How old is Robert Parker's Spenser character?

In Parker's first Spenser novel, "The Godwulf Manuscript," Spenser
said that he was 37 years old. This was in 1973. In 2005, Spenser will
be 69 years old.

"In this first book Spenser is 37 years old, weighs 195 lbs, and
stands 6' 1" tall."

Bullets and Beer: The Godwulf Manuscript
http://bullets-and-beer.com/Godwulf.html

"Way back in The Godwulf Manuscript, published in 1973, Spenser was 37
years old and learned how to march long distances in the Korean War.
If we crunch the numbers we get a birth date in 1936 and in the year
2004 he would have 68 candles on his cake. By now he should be hanging
his holster on  the side of his walker."

Bullets and Beer: The Aging Gumshoe
http://bullets-and-beer.com/Aging.htm

"You do learn that Spenser is 37, that he's 6'1", 195 pounds... If
Spenser was 37 in mid-November 1973, he was born in 1936."

Lisa Shea: The Godwulf Manuscript
http://www.lisashea.com/hobbies/spenser/spenser_godwulf.html

From page 8 of "The Godwulf Manuscript":
  
"... and Forbes looked as if he'd found half a worm in his apple. "I
beg your pardon?" he said. "I'm thirty-seven years old and short on
rah-rah, Dr. Forbes. If you'll pay me, and do your Pat O'Brien
impressions somewhere else..."

I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before
you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

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Request for Answer Clarification by drtownsend-ga on 29 Apr 2005 13:09 PDT

Thanks for the info.  I don't think I was clear, however, about my
question. I am trying to figure out how old he is in terms of the
current books Parker is writing.  I wouldn't think that the character
is 69.  But how old does Parker portray Spenser as these days?

Thanks,
Dr. John Townsend

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Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 29 Apr 2005 13:43 PDT

As far as I know, Parker has not remarked on Spenser's age in any of
the more recent books. If time passes normally in the Spenserian
universe, he's 69; if time stands still, he may still be 37. The
worlds in which fictions function are funny that way. Characters are
sometimes like flies caught in amber, frozen forever at a certain
point in time.

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Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 29 Apr 2005 20:36 PDT

I've been digging around a bit more, and I found a 1998 newsgroup post
which provided an interesting quote from the New York Times:

"Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser novels (Putnam), said that
Spenser 'is less real to me than to readers,' adding: 'I know more
than anyone that he's created, made up. I don't throw him into the
open page and let him lead me along. Some writers say that because
they have nothing else to say.' Spenser is in his early 60's and 'has
my memories.' The private investigator has a long life ahead, Parker
said..."

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.tv.ally-mcbeal/msg/abb67abff10574cf?hl=en

If, in 1998, Spenser was in his early sixties, that would lend weight
to the theory that Spenser is 69 this year.

Over the years I read a number of the Spenser books. Between last fall
and February, I read all of them (including the ones I read before).
Spenser's age is now indeterminate. Like the characters in Charles
Shultz's "Peanuts" cartoon strip, Spenser doesn't age. Or, at least he
doesn't age much. I think of him these days as a super-fit mid-40s,
but that's just my mind's view. The other main characters don't age
much, either.

It's true that Spenser and Hawk couldn't be winning their physical
battles if they were in their late 60s.

By the way, here's an off-topic bit of trivia. I read an interview
with Robert B. Parker. Parker was asked if he would ever reveal
Spenser's first name. No, he said, becuase even he doesn't know what
it is.