Photo by Paul Fievez/Daily Mail/REX/TT (1978)
Sample of authors
Levin, Ira
The American novelist, playwright and scriptwriter Ira Levin was born in Bronx in New York; he was the only child in the family. His father, Charles Levin, was a successful businessman in the toy trade. Ira Levin started his academic education at Drake University in Des Moines, but after a couple of years moved to New York University, where he gained a B.A. in Philosophy and English in 1950.
He...
Literary figures
Piet van der Valk
Gender: Male
An independent, eccentric and short-tempered detective superintendent with the police in Amsterdam, the main character in a suite of police novels by Englishman Nicolas Freeling. Piet van der Valk is arrogant, but also critical of society and empathetic. He is married to Arlette with whom he has two sons and an adopted daughter. He is killed during an investigation, and his wife takes over the...