Photo: Murray/Fairfax Media via Getty Images (1960)
Sample of authors
Marsh, Ngaio
The New Zealand author Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh was born in Merivale, Christchurch. Her father was an immigrant English bank manager and her mother was born in New Zealand, although her family too originally came from England. Ngaio is the Maori word for "reflection on water". A somewhat eccentric and confused man, Marsh's father did not report his daughter's birth to the authorities until 1900,...
Literary figures
Mike Hammer
Gender: Male
One of the most severely criticised literary figures of all times is Michael ‘Mike’ Hammer – a cynical, vengeful army veteran who completely lacks any sense of humour, a communist-hater and private detective, who is the protagonist in a row of bestselling novels by Mickey Spillane. Hammer’s only weak point is his love for his secretary Velda. This figure is in part loosely based on a real-life Tex...