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Glossary and Character Taxonomy  Breakdown by Country of Origin   Bibliography   Table of Contents    The Best of the Encyclopedia

Finney, Dr. Mary. Dr. Mary Finney was created by “Matthew Head,” the pseudonym of John Canaday, and appeared in four novels, from 1945 to 1955, beginning with A Devil in the Bush.

Dr. Mary Finney is a "loud-swearing, hard-headed, wise doctor" who is active in the Congo during World War Two, solving crimes among both European expatriates and the native Congolese. Dr. Mary Finney is a "loud-swearing, hard-headed, wise" medical missionary who is active in the Belgian Congo during World War Two, solving crimes among both European expatriates and the native Congolese. Finney is a “large, carroty-haired, plain-faced woman about fifty years old” who knows a great deal about the people of the Congo and deals with murder cases with a sort of grim relish. She is assisted by Emily Collins, who runs the “soul and hymn” department of the mission.

* I've included Mary Finney in the Best of the Encyclopedia category because she's a fairly well-written and memorable character. John Canaday's novels about her wane in quality after A Devil in the Bush, and to be frank his characterization of her in the third and fourth book lose much of the nuance and attractiveness of the first two novels. But those first two are only racist in an average way for the time and portray Finney as a unique and interesting character who the reader is pleased to be acquainted with. 

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