Sample of literary figures
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Sergeant Santos
Male
It is not clear what Santos’ first name is. He is the head of the police department in a little community outside the city of Salvador in Brazil, where his creator, Kjell Eriksson, also lives nowadays. Santos’ stout wife is called Zelita and they have five children together. Hardened by the corruption in his native country, he prefers to drink beer and lie in his hammock, but now and then he is obliged to work – and then he is very successful.
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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.
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Nestor Burma
Male
Private eye Nestor Burma is a famous character in French 20th century crime fiction. He runs his own detective agency, Fiat Lux, in Paris with his secretary Hélène Chatelain, who is hopelessly in love with him. They feature in a string of hardboiled, humorous books by Léo Malet. Burma also features in films, television dramas and a cartoon.
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Rebecca Normén
Female
The well-educated Rebecca Normén works – in a trilogy of novels by Anders de la Motte – in part for the bodyguard section of the security service, but also with helping her little brother Henrik Pettersson who has got into great difficulties and is hunted by the police, and others. She is around 35 years old, and is attractive with dark eyes, distinct cheekbones and a little nose. She cares a lot about her private life, and avoids permanent partners.