Sample of literary figures
-
Thursday Next
Female
She is called Thursday Next, and is an agent for a state organisation in an absurd, parallel world (i.e. parallel to our own) that is imbued with literary features. She is newly married – we get to know that her husband Landen Parke-Laine drowned when he was three years old – and has a son Friday. Her mother is called Wednesday. Jasper Fforde has written a suite of very different fantasy crime novels about Thursday Next and her world.
-
Nero Wolfe
Male
Nero Wolfe is one of the largest detectives in crime fiction – he weighs almost 150 kilos. Wolfe loves food, orchids and books. Created by Rex Stout, he is a classic crime fiction detective that lives in a New York brownstone. Rumour has it that he is Sherlock Holmes’s son. He has roots in Montenegro and at his side is his trusted secretary, Archie Goodwin, who makes sure that he stays on the job.
-
Jonny Lilja
Male
He is a police officer, but also a gambling addict which means he has to help the mafia. That is not the only problem for Detective Inspector Jonny Lilja in Malmö. When his ex-wife Lena is murdered, he becomes a suspect. However, he pulls himself together, stops gambling and then moves in with his adoptive daughter, Maria. He is, according to author Olle Lönneaus, middle-aged, a bit shabby-looking, with a lined face and wide mouth.
-
Dave Gurney
Male
A well-built police detective in New York who commands respect, renowned for having caught several serial murderers, who retires already when he is about 50 years old. He moves to the countryside with his wife Madeleine and their son, but can’t resist from privately investigating murders. He admits that this affects his family life, and thus always has a bad conscience, according to his creator John Verdon.