Sir Ian Rankin, the bestselling author of the Rebus novels, has opened up about how the death of his mother at a young age shaped his writing. In an interview with BBC Scotland News, Rankin revealed that his mother, Isobel, fell ill just two weeks after he left their family home in Fife to study at the University of Edinburgh. She passed away 10 months later, never having received a formal diagnosis.
“It was a tough time,” Rankin shared, recalling how the darkness of that period crept into his early writing. This, he believes, may have been the beginning of his journey toward creating the gritty, noir police novels that he’s known for today. His experiences during his mother’s illness and death gave him a deeper perspective on the human condition, themes which later found a place in his crime fiction.
Rankin reflected on his divided life during that time, juggling his new identity as a student in Edinburgh—where he was “pretending to be Bohemian”—with the reality of his mother’s deterioration in his hometown. “I was smoking Gauloises cigarettes and reciting bad poetry,” he recalled. But each weekend, he’d return to Cardenden to watch his mother’s condition worsen, using writing as a way to process his grief and confusion.
The impact of his mother’s death also led Rankin to question the meaning of life and faith, something he explores through his crime novels. “Humanity seems a wee bit bleak to you when that sort of stuff happens, and you think where is God in all this? Nowhere to be seen,” he explained.
Rankin’s memories of his mother are filled with warmth. He remembers Isobel as a “lovely wee mum” who worked hard, first in a school canteen and later in a chicken factory. He fondly recalled her as a “proper Yorkshire cook” who made the best rice pudding and Yorkshire puddings.
Although his father, Jim, passed away 10 years later, he lived long enough to witness Rankin’s first publications. However, he didn’t get to see his son achieve the massive success he enjoys today. Now, at 64, Rankin has sold over 35 million copies of his John Rebus series and is preparing to release his 25th Rebus novel, Midnight and Blue.
Despite his success, Rankin has no intention of retiring. Writing, for him, remains a way to make sense of the world. When it’s going well, he says, “it’s really good fun.”
Also read: Emily Blunt’s Daughters Think Her “Devil Wears Prada” Character Was Too
