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As an author, I’ve had the joy of crafting a variety of characters, each with their own unique traits and travails.
Over fifty years and thirty-odd novels, I’ve created more characters than I can count — and a handful of them have refused to leave me alone. A governess who wasn’t meant to last more than five pages. A con artist I invented to punish and ended up rather admiring. A boy from the Bristol docks who carried a whole saga. A detective who walked in as a one-scene cameo and walked out with his own series.
These are the five I’d save from a burning library. Not necessarily the most popular — though some of them are. Not the cleverest. The ones I’d want to sit next to at dinner.
I particularly enjoy creating a good villain. There’s something fascinating about delving into the mind of a character who presents a challenge to the protagonist. Crafting their complicated personalities, understanding their motives and turning them into formidable opponents is something I find deeply engaging. It’s these characters that often bring a sense of tension and excitement to the story.
Another aspect I love about character creation is seeing them evolve over time, especially in a long series. Characters like those in the Clifton Chronicles or the William Warwick series have the space to grow and change over multiple decades, reflecting our own world and the various experiences they go through.
Watching a character develop over several books is like going on a journey with an old friend, seeing how they handle life’s challenges and how they change as a result.
So, let’s dive into these characters and explore what made them so special for me.
The Governess Who Stole Her Own Book (The Prodigal Daughter, 1982)
This was one of those situations where I created a character – the English governess hired by Abel Rosnovski to educate his daughter, Florentyna – who was only meant to be in the story for a few pages, but she ended up dominating half the book.
Miss Tredgold is an old fashioned english school mistress – and Abel wanted a strict disciplinarian – as he wanted Florentyna to be well educatd, mannered and disciplined so she could make the most of her life.
Many readers have been kind enough to comment that the scene where they part by the boat is amongst their favourites I have written – as Miss Tredgold, who has taught Florentyna not to show her emotions in public, says goodbye, and then retires to her room to weep.
She was actually based on Mary’s headmistress from her time at Cheltenham Ladies’ College. I met this lady some years later and she was indeed a frightening, rather formidable force of nature.
As a writer, it’s natural for certain people, characteristics and mannerisms that you come across in real life to find their way into your books – and Mary’s stories for her headmistress inspired me to write Miss Tredgold.
The Undercover Detective Who Refused to Stay a Cameo (The William Warwick Novels, from 2019)
Although Ross is undoubtedly a good guy, tragedy forces him onto a slightly different path in life. I’m tempted to say that he goes rogue, but that could be slightly misleading.
Ross is the natural detective partner for William. Ross is a risk taker – as brave as a lion – and his only interest is catching criminals. He is a good man, but he bends the rules when he needs to. So when he steps off the straight and narrow, you can be sure that he’s doing it for the general good – even if his superiors are required to investigate and suspend him.
Warwick (the hero) and Faulkner (the villain) are the series’ main protagonists, but it’s Hogan who has picked up the most fans.
He is easily one of the popular characters in any of my books. Even my son, James, says that the main reason he dives into the latest Warwick tale is to find out what Hogan is up to.
Do we call Lady Virginia a female ‘villain’? She’s certainly one of the most cunning and skilful characters I’ve come across in my books. Annoyingly persistent, too. Just when you think she’s finally been beaten, she comes up with another trick… another winning hand.
Lady Virgina is an old fashioned snob. She is very bright, and everything she does it out of self interest – inclduing her marriages. She is beautiful and manipulative and will deploy all of her talents as a weapon to get her way.
I wasn’t sure if the readers were going to warm to someone like her, so my original plan was to kill her off in the third book of The Clifton Chronicles. The readers had other ideas.
We were bombarded with letters about Lady Virginia and it soon became very clear that we couldn’t lose her. As usual, the readers were right!
Charlie is the central character from As the Crow Flies, an East End of London barrow-boy who makes it all the way to the House of Lords, the archetypal self-made man. And there are a lot of people in the House of Lords who have taken that route; some of the finest people I’ve met.
Charlie was inspired by Jack Cohen the founder of Tesco, and also by Israel Sieff. Like them both, Charlie has tremendous energy and determination, and we see his work life and personal life evolve over the century. As an east end cockney during a time of a powerful British Class system, it makes his passage to the House of Lords even more amazing.
However, without wishing to have a spoiler…., Charlie returns to the place he loves most, doing the thing he loves most which he learnt with his grandfather. This is one of my favourite endings, watching Charlie come full circle and be back home.
What a shame there aren’t as many men like Charlie in the House of Commons as there used to be, coming up through the ranks of the major parties with real life experience – or just giving service after their career.
The sad fact is that people like that are often no longer interested in the world of politics – perhaps the world of politics is no longer interested in them.
This story is really Chariots of Fire on a mountain – with Mallory as the hero.
Based on the true story of George Mallory, a young English mountaineer who took part in Britain’s first three Everest expeditions in the 1920s.
Mallory is fearless – as a young boy he climbed the church where his father was the vicar. He could climb anything he could see – and before anyone had, he set his sights on Everest.
That famous line about why anyone would want to climb Everest, “Because it’s there”, is a Mallory quote.
After Climbing (Everest was his last expedition) he wanted to return to the UK, to live with his wife Ruth and two children, and join the House of Commons as a Labour MP, but he disappeared on that third attempt to climb Everest in 1924 but we don’t actually know if he conquered Everest. His remains were found in 1999, just 700-feet from the summit. Was he on his way up or down?
Sometimes, you read about a fictional hero and think, “Oh, you’d never get anyone like that in real life”, but Mallory is one of those men that make you believe in heroes.
Meet them yourself. Start with Harvey Metcalfe.
Five characters, five books. My debut, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, turns 50 this summer — the con that launched Harvey’s career, and mine. A special anniversary edition is out in June.
If you enjoyed this list, then maybe try the following Unputdownable lists
The 12 Most Famous Characters in Books and Novels (other Authors)
Top 14 Best Murder Mystery Novels & Books
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