10 Deeply Unusual And Unconventional Literary Heroes

3. Romulus Ledbetter

First (And Only) Appearance: The Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green When there is a murder, there is handful of people who would be suitable at investigating the crime. The police, the FBI and any other investigation bureau, private detectives, hell, even family members of the victims could be motivated to investigate the murder of a loved one. One of the last people you'd expect? How about a paranoid schizophrenic who lives in a cave in Central Park? This is what makes the Caveman's Valentine is so interesting. When leaving his cave one morning, Romulus Ledbetter finds the frozen body of a young man outside his cave. The police believe that the death was an accident but Romulus doesn't believe so. Of course, Romulus also believes that Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant is controlling the world through rays from the Chrysler Building. Romulus didn't always believe this of course. In another life, he was a Julliard-trained pianist who was married and had a daughter. That was until Romulus was overcome with paranoid schizophrenia and it destroyed his life. While he has flashes of the old brilliance, Romulus is usually quite burdened with his illness. Despite the restrictions that his own brain puts on him, Romulus sets out in his own distinctive way to solve the murder of a body he just happened across. His investigation is one of the most bizarre criminal investigations in the history of crime fiction.