Inspector Hanaud
Inspector Hanaud | |
---|---|
First appearance | At the Villa Rose |
Last appearance | The House in Lordship Lane |
Created by | A. E. W. Mason |
Portrayed by |
Teddy Arundell Richard Cooper Dennis Neilson-Terry Kenneth Kent Oskar Homolka |
Information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Police Officer |
Title | Inspector |
Nationality | French |
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 Julius 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)
- Inspector Hanaud's Investigations (1931) (omnibus volume of first three novels)
- They Wouldn't Be Chessmen (1934)
- The House in Lordship Lane (1946)
Film adaptations
- At the Villa Rose (1920) starring Teddy Arundell
- At the Villa Rose (1930) starring Richard Cooper
- The House of the Arrow (1930) starring Dennis Neilson-Terry
- La Maison de la Fléche (The House of the Arrow) (1930)
- At the Villa Rose (1940) starring Kenneth Kent
- The House of the Arrow (1940) starring Kenneth Kent
- The House of the Arrow (1953) starring Oskar Homolka
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.