# Sir Frederic Bruce — Behind That Curtain character guide

> Sir Frederic Bruce in Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Sir Frederic, Frederic, Yard

**First appearance:** 0002-i-the-man-from-scotland

## Snapshot

A legendary Scotland Yard man who pursued a killer for sixteen years, Sir Frederic arrives in San Francisco with a briefcase of secrets and a trap half-set.

## Who they are

Sir Frederic is the celebrated detective whose arrival at Barry Kirk's building sets the tragedy in motion, a man whose reputation precedes him everywhere. He has spent years hunting a murderer connected to a vanished woman, and his quiet determination has made him both hunter and hunted. His death transforms the novel from a story about a detective into a story about what that detective was chasing, and the briefcase he left behind becomes the case's most contested object.

## Relationships

### [Barry Kirk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/barry_kirk)

_social_

Barry Kirk and Sir Frederic Bruce are acquaintances moving in the same social circles, with polite but not deeply personal interactions.

### [Sergeant Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sergeant_charlie_chan)

_professional_

Sergeant Chan and Sir Frederic Bruce interact as professional colleagues in the investigation, with mutual respect but some formality.

### [Captain Flannery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/captain_flannery)

_professional_

Captain Flannery and Sir Frederic Bruce have a professional relationship, with Bruce often providing high-level oversight to Flannery's police work.

### [Barry Kirk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/barry_kirk)

_social_

Barry Kirk and Sir Frederic Bruce are acquaintances moving in the same social circles, with polite but not deeply personal interactions.

### [Sergeant Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sergeant_charlie_chan)

_professional_

Sergeant Chan and Sir Frederic Bruce interact as professional colleagues in the investigation, with mutual respect but some formality.

### [Captain Flannery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/captain_flannery)

_professional_

Captain Flannery and Sir Frederic Bruce have a professional relationship, with Bruce often providing high-level oversight to Flannery's police work.

### [Sergeant Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sergeant_charlie_chan)

_professional_

Sergeant Chan and Sir Frederic Bruce interact as professional colleagues in the investigation, with mutual respect but some formality.

### [Barry Kirk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/barry_kirk)

_social_

Barry Kirk and Sir Frederic Bruce are acquaintances moving in the same social circles, with polite but not deeply personal interactions.

## In the story

### [Behind That Curtain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/behind-that-curtain)

Found murdered in Barry Kirk's bungalow.

### [The Man from Scotland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/i-the-man-from-scotland)

Former head of Scotland Yard's C.I.D., visiting San Francisco and staying at Barry Kirk's bungalow.

### [What Happened to Eve Durand?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/ii-what-happened-to-eve-durand)

Hosts the luncheon and shares his fascination with the unsolved disappearance of Eve Durand.

### [III: The Bungalow in the Sky](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/iii-the-bungalow-in-the-sky)

Shows the mandarin slippers; mentions his search for Eve Durand; engages guests in conversation about fear of the dark.

### [IV: The Reckoning of Heaven](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/chapters/iv-the-reckoning-of-heaven)

Found dead on the floor of Kirk's office, wearing only one velvet slipper, with a Cosmopolitan Club yearbook nearby.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters/sir_frederic_bruce
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/behind_that_curtain_se/characters