Sample of literary figures
-
Fleming Stone
Male
He is most happy in his well-stocked library – that is where private detective Fleming Stone retires to when he ponders over a difficult case in the novels by Carolyn Wells. And there are a lot – more than 60. And he looks very ‘learned’ too, has an extremely good general education and is also silent, correct and friendly with a ‘sympathetic’ face. It is usually the police who come to him and ask for help.
-
Barlach
Male
Although he only features in two (short) novels by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Inspector Barlach – no first name is ever mentioned – is one of the most famous policemen in literature. He is old, worn out and unmarried, works in the police force in Bern and has stomach cancer, which he knows will lead to his death within a year. With his great knowledge of human nature and his intuition, he works on his investigations.
-
Jason Bourne
Male
David Webb was a professional killer and spy when he suffers a total loss of memory after a mission. The CIA quickly changed his name to Jason Bourne, and have used him for several missions of a not particularly honourable nature. His wife was killed in a bombing, but his sons survived – which he didn’t know at first. Robert Ludlum wrote the first books about him, after which he was taken over by other writers.
-
John H. Watson
Male
Sherlock Holmes’ chronicler and permanent companion in the stories by A. Conan Doyle has given his name to a particular type of character in crime fiction: a detective’s right hand, conversational partner and admiring friend is called ‘a Watson figure’. In books by other authors, Dr Watson has solved cases by himself. The ‘H’ in his name (according to Sherlockian research) stands for Hamish, the Scottish for James.