Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Christer Wijk

    Male

    Inspector Wijk is one of the best-known criminal investigators in Swedish crime fiction. He was born and raised in the fictional town of Skoga (based on the town of Nora in author Maria Lang’s mystery stories); it is there and in Stockholm that he solves most of his cases. He is close to his mother, who still lives in Skoga, and he later marries the singer Camilla Martin – a marriage that is not without problems.

    Further reading

  • William of Baskerville

    Male

    The British Franciscan monk from Baskerville is the main character in just one novel – on the other hand, it is the classic <i>The Name of the Rose</i> by Umberto Eco. It is not just the name Baskerville which makes one think of Sherlock Holmes: William’s own ‘Watson’, Adso, describes him as tall, thin, strong, supple, with a crooked nose and sharp eyes, and aged around fifty. And who was a brilliant logician as early as the 14th century…

    Further reading

  • Harry Kvist

    Male

    An odd character and an amateur detective: an ex-boxer and prison inmate who works as a debt-collector, is bi-sexual and drinks too much. The setting is Stockholm in the 1930s in a trio of novels by Martin Holmén. Harry Kvist is single, with few friends (but a lot of acquaintances), not particularly bright, but well-built, and he all too often uses his fists when trouble arises.

    Further reading

  • Joe Ashworth

    Male

    He is a detective sergeant in Northumberland, married and with a daughter Jessie. He is also a faithful companion to the eccentric and unconventional Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in a suite of police novels by Ann Cleeves. Ashworth is one of the few people in whom Vera trusts – she regards him more like a son. However, she is forever forgetting what his wife and daughter are called…

    Further reading