Character descriptionA Philistine woman who seduced Hebrew strong-man Samson, and was bribed by the Philistine leaders to coax Samson into giving away the secret of his strength: Not cutting his hair. While he slept, she cut his hair and handed him over to the Philistine leaders, and collected her pay.

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Character descriptionWealthy son of a banker.

Reserved notes for this caseAccessory after the fact.

Character descriptionInternational financier. Father of Donald Barrett who is also involved in the family banking business.

Reserved notes for this caseBarrett's affairs with the Nazis and the Balkans is revealed by Wolfe in the final scene in Wolfe's office.

Character descriptionMaster chef in Wolfe's kitchen, has a small apartment in the basement. (In "Fer-De-Lance," his apartment is across from the plant room, not in the basement.) Swiss; native French speaker, served in WWI. Uninterested in murder, except whether a client is in the offing; gets anxious about household finance when Wolfe isn't working. Doesn't like to talk while cooking. Changes to his old slippers at 9 pm because of "things left on his feet by the war to remember it by". Implied he was a member of the Swiss Alpine Patrol during WWI.

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Character descriptionBorn in Ottumwa, Iowa.

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Character descriptionInspector with NYPD, Homicide. Has tolerate / hate relationship with Wolfe. He respects Wolfe, but is greatly irritated by his eccentricities. Habitually chews (but rarely lights) cigars. Notably, Cramer lights a cigar in Wolfe's office during "Instead of Evidence" in which the murder weapon is an exploding cigar! First name is given as Fergus one time, but generally accepted as Lionel. Had a son in the Army Air Corps during WWII. Archie has called Mrs. Cramer on the phone more than once to reach the Inspector at home. Archie's favorite alias for him is "the man about the chair" or "any name with a double "d", e.g., Mr. Judd". At no time is Inspector Cramer ever referred to in the books as "Lionel T." Cramer; his first name is given as "Fergus" in "Where There's a Will." There is a lone later reference to him as L.T.C. (The Silent Speaker), but never Lionel. Stout's biographer, John McAleer, asked Stout to explain the "Fergus"/"L.T.C" discrepancy; Stout replied: "No significance. Laziness. I didn't bother to check on whether he already had a first name. Of course, all discrepancies in the Nero Wolfe stories are Archie Goodwin's fault." (from "Royal Decree; Conversations with Rex Stout) He is featured in a book by Stout called Red Threads, first published 1939, tracking down a killer with a young fashion designer. There is no reference to Nero Wolfe.

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Character descriptionDonevitch elder

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Character descriptionNephew of Prince Peter.

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Character descriptionWife of Stefan Donevitch

Reserved notes for this caseAssumes the name of Neya Tormic when she travels to America.

Character descriptionFencing student.

Reserved notes for this caseEventually retracts the accusation against Neya, saying the diamonds were never in his jacket.

Character descriptionClient at Miltan's studio.

Reserved notes for this caseFound dead from a knife wound in his chest in Carla Lovchen and Neya Tormic's apartment. Was blackmailing Carla Lovchen for killing Ludlow. She killed him for it. (He was blackmailing Neya Tormic not Carla Lovchen. It was Neya who killed him and commited the other murder too. Neya turns out to be the princess and Carla turns out to be the daughter.)

Character descriptionNero Wolfe's tough and witty assistant.

Reserved notes for this caseArchie is present at the Miltan's studio when Ludlow is murdered. Notices a small package (cul de mort in a glove) stuck in his coat pocket during the confusion following the murder of Ludlow. He escapes with the package without police detection.

Character descriptionPrivate investigator in England.

Reserved notes for this caseConfirms Wolfe's suspicion that Neya Tormic is Princess Donevitch.

Character descriptionFencing instructor at the studio of Nikola Miltan. Hails from Zagreb. Her accent spooks Wolfe.

Reserved notes for this caseSecretly leaves a letter of introduction from Prince Donevitch from Zagreb in a book in Wolfe's library in his office. Says her friend Neya is Nero's adopted daughter who Wolfe thought dead. In reality, she is Wolfe's adopted daughter Anna. Was present at Miltan's studio when Ludlow was murdered.

Character descriptionFencing student.

Reserved notes for this caseKilled by a fencing epee after Neya is cleared of stealing Driscoll's diamonds. Was a secret agent employed by the English government.

Character descriptionChampion fencer who owns a fencing studio in New York.

Reserved notes for this caseHis col de mort is stolen and used as a murder weapon to kill Percy Ludlow.

Character descriptionTop hired hand Nero and Archie look to for manpower. Hosts regular Thursday night poker game at eight pm at his apartment in Brooklyn. Rust-colored hair, 5'7, 145 lbs, big nose and flat ears. In the "Rubber Band" (ch. 6) Archie tells us that Panzer has a photographic memory when it comes to faces.

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Character descriptionFBI agent.

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Character descriptionAcquaintance of Carla Lovchen

Reserved notes for this casea.k.a. Princess Vladanka Donevitch. She poses as Nero Wolfe's daughter as she feels she may need him; she kills Ludlow because he found out about the deal with the Barretts, and Faber because he provided her with an alibi in order to further the German Government's plans in the Balkans. Finally killed by Nero Wolfe in self-defence.

Character descriptionMaster detective. Genius. Estimated weight: 1/7 ton. Carries a large platinum watch in his vest pocket. Sends a check every month to his mother in Budapest ("Fer-de-lance, ch. 13)..

Reserved notes for this caseKills Neya Tormic (Princess Donevitch) with two beer bottles -- cracks her skull and breaks her wrist as she attempts to stab Wolfe.

Character descriptionCouturière. Archie says she resembles Delilah.

Reserved notes for this caseCalls Archie to report having observed Neya Tormic putting an object in Archie's coat pocket after the murder of Ludlow; Cannot be located after making the phone call. After Nero deduces that Donald Barrett knew her whereabouts, Barrett was blackmailed to lead Archie to her in an apartment where Belinda Reade was also found (both were in various states of undress, waiting for Barrett). She is drunk and brought to Wolfe. Too drunk to talk coherently, Zorka was put up in the south room. She escapes during the night. She is found by city detectives and brought to see Cramer and Wolfe. Saul Panzer arrives and reveals her true identity -- Pansy Bupp. She claims to have changed her name to add a foreign romance to her business. She reveals that Donald Barrett has loaned her the money for her business.