​I'm Gary Dexter. I've written various books, both fiction and non-fiction, and you can see reviews of them in the national press below. I am also the author, under the name Alex Quick, of the manual 102 Ways to Write a Novel.

The Oxford Despoiler ​(Old St, 2009), a Victorian detective mystery. Translated into French and German.
'Wonderfully accomplished ... The whole thing is a delight' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * 'Henry St Liver is like a character from Viz as rendered by Simon Schama: deliciously silly but crafted with such wry historical precision that Conan Doyle himself would struggle to deduce he was a parody' TIME OUT * 'A warm and cleverly observed pastiche of the Victorian detective genre, fuelled by affection rather than by disdain' SPECTATOR *

Natural Desire in Healthy Women
​(Old St, 2014), a novel about the birth control movement of the 1920s.
'Engaging and occasionally hilarious, equal parts social satire and jokes about fluids'
GUARDIAN

The People's Favourite Poems
​(Old St, 2018),
​a memoir about
poetry reciting.
'Dexter knows the
nation's tastes
better than
anyone.'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

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All the Materials for a Midnight Feast
(Old St, July 2011), a novel about the peace movement of the 1980s.
​'A beautifully crafted work of fiction, graduating from a low-key opening into a real page-turner . . . One of the year's most impressive -- and affecting -- debuts'
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

​102 Ways to Write a Novel
(Old St, 2012),
a manual for writers of fiction.
​'Spectacular for brainstorming and flipping through when inspiration seems to evade.' GOODREADS

​Why Not
​Catch-21?
(Frances Lincoln, 2003),
an exploration of the derivations of book titles.
'Dexter's gift is actually to shed light on the mysteries of literary creation'
GUARDIAN

​Poisoned
​Pens
(Frances Lincoln, 2003),
an exploration of the feuds of backbiting writers.
'Extremely entertaining - a potpourri of wit and invective.' 
DAILY MAIL

selected journalism

'Writers' Letters': a fortnightly cartoon strip in the Spectator, 2017-18
'Title Stories': a fortnightly cartoon strip in the Spectator, 2015-16
'Alternative Reading': a fortnightly column in the Spectator magazine 2005-2010, exploring the unknown writing careers of famous authors.
'Writers on Writers': a weekly column in the Guardian, 2005-2008: a compilation of backbiting quotes about writers, by fellow writers.

Please contact me if desired at gdexter1882@gmail.com