Carland Cross is a fictional character and the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

in the series of the same name. Created by Belgian author and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

Michel Oleffe Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), S ...

and Olivier Grenson in late 1989, he made his first comic book appearance in 1990. He also went on to appear in a total of eight novels. His first fantasy story, ''Le Golem'', was later followed by further comic book publications. Due to the initial success of the character, the creators published in 1994 a series of four of the eight comics in the form of an animated series of 26 episodes simply called ''

Carland Cross Carland Cross is a location in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, about six miles (10 kilometres) north of Truro at OS grid reference . At Carland Cross there are a hamlet, a road junction and a large wind farm. The road junction is in the civi ...

''. As with

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

, he is a "private investigator" based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in the 1930s. He specializes in curious, inexplicable cases, strange conspiracies and others.

Life

Early life

Carland Cross is born in July 1893 in

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

to Brian George Cross, the Lord Duvendon (an officer in the Indian Army) and Lady Millicent Mitchell. As a teenager, he first studied away from his parents in the London's

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

and then to

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where the young Carland differs in philosophy and Oriental and rare languages. Although the quality of the studies to an academic career, he preferred to leave the University in 1914 to fight the enemies of his country on the battlefields of northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. This is where he met Murdock, a young

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

officer, Cross injured his hand during an engagement with the army of Kaizer while the latter injures his shoulder. Repatriated because of that shoulder injury, Cross resumed studying psychology and criminology who will decide his calling. He enter to

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

as an aspiring inspector in 1920 then quickly quite the police, which he deems inappropriate methods, to open his own firm in

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

. The coming years, his many accomplishments have earned him a reputation as a specialist flattering intractable cases.

Appearance and personality

Cross is physically a tall, average, understated stylish Briton. His age is not revealed in the comics and animated series but it is estimated at early to mid 40s as the stories are set in the mid to late 1930s. His serious pale face is recognized by his eternal frown-eyebrows, blue eyes, sideburns, black hair with a free cloth wick on his right forehead. He is usually wear a hat, a brown trenchcoat, dark-blue suit, black waistcoat, white dress shirt, blue tie and black shoes with white gaiters. Alternative costumes are rarely seen in the series, except a running outfit. His tailor, Wallace Cripps, own a shop on

Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

. His shoemaker, Italian Battistoli's, is based near

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

. Cross drives a

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

car and smokes a pipe, only the Navy Cut, from the Dunhill's house of

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...

prepares for him; in the animated series, he does not smoke either cigar, cigarettes or pipes. There are small differences between the comics and the series with Carland Cross' personality. In the former, he is a composed, generous, honest, intelligent, methodical, practical and talented British citizen. Cross uses the money earned during their investigations to alleviate the miseries of his contemporaries. In the animated series, even if he is still sensitive to the suffering of others, upholding justice and fairness, he is sometimes depicted as a more frigid, cynical, and moody character. He would tend to overlook the simple human feelings, and had arguable hints of

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

, with women being indifferent to him. Although not particularly brave, he could sometimes be prone to reckless decisions, such as when the lives of his associates are in danger.

Methods of detection

Knowledge and skills

His clue-based working method is mostly referred to the books. It is through

documentary research Documentary research is the use of outside sources, documents, to support the viewpoint or argument of an academic work. The process of documentary research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of ...

and thinking it progresses in its investigations, it served by the incredible resources of his culture and intelligence. His thinking is complete and takes action. It is an active casual but gaining in power and resistance that it loses rapidly. According to Andy White's single student:

He unraveled the mystery with an exceptional intellect and intuition. He knew most sciences, had read several books and is fluent in certain languages of the world, even rarer. He understood everything before the police and that is why Scotland Yard was the most frequently called upon only at the last end and as usual was silent while keeping his head cool even in the most horrible murders scenes.

External links