Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Henry Merrivale

    Male

    Sir Henry Merrivale is one of the most entertaining, arrogant and easily aroused figures in the world of crime fiction. He has a high position in the British security services and drives government bureaucrats crazy. In addition, he solves a whole row of so-called impossible crimes in stories by Carter Dickson, a pseudonym for John Dickson Carr. Merrivale has a large family, and in physical appearance resembles Winston Churchill.

    Further reading

  • Carl Hamilton

    Male

    The Swedish secret agent Carl Hamilton, code name Coq Rouge, was born in 1954 to an aristocratic family and later became a leftist activist. He trained as an attack diver and after being trained by the CIA he worked for the military intelligence organization OP5 and was later appointed director general of the Swedish Security Services. Hamilton is the protagonist in about a dozen bestselling thrillers by Jan Guillou.

    Further reading

  • Meyer Meyer

    Male

    Max Meyer, of Polish-Jewish extraction, had a curious sense of humour: he named his son Meyer Meyer. The name contributed to the boy becoming the victim of bullies in school. As an adult, he turned completely bald, became a police detective, patient, and is married to the motherly Sarah with whom he has three children. He works in the 87th police district in Isola in police novels by Ed McBain (pseudonym for Evan Hunter).

    Further reading

  • Varg Veum

    Male

    With his books about the private detective Varg Veum, author Gunnar Staalesen transferred American hardboiled noir to a Scandinavian setting – Bergen in Norway. Veum is one of the best-known fictional characters in Norway; he features in several television productions as well as a comic strip. He operates in widely different social settings and is prone to commenting on current affairs.

    Further reading