Nicholas Rhea
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The man who inspired Heartbeat...
For the last 30 years, Nicholas Rhea has been writing books, drawing on his experiences in the police force, his never-ending enthusiasm for Yorkshire and his continuing interest in crime fact and fiction. His best known work, the Constable stories, provided the inspiration for the hugely popular Heartbeat TV series, and he remains involved with the series as a consultant.
This is Nicholas Rhea's official website, and on it you will find not only his news and information about the man, his books and, of course, Heartbeat, but also a country diary kept by Nicholas Rhea himself, in which he shares his observations about the county of Yorkshire, its countryside and traditions.
Heartbeat on TV
Heartbeat is now taking a break from its Sunday evening slot, as the seventeenth series has come to an end. But there is more Heartbeat to come, and Nicholas Rhea has just started reading scripts for series eighteen. He won't reveal what is coming up, as it is a condition of his contract not to divulge anything. All he will say that Heartbeat is continuing into the forseeable future - and that he has been asked to write a book on the making of Heartbeat to be published round about September. Further details will be published here as they become available.
While you are waiting for Heartbeat to return, the official website offers a chance to catch up, with the last series still available on video, plus interviews and other information.
Or check the TV Genius listings on the Heartbeat home page, to find out where Heartbeat is currently showing on UK television - we're sorry that it isn't available for other countries, as we know - because they write and tell us! - that Heartbeat has fans all round the world.
More about Heartbeat - the TV series »
More about Heartbeat around the world »
Visible, Audible, Accessible
The latest in the series of Constable books, on which the Heartbeat TV show was originally based is Constable on View. In it, Constable Nick has cause to remember the advice he received when training: constables should see and be seen...
Nicholas Rhea is very aware that some of his readers find things harder to see than others; he does his best to make his books accessible to visually impaired readers. He is always pleased when his books are published in large print and audio book formats, as many of them are. Constable on View is already available as an unabridged Audio Book from from ISIS Soundings and can be downloaded from Audible.co.uk (where you can also listen to a sample clip), and Magna will be publishing a Large Print edition in the autumn.
A new feature on this web site aims to make it easier to find those books which are published in accessible formats; look out for the logos indicating ISIS Soundings or Magna Large Print editions on the individual book listings; visit the Accessible Formats home page to learn about a new large print venture which is bringing some of Nicholas Rhea's books back into print; and keep watching for further developments.
More about Constable on View and all the Constable books »
More about books in accessible formats »
Other Books
Nicholas Rhea is also the author of many other books, among them the 'Assured' series, set in the Yorkshire Dales a generation before Heartbeat, the Pemberton books (with a new addition to this series - described by one critic as "distinctive and deserves to be better known" - coming next year) and the Montague Pluke books, about an eccentric detective with a passion for horse troughs. The latest Montague Pluke book is Prize Murder. Nicholas Rhea tells us: "Lots of us have received letters offering chances of winning wonderful competitions, but suppose first prize was your own murder! When Detective Inspector Montague Pluke receives such a letter, he needs all his luck if he is to survive." And Prize Murder is now available in audiobook and large print formats, too.
More about the Montague Pluke books »
More about all Nicholas Rhea's books »
In the Press
For all the latest news from Nicholas Rhea - what input does he have to the current series of Heartbeat, what is he currently writing, and what promising young novelist does he recommend? - there's an interview to read on-line, which first appeared in Yorkshire Life magazine.
Yorkshire, Heartbeat Country
Many of Nicholas Rhea's books are set in this beautiful region of England, where he worked for so long and where he still lives, and he is happy to introduce visitors to Yorkshire, its dialect and folklore and, of course, its contribution to his work.
Anyone planning a visit to the Heartbeat country of North Yorkshire, or who would like to see some photographs of the places Constable Nick visits in the course of his duties - or anyone who has simply wondered about the origins of this astonishingly popular series, or what Nicholas Rhea was doing when he first learned that his books were to be made into a television series - will find something to interest them in two new booklets in the Discovery Guides series. These are Heartbeat Country and the companion volume Heartbeat Country Photoguide, and have been produced with the active help of Peter Walker (Nicholas Rhea) and his wife Rhoda.
More about the Discovery Guides to Heartbeat Country »
Find out more about the facts and the fictions of Nicholas Rhea's Yorkshire »
Links
If you don't find what you are looking for on this site, try these links to other sites »
