V. I. Warshawski
Encyclopedia
Victoria Iphigenia “Vic” “V. I.” Warshawski is a fictional character
in a series of detective novels
and short stories
written by Sara Paretsky
. She is a gritty, independent private investigator
from Chicago
. Aside from one short story, The Pietro Andromache, all of Warshawski's adventures are written in the first person.
. Gabriella died of cancer
when Vic was in high school, and Tony died ten years later in 1976. This implies that Vic was born about 1950. We also learn from Blood Shot
(published as "Toxic Shock" in the U.K.) that Vic was last at her high school some 20 years previously; therefore, this story was set in 1988, the year of the book’s publication. In an interview, Sara Paretsky
pointed out that Warshawski aged in real time.
Vic grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago
, in the shadow of shuttered steel mill
s and factories.
After earning a law degree
at the University of Chicago
, Vic had a short stint as a Public Defender before becoming a private detective specializing in white-collar crime
. Vic is divorced from corporate lawyer Dick Yarborough. She has no children.
In most novels, she is drawn into murder
cases connected to white-collar crime. Vic regularly ends up pursuing cases that affect her friends and estranged family or those she feels are being bullied by the upper crust
of Chicago.
A lean, athletic brunette who runs to keep in shape, Vic is not afraid of physical confrontations, relying on her karate
skills or her Smith & Wesson
semi-automatic pistol with its nine-round magazine.
Hot-tempered, sarcastic, and fiercely self-reliant, Vic prefers T-shirt
s and jeans
and sleeps in the nude, but she can dress stylishly if necessary. She hates to admit being scared or vulnerable. Her capable and willful personality has led fans and literary critics to consider her one of the few feminist detectives. She loves opera
and classical music
; she often sings aria
s and plays her piano in times of stress. She stays trim despite a ravenous appetite and favors multi-course ethnic meals with good wine. She often indulges in big, greasy breakfasts and Polish sausage
sandwiches.
She shares two dogs, Peppy and Mitch, with her neighbor.
In addition to one failed marriage, Vic has had a few lovers over the years. Some of them appear in more than one book, even after the relationship has ended.
Her closest friend is Viennese
physician, Dr. Charlotte “Lotty” Herschel, who treats her various illnesses and combat-related injuries.
, with Kathleen Turner
in the title role. The film, which took many creative liberties with Paretsky's character, was meant as a franchise for Turner, but those plans were scrapped when it was not a commercial success, grossing only $11.1 million domestically.
has produced four radio dramas based on the series. The first two, Deadlock
and Killing Orders, feature Kathleen Turner reprising her movie role, with Eleanor Bron
as Dr. Charlotte “Lotty” Herschel. The third, Bitter Medicine, stars Sharon Gless
as Warshawski and in the fourth, "Publicity Stunts," http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer Warshawski is accused of murder and, with all eyes upon her, goes after the truth before the law closes in on her.
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...
in a series of detective novels
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
and short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written by Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction.-Life and career:Paretsky was born in Ames, Iowa and raised in Kansas, graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in...
. She is a gritty, independent private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Aside from one short story, The Pietro Andromache, all of Warshawski's adventures are written in the first person.
Biography
Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski, called “Vic” by her friends, is the daughter of the Italian-born Gabriella Sestrieri and the Polish Anton “Tony” Warshawski, a former Chicago Police OfficerChicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
. Gabriella died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
when Vic was in high school, and Tony died ten years later in 1976. This implies that Vic was born about 1950. We also learn from Blood Shot
Blood Shot (novel)
Blood Shot , published in New York in 1988, is the fifth in a series of novels by Sara Paretsky featuring her character V. I. Warshawski, a hard-boiled female private investigator....
(published as "Toxic Shock" in the U.K.) that Vic was last at her high school some 20 years previously; therefore, this story was set in 1988, the year of the book’s publication. In an interview, Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction.-Life and career:Paretsky was born in Ames, Iowa and raised in Kansas, graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in...
pointed out that Warshawski aged in real time.
Vic grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago
Southeast Side, Chicago
The Southeast side of Chicago unofficially begins at about 75th Street and S. Saginaw Avenue , in other words, from Rainbow Beach southwards. It extends south and east to the city limits, generally keeping between Lake Michigan and Lake Calumet...
, in the shadow of shuttered steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
s and factories.
After earning a law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Vic had a short stint as a Public Defender before becoming a private detective specializing in white-collar crime
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
. Vic is divorced from corporate lawyer Dick Yarborough. She has no children.
In most novels, she is drawn into murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
cases connected to white-collar crime. Vic regularly ends up pursuing cases that affect her friends and estranged family or those she feels are being bullied by the upper crust
Upper crust
"The upper crust" is an English-language idiom that refers to a society's social or economic elites. It is derived from the housekeeping practices of the pre-industrialization British gentry, whose servants baked bread for the household but were permitted to eat only the pan-scorched bottom...
of Chicago.
A lean, athletic brunette who runs to keep in shape, Vic is not afraid of physical confrontations, relying on her karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
skills or her Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...
semi-automatic pistol with its nine-round magazine.
Hot-tempered, sarcastic, and fiercely self-reliant, Vic prefers T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s and jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
and sleeps in the nude, but she can dress stylishly if necessary. She hates to admit being scared or vulnerable. Her capable and willful personality has led fans and literary critics to consider her one of the few feminist detectives. She loves opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
; she often sings aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s and plays her piano in times of stress. She stays trim despite a ravenous appetite and favors multi-course ethnic meals with good wine. She often indulges in big, greasy breakfasts and Polish sausage
Kielbasa
Kielbasa, kołbasa, kobasa, kovbasa, kobasa, kobasi, and kubasa are common North American anglicizations for a type of Eastern European sausage. Synonyms include Polish sausage, Ukrainian sausage, etc...
sandwiches.
She shares two dogs, Peppy and Mitch, with her neighbor.
In addition to one failed marriage, Vic has had a few lovers over the years. Some of them appear in more than one book, even after the relationship has ended.
Her closest friend is Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
physician, Dr. Charlotte “Lotty” Herschel, who treats her various illnesses and combat-related injuries.
Recurring characters
(Note: Because the novels and short stories span a large number of years and there are changes at the end of each one, some characters do not appear as the novels progress, or do not appear until later novels. Characters listed here appear in at least two novels.)- Carol Alvarado, a nurse at Dr. Herschel’s clinic
- Sal Barthele, statuesque owner of the Golden Glow bar
- Freeman Carter, V.I.’s legal counsel on retainer
- Salvatore Contreras, downstairs widower neighbor and slightly overbearing friend
- Terry Finchley, a police detective whom V.I. interacts with regularly
- Darraugh Graham, an extremely important and long-standing client
- Dr. Charlotte “Lotty” Herschel, close friend and perinatologist at Beth Israel Hospital; formerly had her own clinic as a general practitioner
- Max Loewenthal, Lotty’s significant other; executive director of Beth Israel Hospital and an art and music aficionado
- Bobby Mallory, police officer and friend of V.I.’s father Tony
- John McGonnigal, police officer who regularly interacts with V.I.
- Mary Louise Neely, an officer in the Chicago P.D. who provides a significant amount of assistance to V.I. over time
- Conrad Rawlings, a detective in the Chicago P.D.
- Murray Ryerson, reporter at the Herald-Star newspaper; V.I.’s longtime friend and sometime rival
Novels
With year of first publication:- Indemnity Only (1982)
- DeadlockDeadlock (novel)Deadlock is a detective novel by Sara Paretsky told in the first person by private eye V. I. Warshawski. Vic goes to the Chicago port to find out about her cousin Boom Boom's death. She believes that Boom Boom was killed. The police believe that this ex-Black Hawks hockey player died in an...
(1984) Basis of the film V.I. WarshawskiV.I. Warshawski (film)V.I. Warshawski is a 1991 film directed by Jeff Kanew. It was intended to be a film franchise for star Kathleen Turner, but never happened after the film was a critical and commercial failure. The film was based on a series of books by Sara Paretsky...
, starring Kathleen TurnerKathleen TurnerMary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor... - Killing Orders (1985)
- Bitter Medicine (1987)
- Blood ShotBlood Shot (novel)Blood Shot , published in New York in 1988, is the fifth in a series of novels by Sara Paretsky featuring her character V. I. Warshawski, a hard-boiled female private investigator....
(1988) Published as Toxic Shock in the UK. - Burn Marks (1990)
- Guardian Angel (1992)
- Tunnel Vision (1994)
- Hard Time (1999)
- Total Recall (2001)
- BlacklistBlacklist (novel)Blacklist is a 2003 novel by crime writer Sara Paretsky featuring her popular protagonist, Private Investigator V. I. Warshawski. It won the 2004 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger....
(2003) - Fire Sale (2005)
- Hardball (2009)
- Body Work (2010)
Short Story Collections
- Windy City Blues (1995) Published as V.I. For Short in the UK.
- V.I. × 2 (2002)
Movies
Only Deadlock has been turned into a movie, V. I. WarshawskiV.I. Warshawski (film)
V.I. Warshawski is a 1991 film directed by Jeff Kanew. It was intended to be a film franchise for star Kathleen Turner, but never happened after the film was a critical and commercial failure. The film was based on a series of books by Sara Paretsky...
, with Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
in the title role. The film, which took many creative liberties with Paretsky's character, was meant as a franchise for Turner, but those plans were scrapped when it was not a commercial success, grossing only $11.1 million domestically.
Radio Adaptations
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
has produced four radio dramas based on the series. The first two, Deadlock
Deadlock (novel)
Deadlock is a detective novel by Sara Paretsky told in the first person by private eye V. I. Warshawski. Vic goes to the Chicago port to find out about her cousin Boom Boom's death. She believes that Boom Boom was killed. The police believe that this ex-Black Hawks hockey player died in an...
and Killing Orders, feature Kathleen Turner reprising her movie role, with Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron is an English stage, film and television actress and author.-Early life and family:Bron was born in 1938 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin...
as Dr. Charlotte “Lotty” Herschel. The third, Bitter Medicine, stars Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
as Warshawski and in the fourth, "Publicity Stunts," http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer Warshawski is accused of murder and, with all eyes upon her, goes after the truth before the law closes in on her.
Popular culture
- Warshawski was highlighted in volume 12 of the Case ClosedCase ClosedCase Closed, known as in Japan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The series is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since February 2, 1994, and has been collected in 73 tankōbon volumes as of September 2011...
manga's edition of "Gosho Aoyoma's Mystery Library," a section of the graphic novels (usually the last page) where the author introduces a different detective (or occasionally, a villain) from mystery literature, television, or other media.
- In the Flash animated InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
cartoonAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, Homestar RunnerHomestar RunnerHomestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes surreal humor with references to retro pop culture, notably video games, classic television, and popular music.The cartoons are nominally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner...
, V. I. Warshawski is mentioned on Version 10.2 and Version 16.2 of Marzipan's Answering Machine.