Fredric Drum
Encyclopedia
Fredric Drum is a fictional character
who appears in works by the Norwegian
author Gert Nygårdshaug
, the protagonist
of ten crime fiction novels published over the course of 21 years. Outside Norway the Fredric Drum series has been published in Denmark, Germany and Poland.
The character Fredric Drum is a gourmet master chef
, a connoisseur of fine wine
, the proprietor of a small Michelin-starred restaurant in Oslo named Kasserollen, a cryptographer
, and an amateur detective with a strong sense of curiosity. His adventures frequently take place in exotic locations such as France
, Østerdalen
, Italy
, Egypt
, Mexico
and New Guinea
, and with considerable focus on various ancient cultures, such as the Minoan civilisation
or Ancient Egypt
, whose myths and archaeological mysteries Drum are frequently drawn to.
Drum's uncle, Skarphedin Olsen, is a police investigator with the Norwegian special crimes commission Kripos
.
and Umberto Eco
.
With a stated target of completing ten books of the series, Nygårdshaug published the final Fredric Drum novel in 2006, and it was consensus among critics that the series maintained the same level of quality to the very end.
Though Nygårdshaug has worked within a wide range of genres throughout his career including poetry and children's literature, and won a people's award for "Best Norwegian Book of All Time" with Mengele Zoo
, he is arguably best known for his Fredric Drum series.
In the wake of the series' success, there has been arranged theme tours with Nygårdshaug, "in the footsteps of Fredric Drum", to Saint-Émilion
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who appears in works by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
author Gert Nygårdshaug
Gert Nygårdshaug
Gert Hermod Nygårdshaug is a Norwegian author. He has written poems, children's books and novels, and is in particular known for the series of crime novels featuring the gastronomer amateur detective Fredric Drum....
, the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of ten crime fiction novels published over the course of 21 years. Outside Norway the Fredric Drum series has been published in Denmark, Germany and Poland.
Character
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
, a connoisseur of fine wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, the proprietor of a small Michelin-starred restaurant in Oslo named Kasserollen, a cryptographer
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, and an amateur detective with a strong sense of curiosity. His adventures frequently take place in exotic locations such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Østerdalen
Østerdalen
Østerdalen is a valley and traditional district in Hedmark County, in Eastern Norway. It consisting of the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, Folldal,Tynset, Tolga and Os in the north, Elverum, Stor-Elvdal, Engerdal, Trysil and Åmot in the south.-Geography:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, and with considerable focus on various ancient cultures, such as the Minoan civilisation
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
or Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, whose myths and archaeological mysteries Drum are frequently drawn to.
Drum's uncle, Skarphedin Olsen, is a police investigator with the Norwegian special crimes commission Kripos
Kripos
Den nasjonale enhet for bekjempelse av organisert og annen alvorlig kriminalitet is a Norwegian special police division under the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police....
.
Response
The series has been called among Norwegian crime literature's most playful and original. Critics have claimed to identify references in the series to works by other authors such as Knut HamsunKnut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun was a Norwegian author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. He was praised by King Haakon VII of Norway as Norway's soul....
and Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
.
With a stated target of completing ten books of the series, Nygårdshaug published the final Fredric Drum novel in 2006, and it was consensus among critics that the series maintained the same level of quality to the very end.
Though Nygårdshaug has worked within a wide range of genres throughout his career including poetry and children's literature, and won a people's award for "Best Norwegian Book of All Time" with Mengele Zoo
Mengele Zoo
Mengele Zoo is a novel from 1989 by the Norwegian author Gert Nygårdshaug.The story is about "Mino Aquiles Portoguese" who is born in a village in Latin America's rain forests. His father teaches him to hunt butterflies. One day a disaster ruin his village, and "Mino" has to go out into the world...
, he is arguably best known for his Fredric Drum series.
In the wake of the series' success, there has been arranged theme tours with Nygårdshaug, "in the footsteps of Fredric Drum", to Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-History:Saint-Émilion's history goes back to prehistoric times and is a World Heritage site, with fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.The Romans planted...
.
Series bibliography
- Honningkrukken (1985, The Honey Jar)
- Jegerdukken (1987, The Hunter's Puppet)
- Dødens codex (1990, The Codex of Death)
- Det niende prinsipp (1992, The Ninth Principle)
- Cassandras finger (1993, Finger of Cassandra)
- Kiste nummer fem (1996, Coffin Number Five)
- Den balsamerte ulven (2000, The Embalmed Wolf)
- Liljer fra Jerusalem (2001, Lilies from Jerusalem)
- Alle orkaners mor (2004, The Mother of All Hurricanes)
- Rødsonen (2006, The Red Zone)
External links
- Fredric Drum short stories Red & White