Cast of Characters
Most of the adventures have at their beginning a "Characters of the Book," much as in Shakespeare's plays.
Vance, Van Dine, John F.-X Markham, Ernest Heath, Dr. Emanuel Doremus, and Currie all appear in eleven of the twelve stories; the last one, The Winter Murder Case, includes only Vance, Van Dine, and a brief appearance of Markham at the very beginning.
- John F.-X Markham: New York County District Attorney (who only served one four-year term). A bachelor (like all of the leading male characters in the stories), he lives in an apartment in lower Manhattan. Markham is a straight-arrow, no-nonsense type whose serious demeanor frequently contrasts, in friendly bantering, with Vance's whimsical persona. Van Dine describes this contrast of personalities:
I have often marvelled at the friendship of these two antipodal men...Markham was forthright, brusque, and on occasion, domineering, taking life with grim and serious concern...Vance, on the other hand, was volatile, debonair, and possessed of a perpetual Juvenalian cynicism... (The Greene Murder Case)
- Ernest Heath: Sergeant in the Homicide Bureau of the New York Police Department. He is gruff, lacking in imagination, prone to misuse English grammar, and also a no-nonsense type when it comes to dealing with suspects in the murder cases (he occasionally suggests to Markham that he "work over" some of them to extract confessions). He and Vance, although very different in most ways, gain a mutual respect for each other as they work together. He seems to sleep very little, as he is up all hours working on cases.
- Dr. Emanuel Doremus: Medical Examiner for New York City. A cocky little man who wears a bowler hat and constantly complains (in a mock manner) about being called to check out corpses just as he has sat down to a meal or is otherwise inconvenienced.
- Currie: "...a rare old English servant who acted as Vance's butler, valet, major-domo and, on occasions, specialty cook." (The Benson Murder Case)
Other individuals who appear frequently: Francis Swacker, Markham's male secretary; Guilfoyle, Hennessey, Snitkin, and Burke, all detectives under Heath in the Homicide Bureau.
Read more about this topic: Philo Vance
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