Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Mikael Blomkvist

    Male

    The journalist Carl Mikael Blomkvist was born in Borlänge, but he lives in Stockholm. He was nicknamed Kalle Blomkvist (for a child detective created by Astrid Lindgren), after he solved a series of bank robberies. He is one of the main characters in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy and the official sequel. Blomkvist is editor-in-chief at <i>Millennium</i> magazine and collaborates with his rebellious punk friend Lisbeth Salander.

    Further reading

  • Lisbeth Salander

    Female

    A young punk rocker, computer hacker and cracker with a troubled past, including a spell at a psychiatric ward. She is one of Sweden’s best-known female characters internationally. Salander is the protagonist of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy and the official sequel. She is a highly organized woman on the left of the political spectrum, and when she needs to she is an efficient action heroine.

    Further reading

  • Mma Makutsi

    Female

    She struggles with her poor skin and unflattering spectacles, but Mma Grace Makutsi has impressively high grades from her secretarial course and is a lady with skin on her nose and a sharp tongue. In Alexander McCall Smith’s suite of novels about The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana’s capital Gaborone, Mma Makutsi is first employed, but after a while becomes a part-owner of the agency. She is also happily married to Phuti Radiphuti.

    Further reading

  • V.I. Warshawski

    Female

    Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski is a hardboiled private detective in Chicago. She often rescues people on the margins of society and she often she rails against crooked politicians, bigotry, and toned-down political scandals. Her father is Polish and her mother was Jewish – and she has more lovers than she has friends according to the author, Sara Paretsky.

    Further reading