Still game
In her autobiography Agatha Christie rued that she had started with Hercule Poirot “so old” – and indeed by the time of his last appearance his age has been estimated at 125!
Ian Rankin encountered similar problems with Rebus, who became too old to be a serving policeman and, eventually, too old to be credible... and so the author slowed down his ageing!
Colin Dexter was a little more judicious in his handling of Morse – but the erudite inspector became so closely associated with the actor John Thaw (whose ageing could not be curtailed) that similar problems arose.
Thankfully, a more enlightened approach has gained traction, as exemplified by Sherlock – after all, why would a fictional character need to age at all? Nobody seems to struggle with Dr Who and his/her continual rejuvenation.
The corollary, however, is some sacrifice of the so-called ‘back story’. If the great protagonist is trapped in a time warp, where will he or she find space to socialise and beyond? It means the pendulum swings towards the ‘series’ rather than the ‘serial’. But at least it avoids the bizarre phenomenon encountered in those eternal soap operas, where deceased characters are resurrected, requiring a suspension of disbelief of an entirely higher order.
Of course, no author really knows for how long they might champion their hero – but it seems from the above case studies to err on the side of caution would be good advice. And the ‘Sherlock’ method has inherent appeal to any writer who is in denial of their own ageing!
Ian Rankin encountered similar problems with Rebus, who became too old to be a serving policeman and, eventually, too old to be credible... and so the author slowed down his ageing!
Colin Dexter was a little more judicious in his handling of Morse – but the erudite inspector became so closely associated with the actor John Thaw (whose ageing could not be curtailed) that similar problems arose.
Thankfully, a more enlightened approach has gained traction, as exemplified by Sherlock – after all, why would a fictional character need to age at all? Nobody seems to struggle with Dr Who and his/her continual rejuvenation.
The corollary, however, is some sacrifice of the so-called ‘back story’. If the great protagonist is trapped in a time warp, where will he or she find space to socialise and beyond? It means the pendulum swings towards the ‘series’ rather than the ‘serial’. But at least it avoids the bizarre phenomenon encountered in those eternal soap operas, where deceased characters are resurrected, requiring a suspension of disbelief of an entirely higher order.
Of course, no author really knows for how long they might champion their hero – but it seems from the above case studies to err on the side of caution would be good advice. And the ‘Sherlock’ method has inherent appeal to any writer who is in denial of their own ageing!
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Thank you - very kind!(My pals do sometimes call me Peter Pan - but I think they're trying to tell me something!)
If not, please continue your writing....I enjoy it.