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 Paperback cover of "Agaton Sax and the Diamond Thieves", published by Target Books in 1973, with a characteristic illustration by Quentin Blake. A short, round Swede, Sax has a dog named Tikkie and an aunt named Matilda, and tracks down criminals such as Octopus Scott and Julius Mosca. He is a master of underwater ju-jitsu and of several obscure languages. With his supposed superior intellect he easily deciphers the so-called "double talk" of his nemesis "the Boss" (in which, for example, "KO" means "OK"). He is an early adopter of the computer for crime-solving purposes, though Aunt Matilda dismisses it as his "confuser". He has no known love interests and a pronounced dislike of garlic. As well as his detective agency, he also runs the Bykoping Post - First with the News - The Smallest Paper - but the Best. The novels are an ironic pastiche of the detective genre: for example Agaton Sax's colleague, the hapless Inspector Lispington of the Yard, is clearly modeled on Inspector Lestrade of Sherlock Holmes fame. Like Holmes, Sax smokes pipes (in his case Meerschaums); he has one for every day of the week, which he smokes when thinking. Franz n was also inspired by another children's books detective in Sweden, Ture Sventon by ke Holmberg. Franz n died in 1997, aged 81. As with many foreign language novels translated into English, the style and idiosyncrasies of the translator were at least as important as the original author's story to the popularity and success of the English editions. The unique visual style of the illustrator who was used for the English editions, Quentin Blake, also made a huge contribution, adding to the humour with his inimitable cartoon style.
The books | Swedish title | Published | English title | Published | | Agaton Sax klipper till | 1955 | Agaton Sax and the Big Rig (extended) | 1976 | | Agaton Sax och den ljudl sa spr ng mnesligan | 1956 | Agaton Sax and the League of Silent Exploders | 1974 | | Agaton Sax och vita m ss-mysteriet | 1957 | Agaton Sax and the Haunted House | 1975 | | Agaton Sax och de slipade diamanttjuvarna | 1959 | Agaton Sax and the Diamond Thieves | 1965 | | Agaton Sax och det gamla pipsk gget | 1961 | Agaton Sax and the Scotland Yard Mystery | 1969 | | Agaton Sax och Byk pings g stabud | 1963 | Agaton Sax and the Criminal Doubles | 1971 | | Agaton Sax och br derna Max | 1965 | Agaton Sax and the Max Brothers (a.k.a. Bank Robbers) | 1970 | | Agaton Sax och den bortkomne mr Lispington | 1966 | Agaton Sax and the Colossus of Rhodes | 1972 | | Agaton Sax och de okontanta miljard rerna | 1967 | Not published in the UK | | | Agaton Sax och den sv llande rotmos-aff ren | 1970 | Agaton Sax and the London Computer Plot | 1973 | | Agaton Sax och den m rklagda ljusmaskinen | 1978 | Agaton Sax and Lispington's Grandfather Clock | 1978 | Characters Agaton Sax The protagonist in the series, Agaton Sax is described as a pleasant, large man with a mustache. As well as running his detective agency, he also runs the Bykoping Post - First with the News - The Smallest Paper - but the Best. Chief Inspector Joshua Lispington Agaton Sax's good friend, who, when having trouble solving a case, calls in Agaton Sax for assistance. Aunt Matilda Aunt Matilda cares for Agaton, providing him food and company in her old age. Tickie Agaton Sax's dog. Clever Dick Agaton Sax's futuristic computer. Aunt Matilda refers to it as a 'confuser' Adaptations Several of the novels were read for television for the BBC's series Jackanory, starting with Agaton Sax and the Max Brothers in 1972, with Kenneth Williams as the storyteller intercut with the illustrations by Quentin Blake. A 77-minute animated film Agaton Sax and the Bykoebing Village Festival was made in Swedish in 1976, with a plot loosely based on Agaton Sax and the Criminal Doubles. The English-language version again featured Kenneth Williams voicing all the characters. External links de:Agaton Sax no:Agaton Sax fi:Agaton Sax sv:Agaton Sax
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