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Portrait image of Dashiell Hammett Photo: AP / TT

Sample of authors

Hammett, Dashiell

American detective writer, born in St. Mary's County in Maryland. He grew up in Baltimore where his family moved when he was seven years old. Dashiell Hammett dropped out of school when thirteen and got on with odd jobs before ending up a private detective at Pinkertons. He worked as a detective primarily in San Francisco and then used his experiences in his novels. During the First World War,...

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Literary figures

Flavia Albia

Gender: Female

When ‘private informer’ Marcus Didius Falco’s wife Helena meets her, Flavia Albia is a sullen teenager of unknown origin: she probably has a Roman father and a mother from Britannia. Falco and Helena adopt the girl, who grows up to become a beautiful woman and a clever detective. She takes over after Falco as the main character in Lindsay Davis’ historical detective stories, which are set in the 1...

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