V. I. Warshawski

Victoria Iphigenia “Vic” Warshawski is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Sara Paretsky. She is a gritty Chicago private investigator. Nearly every novel and short story in the series is written with V.I. as the narrator in the first person (though the short story “The Pietro Andromache” is in the third person instead).

Biography

Victoria Iphigenia Warshawski, called 'Vic' by her friends is the daughter of the Italian-born Gabriella Sestrieri and Polish police officer Tony Warshawski, a member of the Chicago Police Department. Both her parents are deceased; Gabriella died of cancer, two years before Vic went to college, and ten years before the death of her father in 1976 ["Toxic Shock"] . This implies that Vic was born in about 1950. We also learn from "Toxic Shock" 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. Sara Paretsky, in an [http://www.saraparetsky.com/sarainterview.html interview] , tells us that Vic ages in real time.

Vic grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago, in the shadow of shuttered steel mills 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 commercial cases and company finances—white-collar crime. Vic has been divorced once, from corporate lawyer Dick Yarborough. She has no children.

In most novels, she is drawn into murder cases that have a connection 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 with would-be attackers, relying on either her karate skills, or her Smith & Wesson automatic pistol with nine-shot clipcite news |title=V.I. Warshawski: A Surveillance Report |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times|date=July 28, 1991] .

Hot-tempered, sarcastic and fiercely self-reliant, Vic tends to be a slob. She prefers T-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans and running shoes; can dress stylishly if necessary and sleeps nude. She hates to admit being scared or vulnerable. She loves opera and classical music; she often sings arias and plays her piano in times of stress. She stays trim despite ravenous appetite and favors multi-course ethnic meals with good wine. She often indulges in big, greasy breakfasts and Polish sausage sandwiches.cite news|title=V.I. Warshawski: A Surveillance Report|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=July 28, 1991]

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, and some even after the relationship has ended.

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

Bibliography

Novels

With year of first publication:

*"Indemnity Only" (1982)
*"Deadlock" (1984)
*"Killing Orders" (1985)
*"Bitter Medicine" (1987)
*"Blood Shot" (1988) Published as "Toxic Shock" in the UK.
*"Burn Marks" (1990)
*"Guardian Angel" (1992)
*"Tunnel Vision" (1994)
*"Hard Time" (1999)
*"Total Recall" (2001)
*"Blacklist" (2003)
*"Fire Sale" (2005)

Short Stories

*"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, " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103184/ V.I. Warshawski] ", 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.

Radio Adaptations

BBC Radio 4 has produced three radio dramas based on the series. The first two, "Deadlock" and "Killing Orders", feature Kathleen Turner reprising her movie role, with Eleanor Bron as "Lotty".. The third, "Bitter Medicine", stars Sharon Gless as Warshawski.

Popular Culture

*In the Flash animated Internet cartoon, Homestar Runner, V.I. Warshawski is mentioned on Version 10.2 of Marzipan's Answering Machine.

References