Inspector Hanaud
Inspector Gabriel Hanaud is a fictional character depicted in a series of novels and short stories by the British writer A. E. W. Mason. He has been described as the "first major fiction police detective of the Twentieth Century".[1]
He was modelled on two real-life heads of the Paris Sûreté, Macé and Goron.[2] Émile Gaboriau's Monsieur Lecoq was also an acknowledged inspiration.[3] Mason wanted to physically differentiate Hanaud from Sherlock Holmes as much as possible, and so he made him stout and broad-shouldered in contrast to Holmes who was thin.[4] He often relies on psychological methods to solve cases.[5] Hanaud is assisted by his friend, the fastidious Mr Ricardo, a former City of London financier.
Hanaud makes his first appearance in the 1910 story At the Villa Rose set in the south of France. He appeared in a further four novels, and several short stories. His last appearance was in the 1946 novel The House in Lordship Lane. Hanaud was portrayed on screen several times – with adaptations of At the Villa Rose and its sequel The House of the Arrow
He has been seen as one of a number of influences on the creation of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
Hanaud novels
- At the Villa Rose (1910)
- The House of the Arrow (1924)
- The Prisoner in the Opal (1928)
- They Wouldn't Be Chessmen (1934)
- The House in Lordship Lane (1946)
References
Bibliography
- Bargainnier, Earl F. Twelve Englishmen of mystery. Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1984.
- Pitts, Michael R. Famous Movie Detectives III. Scarecrow Press, 2004
- Queen, Ellery Queen's Quorum: a History of the Detective-Crime Short Story. New York, 1969.
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