SPENSER

In 1973 Robert B Parker introduced the world to what is arguably the best known Private Investigator in fiction today, Spenser (first name unknown), an irreverent, witty, and worldy P.I. from Boston.

What do we know about Spenser?

When we first meet Spenser, he's described as a thirty seven year old Korean War veteran. Only when we read "Pastime," do we learn a bit more of his past.

It is then that we discover that Spenser's mother died giving birth to him via caesarian section in Laramie, Wyoming (the birthplace of Raymond Chandler), and that he was raised in a house filled with men. All working together as carpenters, his father and his mother's two brothers taught him to think and act as a self-reliant human being.

When the family later moved to Boston, where he now lives in the Back Bay. After a stint in the military during the Korean War, he became a member of the State Police working as an investigator for the Sullfolk County District Attorney's office. Because of his preference to act independent of authority, he soon found himself working for himself as a Private Investigator.

At some point during his adult life, Spenser decided that he was called to the "sweet science." He has no reservations telling anyone that asks that he was competent, but not skilled enough to prevent his nose being broken in a match with Jersey Joe Walcott. It was during this time that he first met Hawk who was also a boxer.

Very early in the series, we learn that he's not afraid to use a recipe, but most of his creations seem to appear "on the fly" as he looks in his cupboard and finds the ingredients needed to turn out a meal to make Julia Child turn green with envy. Needless to say, there is generally a beer close at hand while he works his culinary miracles, but occasionally he have a taste of something harder or enjoy a complimentary glass of wine.

There are a great many details that could be shared with you regarding this character, from his proclivity towards monogamy, but not towards marriage to his love of dogs, but we know that you'll get far more pleasure from discovering them yourself by reading the thirty-one novels that Mr. Parker has written with his as the primary character.

Because Parker has set such high standards for this character, the debate rages on the topic of if Spenser is true to the original concept. In spite of this, there are few that would disagree with the statement that even a "bad" Spenser novel is a joy to read.

CLICK HERE for the complete list of Spenser novels. The Spensarium was created in order to provide a complete reference to the literary aphorisms and allusions with which RBP enhances the text.