The books came as a bit of a surprise to me, having seen the Tv version first, Lovejoy being so different than he is in the Tv series. he is a more interesting and less cuddly figure in the books, which can be quite brutal at times. wildly unpc the way he clouts the women in his life, would he get away with writing him like that nowadays? i doubt it. i did find myself wondering though why he is always so poverty stricken - he's supposed to be a divvy and a brilliant forger, so why doesn't he ever make any money at it?