Sample of literary figures
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Jules-Joseph Maigret
Male
French detective inspector and something of an icon within the genre. Maigret was a farmer’s boy who became a cop by chance and quickly earned himself an office at the Paris police headquarters at Quai des Orfèvres. Georges Simenon’s books do not only follow the inspector’s investigations, but also his private life, including a happy, but childless, marriage.
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Mma Ramotswe
Female
In Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, Mma Precious Ramotswe runs The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. The cases she works with, don’t usually concern major crimes, but are more about solving everyday problems for the clients. Mma Ratmotswe loves tea and her husband, the kind J.L.B. Matekoni, as well as their two adoptive children: all tenderly described by the Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith.
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Harry Bosch
Male
He is actually called Hieronymus Bosch, but calls himself – for understandable reasons – Harry. His mother was a prostitute and was murdered; his father is a well-known lawyer whom he first met as an adult. Harry Bosch was a soldier and then became a police officer, mainly in Los Angeles. And he was also the main character in a whole row of detective stories by Michael Connelly.
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Benny Griessel
Male
He is a middle-aged detective with the Cape Town police, is of average height with greying untidy hair, a rugged face and a Slavic appearance. Benny Griessel does, however, have problems. He boozes – which is why his wife and their two children throw him out, and he finds a new partner. He struggles determinedly against his alcoholism, author Deon Meyer tells us, and he embarks upon a relationship with singer Alexa.