often claim that his journey to becoming the multi-award winning writer started at the University of Leeds, after getting his place through the “back door”.
He said his place at Leeds was secured after visiting the then Dean of English, when he was 21 and unemployed. “Professor Norman Jeffares really gave me a chance when I probably didn’t deserve it, going by my A-Level results alone,” he said in an interview in 2010.
Professor Jeffares’s faith was well-placed. Peter not only completed his studies at Leeds, but went on to earn both a Master’s degree and a PhD in Canada before penning his first DCI Banks novel, Gallows View, which was published in 1987.
The Peter Robinson Scholarship is awarded to an English student from a less privileged background each year
The Peter Robinson Scholarship is awarded to an English student from a less privileged background each year
English PhD student Elliot Johnston-Coates met Peter at one of his talks to Leeds students in 2018. He said: “One of the reasons that I ended up focusing on crime fiction in my research is that my gran was such a big fan of Peter Robinson. We used to share his books when we were younger, we were quite different individuals, but this was a connection we shared.
“Peter’s life was this really inspiring underdog story. He said when he moved to Canada, writing crime fiction set in Yorkshire was a way of connecting with his roots, and helped him tackle that homesickness.
Seeing someone from Yorkshire develop an international following, but still remaining true to their roots, was something that was inspiring to me as a writer.
The DCI Banks novels also inspired an ITV series in 2010, starring Stephen Tompkinson as the eponymous detective.
Peter’s success, and the role he credited Leeds with playing in it, led to Peter and his wife Sheila Halladay endowing the Peter Robinson scholarship. Each year an English student from a less privileged background – often with an interest in creative writing – receives the scholarship.
Peter often quipped it was “beer, books and CD money”, but it was far more than that. Caroline Vickers (English 2012), who was the first recipient of the Peter Robinson scholarship, said: “It did really help, I could just be self-sufficient. I could just completely focus on my degree and throw myself into it.”
His gift was not only monetary. Peter has gifted the University his literary archive. Hundreds of notes and manuscripts from his personal archive are now housed in the University’s special collections. And they can now be pored over by students, scholars and aspirant crime writers.
Elliot is completing a practical PhD, where he writes his own crime novel. He has turned to the archive for inspiration. “I’ve been using the archive material that Peter left behind to study how he was burying the clues that he introduced into his work, so they wouldn’t be too prominent for the reader,” Elliot said.
“It gives you a real insight into the redrafting process and how you can use that information in your own work. Looking at a different author and realising you don’t get everything on the first try is really inspiring, and allows you to persevere with your own work."
Crime writing is a balancing act. You have to give the reader what they want and what they expect, but also deliver something that’s fresh and engaging. You have to provide the reader with enough information to follow the narrative so they feel like they haven’t been short-changed at the end, but you don’t want to give it away. And Peter was a master of it.
Peter’s final DCI Banks novel will be published posthumously in June, and his legacy will continue through his books, his archive, and the generations of Peter Robinson scholars to come.
Join a celebration of Peter Robinson
As the final instalment in the DCI Banks series is published, we will be celebrating Peter’s work in a special event.
Date: Thursday 8 June
Location: Online (Microsoft Teams)
Time 14:00 - 17:00 (BST)
Sign up today
You’ll hear from crime writers, academics, and students on the mastery of Peter’s work and his connection to the University, and have the chance to delve into Peter’s literary archive, housed in the University’s Brotherton Library. There will also be talks from the University’s literary archivist and Peter’s former UK literary agent.
We invite you to make a gift in memory of Dr Peter Robinson to support the scholarship fund that Peter established to enable less-advantaged students to study English at Leeds.
If you would like to make a gift, please visit our giving page.
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