Nero Wolfe Fictional literary character Country: USA

1. Nero Wolfe: The Fictional Detective
2. Biography of Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe: The Fictional Detective

Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective created by American crime writer Rex Stout in 1934. He is known for his sharp intellect, love for fine cuisine, and passion for orchid cultivation. The stories of Nero Wolfe are narrated by his trusted assistant, Archie Goodwin. Stout wrote a total of 33 novels and 39 short stories featuring Wolfe, with most of them set in New York City. The luxurious brownstone house on West 35th Street, where Wolfe resides, is a recurring setting in the novels. The stories of Nero Wolfe have been adapted into numerous films, television shows, stage plays, and radio dramas.

Biography of Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe was born in Montenegro and spent his early childhood there. At the age of 16, he embarked on a journey to explore the world, traveling through Europe, Africa, and Asia over a span of 14 years. In 1930, Wolfe arrived in the United States, settled in Manhattan, acquired American citizenship, and established his private detective practice. Despite his reluctance to leave his home, he occasionally attends events and accompanies Archie on investigations.

Wolfe is described as a physically imposing figure, weighing approximately 143 kilograms and standing at 180 centimeters tall. His love for gourmet food contributes to his bulk. He has numerous idiosyncrasies, one of which is his aversion to leaving his house due to his fear of transportation methods like cars, trains, and planes. However, he does own a garage where his cars are kept, and in one novel, he even travels to another country to avenge the death of an old friend.

In his youth, Wolfe was athletic and fought on the side of the Serb-Montenegrin army against Austrians and Germans. These experiences may have influenced his refined taste in cuisine. In his three-story brownstone, Wolfe resides with Archie and his cook, Fritz Brenner, who is dedicated to providing culinary delights to his boss. While Wolfe occasionally indulges in cooking himself, he often treats Archie to exquisite meals, while Archie pines for simple sandwiches with salted meat.

Wolfe is an expert in wines and brandies but prefers beer over other beverages, consuming approximately five liters daily. He keeps track of his alcohol intake by counting the bottle caps. The recipes of many dishes mentioned in the novels were compiled and published in "The Nero Wolfe Cookbook" in 1973. On the rooftop of his brownstone, Wolfe cultivates his renowned orchids with the assistance of his gardener, Theodore Horstmann. The greenhouse houses around 10,000 orchids, and Wolfe dedicates two hours each morning and evening to their care.

Clients, informants, and Inspector Cramer, another recurring character in the series, are received in Wolfe's smoke-free office. He detests tobacco smoke, and if a client insists on smoking, their bill magically grows by a significant amount. Wolfe charges a substantial fee for his services to support his luxurious lifestyle. Occasionally, Archie has to coax him into taking cases under the threat of impending financial ruin. Wolfe is particular about his clothing, dislikes handshakes and physical contact, has a strong aversion to women, adores the color yellow, reads three books simultaneously, much to Archie's annoyance, and has little appreciation for music.

The final Nero Wolfe novel, "A Family Affair," was published in 1975. Despite the changing times and evolving New York City, the characters created by Stout remain timeless. While Nero Wolfe's exact age is never explicitly mentioned in the books, Stout stated that he is 56 years old.