Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Charlie Chan

    Male

    Charlie Chan is a Chinese police inspector who works in Honolulu where he lives with his large family. The friendly, polite and calm Chan solves tricky cases in six whodunits by the American author Earl Derr Biggers. Chan is also the protagonist in a couple of dozen films that together with the books have made him a classic character.

    Further reading

  • Aurelio Zen

    Male

    Detective Inspector Zen is a loner based in Rome, but he solves crime all over Italy. He may seem clumsy, but his determination and laissez-faire attitude to police protocol means that he is both successful and unpopular with his superiors. Aurelio Zen featured in one book by the British author Michael Dibdin, but he became so popular that Dibdin wrote another ten about him.

    Further reading

  • Christian Hammar

    Male

    Born in the little town of Eslöv, but has lived for many years in the city of Lund where he studies History. He is the main character in three novels by K. Arne Blom. In the first, his wife Monica is murdered, and with the help of police officer Gunnar Mellberg, Christian Hammar can discover the perpetrator. His mistress Margareta Turèll has quite an important role, and like Mellberg, she returns in the following two books.

    Further reading

  • Harriet Vane

    Female

    At the age of 29, crime writer Harriet Vane stands trial accused of having poisoned her lover. She is shown to be innocent by Lord Peter Wimsey, who falls in love with her and then in some of Dorothy L. Sayers’ novels courts the independent Vane. She participates in his investigations, but is not interested in a more intimate relationship with him. Eventually, however, she gives in, they get married and have three sons.

    Further reading