Harry Martineau

Last updated
Harry Martineau
First appearance Hell Is a City
Last appearanceHideaway
Created by Maurice Procter
Portrayed by Stanley Baker (film)
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationPolice inspector
NationalityBritish

Harry Martineau is a fictional British police detective created by Maurice Procter. He is a Chief Inspector in the industrial Northern city of Granchester, which was inspired by Manchester. [1] Procter, himself a former police officer, wrote fourteen novels in the series published between 1954 and 1968. Martineau has been described as a transitional figure in detective fiction standing between the Golden Age detectives such as Ngaio Marsh's Roderick Alleyn and Josephine Tey's Inspector Grant and the newer fashion for police procedurals. [2]

Contents

Novels

Film adaptation

In 1960 the first novel in the series was adapted into the film Hell Is a City directed by Val Guest and starring Stanley Baker as Martineau. [3] The film was shot on location in Manchester. [4]

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Hell Is a City is a 1954 crime novel by the British writer Maurice Procter. It was the first in a series featuring Chief Inspector Harry Martineau, set in the Northern industrial city of Granchester. It takes the form of a police procedural, and marked a transition away from the traditional Golden Age detective novel. Published by Hutchinson, it was released in the United States by Harper the same year under the alternative title Somewhere in This City.

References

  1. Mitchell p.14
  2. Reilly p.1216
  3. Goble p.376
  4. Mitchell p.14

Bibliography