Victor Canning: characters, themes and locations

Acaibo (Delivery of Furies)

Fictitious town in Cordillo, 200 miles from the capital Caramanga, now in the hands of the rebels under Angelo Libertad.

Aciano (Delivery of Furies)

Boat on which Keith Marchant is deported from Acaibo. He manages to persuade the crew to put him down where he can return to Cordillo.

Albano, John McIntyre (Delivery of Furies)

Son of the Cordillan defence minister and a passenger on the Mara II. He is detained by the rebels on the ship, and is later framed for the murder of Angelo Libertad, being finally rescued by Keith Marchant.

Amairi (Delivery of Furies)

Code word, anagram of Mara II, used by Keith Marchant to identify himself to Libertad's agent in Barranquilla.

Barranquilla (Delivery of Furies)

City in Colombia where Keith Marchant is living at the start of the book.

Barrau, L. Garcia (Delivery of Furies)

Agent in Barranquilla who arranges jobs for Keith Marchant.

Bogota (Delivery of Furies)

Capital of Colombia, where Keith Marchant and Drea met five years previously.

Boutique Ballaya (Delivery of Furies)

Shop in Barranquilla from which Keith Marchant orders a brooch for Drea even though he has no money.

Cantina del Morro (Delivery of Furies)

Bar in Acaibo where Marchant meets Monk.

Caramanga (Delivery of Furies)

Fictitious capital city of the Republic of Cordillo.

Colombia (Delivery of Furies)

Country where Keith Marchant is based at the start of the book.

Cordillo (Delivery of Furies)

Fictitious Latin American republic, an island between Colombia and Haiti, to which the Sea Furies are being delivered.

Curaçao (Delivery of Furies)

Dutch Caribbean island. Next destination of the Aciano.

da Silva (Delivery of Furies)

A mercenary that Marchant had met before and meets again at General Lemaza's house. He represents external support for the revolution, though the specific interests are not given.

Davia, Katrina (Delivery of Furies)

Sister of Angelo Libertad. She meets Keith Marchant in Barranquilla and travels with him on the Mara II. She falls in love with him, but of course he cannot reciprocate, being in love with Drea. However, she comes across much more sharply depicted than Drea.

Drea (Delivery of Furies)

Lover of Keith Marchant. We never learn her surname or anything about her background. Currently she is working in hotel management, and has an ambition to take over a small hotel in St. Thomas. They have known each other about five years. Drea is determined to leave Keith unless he gives up dangerous assignments.

Eglantina (Delivery of Furies)

Girlfriend of Monk in Acaibo. Monk claims to be training her to sing.

El Nacional (Delivery of Furies)

Newspaper that Keith Marchant asks for in Barranquilla.

Elvas plums (Delivery of Furies)

Portuguese glacé plums, a weakness of General Lemaza.

Ernesto (Delivery of Furies)

Sentry at General Lemaza's house, and friend of the owner of The Singing Heart.

Felipe (Delivery of Furies)

Lift attendant at the Hotel Polo Norte.

fer-de-lance (Delivery of Furies)

Dangerous South American snake. Barrau describes Sardi Hueica as a fer-de-lance.

Fico (Delivery of Furies)

Previous desk clerk at the Hotel Polo Norte.

Fondes, Gracioso (Delivery of Furies)

Name of Libertad's agent in Barranquilla. He has already returned, leaving Katrina Davia to make arrangements.

Foxton (Delivery of Furies)

Mate of the Aciano.

Haiti (Delivery of Furies)

Caribbean island where Marchant intends to rendezvous with Drea after leaving Cordillo.

Hawker Sea Furies (Delivery of Furies)

The piston-engined fighter planes that the story is based around. They are being replaced by Hawker Hunter jets in Colombia and have been sold to the the Republic of Cordillo.

Hotel de la Reina (Delivery of Furies)

Hotel in Acaibo where Marchant is billetted.

Hotel Polo Norte (Delivery of Furies)

The hotel in Barranquilla that Keith Marchant calls home and where Drea is the assistant manager.

Hueica, Tomez and Sardi (Delivery of Furies)

Criminal brothers, hired by Keith Marchant but they then betray him. Tomes is the "brains and the mouth" of the Hueica brothers while Sardi is the "body and hands". They take part in the hi-jacking, then are engaged by General Lemaza, first to steal Keith Marchant's money, then to kill Angelo Libertad. Then they are killed in turn by Lieutenant Ocampo.

James, Marty (Delivery of Furies)

Owner of the scruffy hotel in St. Thomas that might be available for Keith and Drea to buy.

Katrina (Delivery of Furies)

See Davia, Katrina

La Prensa (Delivery of Furies)

Newspaper that Keith Marchant asks for in Barranquilla.

Lemaza, Siles (Delivery of Furies)

Army general, husband of Angelo Libertad's dead sister, and chief of Libertad's army. Formerly a dentist. He cheats Keith Marchant of his money and then arranges the assassination of Libertad so that he can take over the movement.

Libertad, Angelo (Delivery of Furies)

Leader of the revolution in Cordillo, with headquarters in Acaibo. He is shot by Sardi Hueica, though John Albano is accused of the crime.

Magdalena (Delivery of Furies)

River at Barranquilla

Mara II (Delivery of Furies)

Cargo boat on which the Sea Furies are being shipped to Cordillo.

Marchant, Keuth (Delivery of Furies)

Hero of the book. Former RAF pilot, squadron-leader, now accepting any flying jobs he can. Thirty-odd years old. After Korea he had flown for a time with Aerovias Brasil, and then with the Rutas Aereas Nacionales, S.A., in Venezuela. "But in the end the routine had got me down and I’d given up fighting the nomad instinct."

Monk (Delivery of Furies)

See Sandoz, Monk.

My sweet love returns (Delivery of Furies)

Name of the bar 500 miles south of Barranquilla where Keith Marchant has been injured on a recent venture just before the book begins. We can presume it is in Colombia.

Ocampo (Delivery of Furies)

Lieutenant to General Lemaza who takes a prominent part in the conspiracy.

Parkes, Henry (Delivery of Furies)

Aircraft mechanic who travels with the Sea Furies.

Port-au-Prince (Delivery of Furies)

Capital of Haiti, where Drea and Keith make a rendezvous after the end of the Cordillo job.

Puerto Colombia (Delivery of Furies)

Port for Barranquilla. Barrau lends Keith and Drea his cottage there for short breaks.

Rimmy (Delivery of Furies)

Captain of the Aciano. Is persuaded to put Keith Marchant ashore in Cordillo for $300.

Sandoz, Monk (Delivery of Furies)

Associate of Keith Marchant and his most reliable friend.

San Pedro (Delivery of Furies)

Up country village where Monk has his hideout.

Shakespeare (Delivery of Furies)

Marchant quotes Portia's speeech to Bassanio from The Merchant of Venice, "An unlesson’d girl, unschool’d, unpractis’d; happy in this, she is not yet so old but she may learn," to express doubts that Katrina really knows her brother well enough to be sure that he will keep his promises.
After the ship has been taken over Marchant comments that the captain was a sensible man who had made the reservation that "the whirligig of time brings in his revenges", Feste's comment to Malvolio at the end of Twelfth Night.
When Marchant and Parkes meet ashore after the hi-jacking, Marchant realises that Parkes does "desire we may be better strangers", using the words of Orlando to Jaques in As You Like It.
When discussing how the planes will be used in the revolution, Marchant says to Monk: "We go to gain a little patch of ground, That hath in it no profit but the name", the words of the Norwegian Captain to Hamlet in Act IV of the play.
At the anniversary parade when Angelo is shot, Marchant draws on Henry V, "Now thrive the armourers, and honour’s thought reigns solely in the breast of every man … He which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart."
After the assassination of Angelo, Marchant says of him "not for the fashion of these times where none will sweat but for promotion", quoting Orlando's words to Adam in As You Like It, Act II.
When Marchant meets Katrina outside General Lemaza's villa, he comments "Time had a wallet at his back all right Wherein he puts alms for oblivion. Well, these few moments had to go in and be forgot as soon as done." drawing on what Ulysses says to Achilles in Troilus and Cressida, Act II Scene III.
The source of all these quotations is not supplied; the reader is expected to know Shakespeare.

Singing heart that never tires (Delivery of Furies)

Name painted on one of two taxis parked outside the Hotel de la Reina. This is the one Marchant uses.

Smith (Delivery of Furies)

Alias adopted by Keith Marchant on board to Mara II.

Soledad (Delivery of Furies)

Suburb or Barranquilla, location of the airport.

Space Sputnik Special (Delivery of Furies)

Name painted on one of two taxis parked outside the Hotel de la Reina.

St. Thomas (Delivery of Furies)

Resort in the Virgin Islands where Keith takes Drea shortly after meeting her.

Valda (Delivery of Furies)

Girlfriend of Monk Sandoz at the start of the book.